The Re-1 school board and administration discussed but made no decision about signing a seven-year contract with REANET, a local telecommunications company, on Tuesday.

REANET is offering to connect schools in Dolores, Cortez, Mancos, and Dove Creek with a fiber-optics network to implement a distance-learning system among all of the schools.

The school board has until Sept. 30 to decide whether to approve giving a $300,000 federal grant to REANET to jump-start distance learning in the Four Corners area. Otherwise the money will have to go back to the federal treasury. Members expect to make their final decision at the next board meeting on Sept. 19.

But on Tuesday the board seemed hesitant to commit to a long-term contract with REANET even though the directors would like the schools to implement distance learning.

"One-year contracts are our preference," said Superintendent Bill Thompson. "My impression is that we will consider this if we can have a one-year instead of a seven-year contract."

The project would connect each school so that students could take classes from teachers at different schools, but it would be an expensive investment for the district. Not only would each school district have to commit to a $260-per-month contract, but the district would need to purchase a $50,000 monitor for each school.

Officials estimate that after the system is set up, it would cost the district $3,100 a year to maintain.

"I continue to get aggravated with all of these big monies to give to people to put something in place that we’ve got to struggle with to use financially," said board President Steve Hinton on Tuesday.

As an incentive to build the expensive infrastructure, the school systems would also have to give REANET the $300,000 grant.

In return, REANET has offered to construct a system costing more than $1 million and provide telecommunications services at 10 percent below their competitors’ rates.

Constructing a fiber connection may not be as important to Cortez schools as it is to the smaller communities of Dolores, Mancos, and Dove Creek. Cortez will soon be linked on a fiber-optics highway that will run from Albuquerque to Grand Junction by next year.

Since the smaller towns provide less of an incentive, however, they will most likely be last on the list to get hooked up to fiber unless the school districts agree to sign the deal.

Connie Blanchard, superintendent of the Mancos schools, said that the Re-6 school board is planning to hold a special meeting on Tuesday to discuss REANET’s offer.

Thompson said not all of the eight school entities involved would have to agree in order for the grant to be used, but REANET may not agree to construct the system without all of the schools’ full commitment.

The project would involve Pueblo Community College, San Juan Basin Technical School, Southwest Board of Cooperative Services, and Adult Basic Education.