At a Monday meeting, the Dolores RE-4A school board was provided updates on the BEST grant building project and stormwater mitigation project, celebrated athletic success, discussed teacher base pay and more.
At the start of their meeting, the board received a celebration report from the preschool. Following the preschool’s presentation, Matt Prinster from Artaic Group provided a monthly BEST building project update.
In his report, Prinster highlighted student engagement in the building process right off that bat, showing photos of students touring the construction area and signing the beam that will be a core element of the new high school building.
He noted the valuable experience of the student’s participation, especially when it comes to allowing students to learn more about construction careers.
Prinster said windows are incoming, and that the building is nearly enclosed to protect the inside from the elements. The steel on the building is 99% complete and framing and drywall are in progress.
The new AG building’s slab is complete, and the steel team will start the columns on that building once they are finished in the high school. The project is still on schedule.
The stormwater mitigation grant project was also discussed. Jaynes estimated a $843,100 “hard cost” that includes an allowance for new playground equipment and an 8% contingency.
The contract is being finalized, with work estimated to begin in the next few weeks. A permit is being processed with the town of Dolores.
Athletic Director Travis Rantz provided an end of the year athletic report and shared that football had its best record in 12 years, as did the basketball teams.
Volleyball and cross country had strong showings, with cross country taking many runners to state. Four wrestlers went to state as well, with one athlete placing third.
The baseball team went to regionals for the first time in years, with Rantz saying the players on this team “weren’t even born the last time the team went to regionals.”
Over 40 students participated in track, with 14 heading to state on Wednesday. He shared they are currently working on livestreaming races, meets and competitions for student’s family members unable to attend, as well as working on their new e-ticketing system.
The board also revisited the idea of a track and field, discussing the number of lanes the track needs, places it could be built and other details. Superintendent Alesa Reed informed the board that one of the previous ideas for a track location, Joe Rowell Park, may have to be removed as a possibility after speaking with the town attorney.
The board and Reed moved to discussions of raising the base pay for teachers, with Reed saying she hoped to see the base pay move to $43,000. She noted that Montezuma-Cortez currently pays their teachers around $50,000, while Mancos, which is similar in size to Dolores, pays teachers $46,500.
The board said they would like to see if it would be possible to get base pay closer to what Mancos pays, before moving to talks about student retention and online school options for the district.
In action items, the board approved the hiring of Kenia Reina (student wellness specialist), Amber Rudosky (elementary PE teacher), Britany Mason (secondary ELA teacher), Lindi New (secondary science teacher), Connor Billman (secondary science teacher) and Angela Gabardi (secondary ELA).
The Dolores school board will have its next meeting on Monday, June 15 at 6 p.m.
bduran@the-journal.com
