The Mancos RE-6 Board of Education on Monday revisited a discussion about how it handled recent decisions about renewing staff contracts.
The meeting began as three individuals addressed the board, expressing concerns about “lack of communication and transparency,” “non-consistent procedures” and “fading” support system for staff.
The District Accountability Committee’ addressed “dismal” pay for teachers and staff, and urged the board to move forward with the mill levy override.
Superintendent Todd Cordrey announced that district had three “strong” applicants for the position of elementary school principal, two of them internal candidates. Applications are open until May 26, but Interviews are expected to commence on May 29.
Among action items, the board entered a heated discussion surrounding whether to approve the nonrenewal of some staff for the 2025-26 school year, something that had been brought up during citizen comments in their April meeting.
During that meeting, parents, staff and students met to address the board regarding the contract renewals of Meagan Higinbotham and Jason Coullier, who work as a seventh/eighth grade English teacher and mechanic/bus driver, respectively.
After the May meeting, Superintendent Todd Cordrey and board President Emily Hutcheson-Brown cleared up some to the confusion surrounding Higinbotham’s and Coullier’s contract renewals.
“Megan and Jason will have a position with the school district next year,” Cordrey said. “It’s just that their positions may be different from their current position.”
During this month’s meeting, board members Rachel McWhirter and Victor Figueroa vehemently expressed their reservations, saying they didn’t believe that proper processes were followed when it came to the non-renewals.
“We have failed them,” McWhirter said of the staff.
Board President Emily Hutcheson-Brown said it was not the board’s place to get into work that belongs to Cordrey and his staff, to which Figueroa countered by saying the board should get involved if processes were done incorrectly and “unethically.”
“We do not treat our staff, teachers as if they are disposable,” Figueroa said. “It is unethical and disrespectful.”
Cordrey spoke next, adding his insight into the nonrenewal process.
“To assert that someone is acting without integrity is really poor form and downright disgusting,” Cordrey said. “I don’t appreciate that. I do my work with integrity, and this employee, we found her an equally paying job better suited to her needs. This a shame, and I’m sorry for all the heartache around it, but we have a responsibility to teachers and a responsibility to students.”
Cordrey added that it was imperative to put a licensed teacher in the position.
“Having a non-licensed person in the classroom versus a licensed person who’s gone through teacher training and professional teacher conduct training support, is who we want in our classrooms,” Cordrey said. “It’s what our students deserve, and it’s what the parents expect. And that is what we’re going to have for next year.”
After the meeting, Cordrey told with The Journal about the policies referenced during the meeting.
“The school district has conflicting policies due to its unique Innovative status approval with the state, which exempts it from cumbersome, bureaucratic state statutes regarding licensed teacher protocols,” Cordrey said. “Innovative Status allows MSD to have non-licensed staff in the classroom for up to three years. In this case, the timeline expired without state licensure in place. As a result, the staff was reassigned to a nonacademic position at the same compensation.”
Cordrey noted that this is consistent with the district’s “values” of supporting staff.
“For example, to attract and retain high-quality staff, the school district has helped 10 staff members over the last six years by providing financial support for either a master’s degree or an alternative teacher’s license through the PEBC (Public Education and Business Coalition) program,” Cordrey said.
After more back and forth between the board members, Hutcheson-Brown said it was undermining Cordrey to discuss this in public, rather than approaching Cordrey about the issue. Figueroa said he had previously spoke about the problem with Cordrey.
“It is not our place to say where an employee does or doesn’t belong,” Hutcheson-Brown said of the board’s role.
The vote of the staff’s nonrenewal was approved for the 2025-26 school year, with Hutcheson-Brown, Craig Benally and Tim Hunter voting in favor and McWhirter and Figueroa voting against.
“When policies conflict, managing the school district becomes more difficult. As a result, I am glad to see the Board of Education dedicating substantial time to policy development this summer,” Cordrey said. “This will eliminate the conflict that upsets the board and causes confusion in the district.”
