Journal Staff Report

Four seats on the Montezuma-Cortez Re-1 Board of Education are uncontested in the Nov. 2 election. All district voters will be able to vote for these four candidates. All positions are four-year terms.

Orly Lucero, is seeking re-election to the Director District A position he first won in 1995. Steve Hinton, elected to Director District C in 1991, is also up for re-election.

Jaclyn Fisher, in Director District E, and Renee Reed, in Director District G, both are seeking election to the vacant positions to which they were appointed this year.

All four answered questions posed to school-board candidates this fall:

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?

LUCERO: Right now with the enrollment dropping I think that we would have to add on to the existing building. Eventually we would like to buy more property but right now we don’t have the money for that. Currently the school is in good shape and several additions have recently been made to it. Until enrollment really starts to boom again I think we will have stick with the building we’ve got.

HINTON: Not long ago we added classrooms to the east end of the high school. My idea, for a long time, has been to continue to build to the east. If we built an addition onto pilings we could continue to build over the parking lot. This would keep the school at the same elevation and create a parking garage so we wouldn’t lose any parking space. The way building codes are now we would have to build on pilings anyway. This would cost no more than starting from scratch and we could continue to make use of our new sports complex investment as well as the recent additions to the current school.

FISHER: Right now we have been using of a lot of trailers to make up for the lack of permanent space. This can’t go on forever, though. I think that when it comes time for a new school we are going to have some major discussions. Ideally I would like to see the school stay in the same place however the neighborhood is limiting and parking will be a problem. When the time comes to build a new school we will have to look at the overall district plan and possibly consider new bond issues.

REED: The high school is definitely out of space and I think that building a new one would probably be the answer. A new high school can be a big asset to the community new technology and a bigger facility would benefit a lot of people. As far as cost goes, there are a lot of things to be considered. I think bonds are one option and I know a lot of towns are including new schools as part of their total city infrastructure projects.

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

LUCERO: After the Columbine incident and the local fugitive chase, the administration really started to do their homework. Right now I think we are pretty well on top of things. The principals in each school have done a good job taking the appropriate measures to ensure the students safety. This includes the dress code which seems to be helping out a lot. I think that parents need to talk to their kids and let them know that they have to take school violence seriously. So far this year we haven’t had any problems and the school has been without fear.

HINTON: Two years ago the school board was very emphatic about safety and discipline. One of the things that came out of those board discussions was the dress code. I think that in order for something like that to work, it must be enforced by all the schools equally. Kids are going to try to push the boundaries; if the school administration doesn’t meet them head on, then the rules are useless. I also think that moms and dads need to get into their kids’ lives. Parents should be nosey and meddling and asking their kids questions, even if the kids don’t agree. We need to bring back that family closeness and start building a responsible community.

FISHER: I don’t believe in metal detectors when it comes to student safety. I think that the whole mentality needs to change. The school needs to take a hard line and not tolerate any violence or threats of violence. The number one concern of parents is safety, even on top of academics. The school has taken some steps in the right direction with the new "tip line," an anonymous hot line for students to call an report potentially dangerous situations. The school has also strictly enforced their expulsion policy for violent students. Right now there are procedures in place for things like bomb threats but these procedures need to parent input taken into consideration. Parents need to share their thoughts and concerns so that the school can come up with the best plan possible.

REED: Violence in the schools is probably my biggest concern and I don’t think that dress codes or metal detectors is necessarily the answer. Finding a solution to the violence problem starts with families, the community and faith. Families not only need to be aware of what is going on with school work but also their kids activities after school and at home. Parent who are having problems with their kids discipline need to be guided to helpful resources.

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?

LUCERO: Improving the graduation rate is something that we have been working on and things seem to be turning around slowly but surely. Once a month a task force meets in Towaoc to address the issue of keeping Native Americans in school. It seems as though a lot of the council members are becoming more interested in promoting education.

HINTON: I think we have made some progress towards keeping kids in school and seeing them through to graduation partly through alternative diplomas. As teachers and staff, it is also important to increase involvement in our students’ lives. We need to lose this "The education is there for you if you want it," attitude. Teachers need to go a little further in order to get involved.

It is also important to understand that because we don’t track our students from 8th grade through to graduation, our graduation rate numbers are very misleading. A lot of students that just move away from the area and start attending other schools are included in our drop-out rate.

FISHER: When I first came to the area and heard about the graduation and drop-out rates I was shocked. I think this is a real concern. One of the questions I think we need to raise is "Do these kids take the test well?" I don’t know if the kids see the relevance in test taking. I think they might know the information but if they don’t see the tests as important then they aren’t going to try very hard when they take them. I think parents also need to get involved. When they do, it stresses to their kids that education is important. Parents will also have better communication with the teachers and a better understanding of what happens at the school when they get involved.

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?

LUCERO: All of our schools are open to the public and I think that parents should come in and witness the improvements that have been made in them. Changes have been made within the staff and the curriculum and I think that there is a new, more positive atmosphere at the schools. If parents do come in I think that their confidence in public academics will increase. Eventually I would like to see some of the home schooled kids return back to the public school system.

HINTON: The biggest reason that I have heard for parents to move their kids into a charter or home schooling situation is that they don’t like the environment or safety issues that public schools face. However, these problems are the same ones that we face in society and we can’t run from them. We need to make the public school system as strong as possible. By making vouchers and tax credits available for private schooling, we will only turn the public schools into a dumping ground. Public schools try to educate every single person, those who are gifted as well as those who struggle. The rest of the world only wants to try to educate those who are educable.

FISHER: I think charter and home schooling is O.K. if the school offers something unique. It is a little discouraging though when parents pull their kids out of the public schools without ever getting involved or using all of the resources available at the public level. I think parents must first put some time in and get involved before they put their kids elsewhere. It takes motivation from both parents and students in order to make a school work. I do think that the Southwest Open system does work well for those students who don’t fit into the traditional school mold. I would however, like to see home schools be forced to meet the same standards as the rest of the district.

REED: I don’t know what we need to do to get parents into the school and get them involved. I think that parent involvement is the key to keeping kids in school, though. Most of the parents who have put their kids in charter or home schooling did it because they don’t like the things that are happening or what is being taught at the public schools. These are the same things that are happening in our society. I think we also need to make teachers accountable for things that happen in their classroom.

What works well in the school now?

LUCERO: One thing that the schools do really well right now is get the most for their money. Good additions have been made to the academic programs with the little amount of money we have.

HINTON: There are a lot of good programs in place. We have a good learning atmosphere and we have improved a lot of our programs such as alternatives for the gifted and talented. We have also made improvements with the tribes. They are getting more involved and making sure that the kids get to school. This is, in part, due to the fact that we have struggled to hire more Native American paraprofessionals, teachers and teacher’s aides to deal one on one with our Native American students.

FISHER: One thing that I find very positive with the current school set up is that students get to make a lot of choices concerning the classes they take. If a student shows a passion or strong interest in one particular subject then they are encouraged to pursue it. This is especially true of the classes that are offered at Pueblo Community College and the San Juan Basin Technical School.

REED: A lot of things work well at the school. We have good kids and a lot of good teachers (who should be recognized). Teaching is not an easy job and it’s easy to get burned out. When this happens teachers need to be given a break so that they can come back to the classroom refreshed. When teachers are enthused then the kids get enthused.

What needs changing?

LUCERO: Something that needs improvement is the communication between the public and the school. Parents need to get involved. Right now the accountability program is getting no support. I also think that parents should touch base with government officials. They should call up their senator and share their feelings about the schools. This will help the school boards get important legislation passed.

HINTON: The biggest improvement I think we need to make is finding the best, most qualified teachers for grades kindergarten through 3rd grade. These teachers need to get students off on the right foot when it comes to reading and writing skills. The students who display skills in these two areas early on are the one’s with the most success later on.

FISHER: I strongly feel that our students need to be challenged more. We need to raise the (academic) bar when it comes to handing out diplomas. I think that we expect too little out of our students. I think that we also need to do a better job of tracking our students. If our graduation rate is really at 60% then something drastic needs to be done. We need to hit our students with basic skills before we promote extra curricular activities.

REED: I would, however like to see improvements to the drop-out rate and the graduation rate. Unfortunately, it seems like education is not as valued as it used to be. One thing I would suggest is that parents make themselves visible at the school. A lot of times I will just go to the school, sign in and then sit in on one of my kids’ classes just to see what is going on.

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