The Southwest Open School Board on Monday night spoke about finding members for their board, getting updates on their new building and increasing salaries for staff.
Board President Josh Standard told those in attendance at the start of the meeting that they hope to add board members. The board has five board members, but SWOS Director Casey Simpson said seven was ideal.
Simpson said they hoped to add SWOS parents to the board, but would talk to anyone interested in making a difference on the board.
Those who are interested in joining the board may contact Simpson at csimpson@cotez.k12.co.us.
In the finance report, Simpson said the school was able to increase staff salaries to match Montezuma-Cortez’s – something teachers and staff can get “stoked” about.
The board also honored student John Jacobs, who was picked by the state as a Colorado charter champion, and he could accept the award in Denver. They said he is the treasurer of student government, as well as helping with the grant evaluation TGYS grant cycle.
Simpson called Jacobs an “example of what we want to see in our program.”
Simpson also provided an update on SWOS’ new building, saying that the building has passed third-party inspection and was set to open in August, but still needs its fire alarm permit and final state inspection, which has set back the grand opening.
Currently, the school sits 62nd on the fire alarm permit list, with an average of five or six inspections done per week. Because of this, Simpson said they will have to wait until early 2024 to move teachers and students into the new building officially.
“I’d love to have it open by the time we return from holiday break,” he said.
Furniture has been ordered for the building, and teachers are beginning to move some supplies inside while new white boards and smart boards are being installed.
The building, which is north of the current buildings, is a pre-manufactured building, selected because it was more affordable and would take less time to build.
Simpson said the new building replaces a double-wide trailer built in 1973, that was so old “you could see from the inside to the outside because it was so old and dilapidated.”
The building will include the new science department and commercial kitchen for Family Consumer Sciences.
The building was planned before the COVID-19 pandemic, which then pushed the building plans to this year, amid inflated prices.
“It’s just been a really long and difficult process,” Simpson said. “But it’s exciting to have a new building. I think our students deserve the best buildings.”
He shared that they had looked into grants like the BEST grant, but their school is too small to qualify.
Simpson also gave an update on SWOS’s attendance rate for the 2023-2024 school year so far, noting that they are at a 90.3% attendance rate and a 9.7% unexcused absence rate. Excused absences are not counted in the absent rate.
The next SWOS board meeting is Monday, Dec. 11 at 5:30 p.m.
