Journal Staff Report

Director District D, the area southwest of Cortez, is the only director district within Re-1 in which a school-board seat is contested this year. A Colorado Supreme Court ruling required that only residents of that particular director district be allowed to vote in the election after a lawsuit by members of the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe claimed that Native American candidates had little opportunity to be elected in at-large voting by all residents of Montezuma-Cortez School District Re-1.

Although incumbent Susan Baacke was elected in 1997 to a four-year term on the board, the court ordered the Director District D representative to be included in the 1999 election. The winner of this election will hold the position for two years; the winner of the 2001 election will serve for a four-year-term, as do all school-board members.

Baacke, a registered nurse, is the mother of a kindergartener and a third-grader at Mesa Elementary. She is a registered nurse, although she is not currently working. She and her husband have lived in Cortez for 10 years.

Eric Whyte, a Montezuma-Cortez High School graduate and a member of the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, is challenging Baacke for the Director District D seat. He is employed by Ute Mountain Farm and Ranch, and is the father of an eighth-grader and a first-grader in the Re-1 district.

Currently, the high school is out of room to grow, yet every year there is an influx of people into the community. What suggestions do you have to accommodate this growth?

WHYTE: I think that it would be nice to build a new high school. Right now however, there isn’t enough money in the school system to cover the cost and nobody likes to have their taxes raised. For now I think we will have to keep an eye on the population and if the numbers continue to increase then something will have to be done.

BAACKE: From time to time, the land across the street from the high school has been for sale so that could be an option for expanding. However, we could never count on that being available. This would also mean that we might have to go to a campus style setup rather than a single building. I also don’t think that it is possible to commit funds until we know for sure which direction to take. It is also possible that we could earmark some of the money in the capital reserve fund for the high school building project.

Since the Columbine tragedy, guns and violence in schools have become major issues. What suggestions do you have to improve school safety?

WHYTE: It used to be that you never had to worry about safety when you dropped your kid off at school. School was the safest place you could be. I think parents need to instill discipline in their kids and teach them to deal with situations without using violence. Things like the dress code and the Dare program are good directions to take but I think improvements need to be made with the kid’s upbringing.

BAACKE: We need more consistency when it comes to enforcing the rules so that they become black and white. Recently the school has added on the "tip line" for anonymous concerns from students, talked more extensively about lock-down procedures and now has a full-time police officer at the school. The middle school has also increased communication by purchasing CB radios and they planning to add a full- time officer midway through this year. The other thing that I see helping is the Link Crew program. If students can get to know each other on a more personal level then they are less likely to pick on one another. I think that the school’s administrations have taken a very pro-active stance towards safety concerns.

Currently the Montezuma, Cortez school district has an above-average drop-out rate and below-average graduation rate. This is especially true of the Native American population in the area. What ideas do you have to improve on these problems?

WHYTE: The elementary school kids seem to do well and show a lot of interest in school. Once they move on to the middle school though, they begin to take interest in other things. They are just teenagers acting like teenagers. I think what we need to do is improve the parent, teacher, student relationship during these middle school years. I know that Native Americans have the option to send their kids to boarding school but parents who don’t see their kids don’t know what to do to help them.

BAACKE: In order to improve the graduation and drop-out rates, parents must buy into their child’s education. They need to show an interest, ask questions, and take the time to get involved. I also think that the school needs to keep questioning the curriculum, make changes and try new things. Although the graduation and drop-out rates are questionable because of inaccurate tracking of students, the achievement and attendance numbers are real and need improving. I think that Native American parents were done a disservice and treated poorly when they were in school. I think that if they came to the school now they would realize that the environment has changed and this would help them to further promote education. This is being done to a degree with the parent advisory committee.

Many parents are steering their kids toward charter and home schooling. What do you think the school needs to do to reinstate parents’ faith in the public school system?

WHYTE: I think we have some good teachers in this school system but as the numbers increase it puts a heavier load on them so I think it is important to keep the class size small. I don’t like to see vouchers or home schooling being used because it takes money and student interaction out of the public schools.

BAACKE: My feelings are mixed when it comes to charter and home schooling. I think that each parent has the responsibility to find the best education possible for their kids and I think that these alternative style schools can operate in the same realm as the public system. I think it is good to acknowledge and accept diversity. I want the best education for my boys and I strongly believe in the public school system and am willing to work with it. If it’s not working and you don’t try to fix it then you have gained nothing.

What works well in the school now?

BAACKE: I think that the strengths within the school system are that new ideas can be explored, parents can send their kids to the school they choose, school principals are pro-active in addressing problems, there is strong accountability from teachers and administrators, good financial stewardship, and the uniqueness of each child is recognized through many programs.

What needs changing?

WHYTE: Some of the things that I would like to see improved are the transition into the middle school and the relationship between parents and teachers. Give them more of an opportunity to talk and understand each other.