Re-1 board allocates $27,000 to upgrade CMS phone system

Re-1 board allocates $27,000 to upgrade CMS phone system

April 24, 2001

By Aspen C. Emmett
Journal Staff Writer

Any parent who has attempted to call Cortez Middle School after the last bell knows that, more likely than not, the phone will keep on ringing and there is no way to leave a message or get an urgent message to a student still on campus.

"It’s really frustrating to try to get ahold of someone there after 3 o’clock because you can’t," said parent and Re-1 school-board member Renee Reed.

"It makes it very difficult if you have questions, if you have concerns, if something is going wrong, or if a child doesn’t come home on the bus."

Currently a parent must call between 7 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. to be sure of talking to a school employee or to leave a message for their child’s teacher.

"I think one of the biggest things is that it’s difficult after hours when parents are home and have visited with their child, to call and leave a message for their teacher to call them back," Reed said.

"Most parents work during the day and employers aren’t usually real keen on the fact that you’re using their time to make a phone call to the school."

However, $27,081 of capital reserves has recently been earmarked by the school board to solve the telecommunications dilemma, and implementation is expected this summer.

The money will also go to improve the intercom systems at Downey, Lewis-Arriola and Kemper Elementary schools as well as Beech Street Kindergarten, said Re-1 business manager Jim Riffey.

Two companies, one from Durango and one from Pleasant View, gave bids on the work and although nothing has been finalized, Re-1 will likely give the job to the business within the community.

"The recommendation will be with the local vendor, Farmers Communications," Riffey said. "There was about $700 difference between the two, with the local company being the lower of the two bids."

Riffey said the costs are mostly for equipment but also include labor and wiring. Montezuma-Cortez High School will also benefit with additional phone lines included in the budget.

CMS Principal Byron Wiehe said the new phone system will be of great help to school administrators and staff because it will relieve secretaries from having to take multitudes of messages and relay them to the various recipients.

"That’s a big deal," Wiehe said. "It takes a lot of time of our secretaries when phone calls come in and they’re trying to transfer to various departments and they’re in class. So we’re taking lots of messages."

Wiehe said generally there are administrators in the building after hours and periodically the phones do get answered, but they often miss calls because of the system.

"After school is when we have meetings, and we’re not available. It’s frustrating to the people who call here and can’t at least leave a message."

Wiehe said having a system that mans the phones around the clock is a necessity to better serve students and parents.

"The phone rings at 9 at night and on Sundays; people call seven days a week and at all hours. It’s an opportunity to communicate with the public better," he said.