At the Montezuma-Cortez RE-1 school board meeting Tuesday, the board decided to pull out of San Juan BOCES, talked about changes for the upcoming school year, reported the success of summer school and more during their meeting.

During his report, Superintendent Tom Burris gave an update on where the district stands regarding San Juan BOCES.

“I am almost done with the application that must be turned into CDE to request a withdrawal from BOCES. One of the requirements is that we need to show that we have had the discussion in open session and that the board has voted to move forward. To be completely clear, we will have the request sent to CDE prior to the September 1 cutoff date. We must then have a third-party audit of the financial impact. This is due by October 1, 2023. If approved, we will become our own AU July 1, 2024,” his report said.

During citizen comments, members of the community voiced their concern about whether the RE-1 Board of Education should pull out of the San Juan BOCES.

BOCES, which stands for the Boards of Cooperative Educational Services, provides special education services, resources and support to area schools. It also helps support grant funding.

One mother, who identified herself as Sarah, asked the board to reconsider its plan to pull out of BOCES, saying she worried about how the loss of BOCES support would affect her special-needs son.

She expressed her anger that the board hadn’t held a public forum to hear from parents and other education experts on the matter.

“You didn’t ask parents or seek public comment,” she said.

She said she and other parents, were keeping notes on the matter and wouldn’t hesitate to go to court if the decision negatively affected their children’s education and well-being.

Another citizen who addressed the board asked why there hadn’t been an open discussion on the district’s future with BOCES, saying that showed “total disrespect for teachers and kids” who would be affected by the decision.

Following the required public comment during discussion, Burris and board member Sherri Wright briefly responded to questions, but neither provided the district’s plans for special education.

“We will take care of the kids and provide the services we need,” Burris said.

Board member Sherri Wright echoed Burris’ response, but did not offer plans for special-education students. She did note that she had three years’ experience in special education, and she helped raise a stepdaughter with special needs.

She said they would make sure special needs children and gifted and talented students were taken care of and added that the district was looking for a coordinator for gifted and talented students.

During action items toward the end of the meeting, the Board voted unanimously to end the district’s services with San Juan BOCES on July 1, 2014.

While it may seem like a done deal, the district has a few more steps to complete before they are officially approved to pull out of BOCES.

Their application to pull out, which was approved in the meeting, is due by September 1. The official decision won’t come until later on. To officially leave BOCES, the district must prove they can run their own AU while meeting all state and federal requirements and ensuring student needs are met.

They must also show that their withdrawal will not cause harm to the remaining districts in BOCES. BOCES will also provide their input, and the decision will ultimately be up to CDE and the Colorado Commissioner of Education.

Burris shared with the board that the district had hired an executive director of exceptional student services who will start July 24 and “guide the district’s ESS needs.”

He also announced that Montezuma-Cortez High School would transition to a seven-period day to allow for more schedule flexibility for teachers and students. The parent of a recent graduate later expressed concern that the schedule change would restrict students’ schedules and prevent them from garnering college credits.

Burris also gave an update on the middle school play structure, which is in the works, and said that the three portable classrooms that have been finished and will be placed at elementary schools.

“Data Day” with Dr. Christian Northrup will take place on Aug. 3, and will discuss and report on the data from the district’s 2022-2023 testing scores. Burris said if more than four members of the board attended the meeting, he will give public notice.

Jim Parr, executive director of Student Academic Services, reported that teachers of various grade levels began curriculum mapping and pacing guides on May 31 and June 1.

He said they are looking at the year in quarters and working to make sure no standards are missed during the planning process.

Parr also noted they are working toward a “uniform” K-12 grading system.

“Elementary utilizes a standards-based report card that fails to provide necessary information regarding student progress,” his report said.

Kindergarten through second grade will keep the standards-based report card for the 2023-2024 school year with a possible change for the 2024-2025 school year. Grades three through 12 will utilize the traditional grading method.

Parr said they are also planning districtwide professional development for depth and complexity (differentiation) for all teachers.

District principals gave a report on the success of summer school, which lasted five weeks and took place at Mesa and Kemper elementaries and the middle and high schools.

The summer school program officially ended June 29.

Principals reported the majority of students showed marked improvement in their scores from assessments at the beginning of summer school versus at its completion.

During action items, the Board approved the board meeting calendar and adopted budget revisions, along with approving a donation from the LOR Foundation for $1,854 to Beech Street Preschool for staff and student apparel, ending BOCES services in 2024 and CASB renewal for the 2023-2024 for $13,733.

The board also approved Pleasant View, Children’s KIVA, Battle Rock and Southwest Open School charter school purchase service options agreement for 2023-2024.

The next board meeting will take place Aug. 15 at 6 p.m.