Two Re-1 board seats to remain vacant

Carter: ‘An opportunity to serve’

In response to the scarcity of school board candidates, the Cortez Journal asked Montezuma-Cortez Re-1 Superintendent Alex Carter to share his thoughts.
Question: As superintendent, what are your concerns about the apparent lack of enthusiasm from the community to volunteer as a board member?
Answer: It is disappointing that there isn’t more interest in the open positions on our school board, yet it is not terribly surprising. I’ve long said that the citizens who stand up and accept a role as a director on the Board of Education deserve praise and honor from the community, but they rarely receive this recognition. Service as a director on the School Board is, in my opinion, the most under appreciated public service position in existence. I understand why people are hesitant to volunteer to put themselves in this role. The only things that school board members are guaranteed is: 1) that they will sacrifice a great deal of their free time; and, 2) that they will be on the receiving end of a lot of criticism about school issues that they, personally, likely had no role in creating. That being said, I think you’d find that most of those who have volunteered to serve on the School Board have found the work to be interesting, challenging, and rewarding. It is an opportunity to serve one’s community while, at the same time, to make things better for the next generation by setting a vision for the educational program that will be offered to the community’s students.
Question: What could or should be done to attract future candidates?
Answer: I think that it is important to note that this situation is by no means an isolated one for Montezuma-Cortez School District. Durango School District 9R, for instance, is transitioning this fall from a seven person board to a five person board for this very reason. Many other school districts in Colorado have made all board positions “at-large” so that there is no specific district residency requirement to serve on the Board. These actions are done to remove cumbersome and unnecessary barriers for citizens who would otherwise be willing to pursue membership on the Board. These are options that our school district might consider in the future, but that is entirely up to the Board.
Question: Can the district legally pay board members, and should board members be compensated? Why or why not?
Answer: I would defer to the legal and policy team at the Colorado Association on School Boards for your answer on the legal question. I have never considered the idea of compensating board members, and don’t have a strong opinion either way. I do admire and respect the fact that board members in the current paradigm are true volunteer community servants in the purest form. They are unpaid and largely unrecognized, and therefore their only motivation for service is to help make the school district better. On the other hand, I’ve often said that the truth is that when you offer to serve on the school board, you are almost certain to lose money by doing so. This is because there are always some costs associated with service (fuel to/from meetings, taking off work to attend events, etc.). Offering some compensation for board service might help offset these costs and may help attract more qualified and interested candidates to put themselves forward in an election.
Editor’s note: A Colorado Association of School Board official confirmed that state law prohibits compensation of school board members. They can be reimbursed for official expenses.