During Tuesday’s Montezuma-Cortez school board meeting, the resignation of Superintendent Tom Burris was announced, a school board member was appointed for District C, the complaint regarding Judge Ian MacLaren was discussed, and staff from Cortez Middle School addressed the board regarding staffing and scheduling challenges.
At the start of the meeting, the board nominated candidates for the District C seat. After two nominations, one for Jason Hall and another for Marvin Grays, Hall was appointed as District C’s director. Tegan Bonga-Lewis had also submitted a letter of intention.
Following his superintendent report, Burris gave a presentation highlighting the district’s 2024-25 student data based on state testing. As of this writing, the Colorado Department of Education’s 2025 Performance Frameworks – Official Performance Ratings are not yet publicly available.
Lawyer Brad Miller provided an update on the lawsuit against Colorado High School Activities Association. The lawsuit opposes male participation in girls sports, and the Montezuma-Cortez school district is one of the plaintiffs in the case. The board adopted an emergency policy to protect girls sports at the end of June.
In a separate matter, the board received an update from David Illingworth about the complaint filed by the Colorado Commission on Judicial Commission against MacLaren and the dismissed case against Burris. The case was dismissed with prejudice on Aug. 15 by District Attorney Jeremy Reed.
Illingworth praised the board for its support of Burris.
“I come to inform the board about that and congratulate you that your faith in Mr. Burris and your faith in the truth-finding process that underlies and is the purpose of our criminal justice system has been vindicated,” Illingworth said. “I want to thank the board for having the courage to stand by Mr. Burris and what turned out to be a witch hunt of a case.”
The district also addressed the complaint against MacLaren through a news release that was posted to Facebook days before the meeting.
“The board is shocked and appalled to learn the allegations that Judge MacLaren, in an apparent attempt to get some easy good press, orchestrated an unnecessary and illegal hearing for the purpose of condemning and innocent and falsely accused man, Superintendent Tom Burris,” the post said.
Board member Mike Lynch also addressed Burris’s case. He said that the release of complaint illustrated why the board stuck by Burris’s side despite opposition.
“I could be wrong, of course, but I believe this is the first time that certain facts have been released to the public about this case that explain or justify why the Board of Education stood behind our superintendent, even when the public and some district staff were pressing the board to fire Mr. Burris because of those specific allegations,” Lynch said.
“In part number 13 (of the complaint), we read the newly elected DA explained that he had concluded that no criminal violation had occurred, quote, “No such report of sexual misconduct was ever made to Mr. Burris and the prosecution and the defense knew this fact,” unquote,” Lynch continued. “Therefore, Mr. Burris was not guilty as charged, and the board, having been given similar facts in the case, had the integrity to stand behind him in the face of heavy public objection and without the lawful ability to explain to the public the justification for its actions. I want to thank the board for standing up for what was right, and thank Mr. Burris for not giving up until he was vindicated.”
In action items, the board attempted to vote on the proposed elementary reorganization, but they didn’t receive a second motion after Leland Collin’s motion to approve, so the motion “died.”
The next Montezuma-Cortez school board meeting is Tuesday, Oct. 21 at 6 p.m.
