Ricos only school is in danger of closing if enrollment numbers continue to decline.
Faced with shrinking student numbers, and budgets, Dolores County School District Re-2(J) officials are searching for ways to put off closing the community school, leaving Rico with no educational options for students.
Rico Elementarys enrollment is hovering at 12 students six in preschool and six in kindergarten through fifth grade and the school has two full-time teachers. The Re-2(J) school district is concerned about the cost of maintaining the small school.
For the past few years we have been subsidizing the Rico school out of our general fund at somewhere between $50,000 and $75,000 a year, said Dolores County Superintendent and Rico Principal Bruce Hankins. It is costing us much more than it is bringing in to run each year.
Based on the $9,300 per student the school district receives each year from state per-pupil funding, the school needs at least 12 students at the elementary level, not including the preschool, to be financially viable. Finances, however, are not the only consideration.
Hankins said the Re-2(J) school board is committed to providing educational services to students in Rico, if the student population will stabilize.
We hate to put a number on what the district is willing to subsidize, he said. At this point if we can keep the number stable, the current board is OK with continuing to fund the school. But we have to look at why the numbers have been declining and what we can do to keep elementary students in Rico.
A public meeting held in the small mountain community on Sept. 8 allowed district officials to discuss the problem with Rico residents, roughly 25 of whom attended the meeting. The purpose of the gathering was to determine what the districts next steps will be to address concerns over student enrollment.
Geography plays a major role in Dolores County School Districts interaction with Rico. Though the two communities are in the same county, Rico is more than 70 miles from Dove Creek, a trip that takes roughly 90 minutes. The old mining town is 37 miles from Dolores, located in Montezuma County, and just 28 miles from Telluride, in San Miguel County.
Hankins said due to Ricos proximity to Telluride and Dolores, Dolores County School District doesnt retain any Rico students once they leave fifth grade, since the town does not have a middle school or high school.
None of them come to Dove Creek, Hankins said. It is an hour and a half from here to Rico, so it is just prohibitive to keep those kids in the district. The vast majority of students end up in Telluride for middle and high school.
In order to begin to understand the declining population at the small elementary school, Hankins and the Dolores County school board have formed a committee in Rico to identify families that send their elementary-aged students out of the district for school.
We want to identify the kids that are leaving our district to go to Telluride then make contact with those parents to see the reasons and see if there is something we could be doing different that would attract those kids and compel parents to keep their kids in Rico, Hankins said.
Officials estimate there are at least 25 elementary-aged youths in the Rico community, which boasts a year-round population of roughly 250.
The Rico public librarian says there are 60 kids under the age of 18 registered in the library system, Hankins said. So we think there are at least 25 students ages preschool through fifth grade.
While a dwindling student population has led to concerns, Hankins said he believes in the importance of community schools and understands the value of maintaining small schools.
I grew up in Egnar and I went to school there, so I understand the issues he said. In a small community, the school is the heart of the community and when you close the school, really you close the community.
Rico Mayor Barbara Betts agrees.
I think it is hard to have a real community without a school, and the elementary school is a vital part of our community, Betts said.
Betts, a volunteer drama teacher at the school, said the community comes together each year to support the school through fundraisers for extracurricular activities, like skiing, and widespread support and attendance at school events. A number of community members also dedicate their time to the school, volunteering to teach the students everything from culinary arts to yoga.
We have wonderful parental involvement here, and the community really does back all of the activities that happen at the school, Betts said. It is just the old saying that it takes a village. We have a lot of people who really love that school.
Re-2(J) officials are expected to decide on the schools fate for the 2012-2013 school year by March.
We need to make a decision by spring, Hankins said. We need to be fair to our teachers and the district and the kids, and we need to make that decision. Our teachers need to know so they know if they have a job for next year.
We want to keep the school open. Right now we are talking about how we can do that. We told the community that if the numbers stay where they are we are committed, but enrollment cant drop. We just cant take another hit like that.
Reach Kimberly Benedict at kimberlyb@cortezjournal.com.