It is not often a community can celebrate a new high school building, and for Cortez that time comes on Friday. Guided tours along with barbecue begin at 4:30, with speeches and a ribbon cutting at 6. Self-guided tours will be possible until 8.
And what a high school building it is. Classrooms and learning spaces number in the dozens, and specialty spaces are numerous. There is a properly sized theater for drama productions and student gatherings, a space that may also be popular with local community thespians. An on-site health clinic will make consultations and minor medical treatments easy to access, while those wanting to test their desire for a career in emergency medical technician services can receive some initial education and practice in an especially outfitted training room.
Audio-visual is built in, so that program delivery can be expanded or archived and then redelivered if need be.
Large windows face south toward Mesa Verde, and to the west. Instruction in archaeology, appropriate for Southwest Colorado, will be facilitated by an especially outfitted classroom.
Construction was designed to be easy on the environment, while the building’s heating and cooling system takes advantage of the higher (and lower) temperatures that exist below ground, reducing energy use and costs.
All this, and much more, is in a 152,000-square-foot package at the intersection of Seventh and Sligo streets. It is a $41.5 million investment.
An investment, because the benefits of the new high school building will be many. Learning will be much better facilitated, school spirit higher and the work environment for teachers and administrators more productive and appealing. While there is no guarantee that a top-quality building will result in increased learning, it certainly will be a great help.
Thanks go to school district voters who approved what is now with cost reductions an $18.9 million bond obligation, and to the state of Colorado for creating a construction fund that assists in making capital projects possible especially in non-metropolitan school districts where adequate assessed property valuation may be lacking. That state fund is covering a little more than half the $41.5 million building cost.
On Friday afternoon, show your appreciation to the Montezuma-Cortez school board members and to the senior school administrators who with their leadership made this extraordinary school building possible. And, as important, thanks to the voters, most of whom are property owners who recognize that while quality schools are expensive, they are critically important to every community. With a new high school, the community has moved the Montezuma-Cortez school district forward into the future in a dramatic fashion.
