During their Tuesday night board meeting, the Montezuma-Cortez School District Re-1 received presentations on the proposal to renew Southwest Open School’s charter and from the District Accountability Committee, as well as given updates on the mill levy.
Superintendent Tom Burris was not present at the meeting, and the board noted that new board member Jennifer Sanchez was absent with an illness. Sanchez was sworn into the board on Dec. 3. She will sit in the District A seat.
The meeting started with the charter renewal presentation from SWOS. The presentation was given by former director Casey Simpson and incoming, interim director Joe Kelly.
Simpson and Kelly provided information about SWOS students, the campus, staff and school as a whole, emphasizing the school’s project-based and experiential learning approach.
After the charter presentation, Cruz Hernandez, student representative to the board, gave a report. In his report, he gave the board a look into the drama program’s most recent trip to ThesCon.
Brian Sandner was awarded “best editing” for the movie he entered, and both Sandner and Hernandez were ranked “superior overall,” which qualifies them to compete at the International Thespian Festival in June 2025.
Though Burris was not in attendance, he provided a report to the board that was discussed before moving on to other items.
In his report, Burris address the 7-year-old MCSD student who was shot and killed in Towaoc.
“The tragedy at Towaoc has shaken the education community to its knees. This senseless and callused act is a black mark on the southwest corner of the state,” Burris said. “Our hearts go out to the family and the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe. I hold Chairman (Manuel) Heart in the highest of regard for his leadership and his bravery through the trying time.”
The report also addressed the mill levy, with Burris saying they have some “hurdles” to deal with before they can get the money into teacher’s “pockets.”
“We do have some hurdles to address, and the most challenging is the fluctuation of the year-to-year revenue,” Burris said.
He mentioned the old Manaugh Elementary school building, saying he spoke with the Gates Foundation about possibly receiving a grant to renovate the elementary.
HR director Justin Schmitt also provided the board an update on the mill levy for teacher and paraprofessional pay, sharing that they are working on created a proposal for the 2025-26 school year that will be presented for the board’s consideration in the new year.
DAC members presented to the board, giving updates on what the committee has been working on, adding that they are planning on presenting to the board quarterly, in February, May, September and November.
They spoke on the family engagement policy, noting that the board had asked the DAC to help boost family engagement in the district. The DAC has conducted family engagement surveys in 2023 and 2024, and will do another in 2025.
They also brought up the areas of concern highlighted in the survey, saying they are working on strategies to improve these areas of concern.
High school Principal Jennifer Boniface and a board member said some of the questions in the survey were misleading. One of the questions referenced was one that showed teachers in the district saying the district was a good place for students, though another question showed teacher dissatisfaction with the district.
Laura DeWitt said teachers were most likely saying the district was a good place for students because the teachers are doing good work, but they may not feel like it is a good working environment for them.
The DAC also expressed their goals for the upcoming year, saying they wish to support teacher and coach satisfaction and retention, student recognition, review the strategic plan and more.
DeWitt added they would like to receive more questions and “back and forth” engagement from the board. They will also be providing their thoughts and feedback on the SWOS charter renewal proposal.
Because there were no citizen comments at this meeting, the board moved to board reports and action items.
In action items, the board approved the usage of $311,446 of capital reserve funds for the purchase of two new school buses, among other items.
The next Montezuma-Cortez board meeting is Tuesday, Jan. 21 at 6 p.m.
