Editor:
I intend to vote for the school bond issue in Dolores for the following reasons: I took the school inspection tour and the building to be replaced is beyond salvage and is a danger to the students and faculty. Hard to believe, but a building that has a chemistry lab with Bunsen burners and toxic chemicals has no sprinkler system and only one fire exit. Ditto for the shop where welding is done with minimal ventilation.
However, if I lived in Cortez, I would have many questions about the proposed new high school before I would vote for it. Has a soil study been done of the proposed site? I remember a few years ago the fiasco with the new waste disposal plant that cost Cortez several millions of dollars to fix. The proposal I read mentions all new equipment for the new school; does that mean that all the paid for equipment in the old school will be junked? A desk is still a desk and a bookshelf is still a bookshelf. What do they intend to do with the old school? The new school has a capacity of 700 students. The present school has 800 enrolled. Where do the extra 100 go?
Most importantly, I would want an iron-clad guarantee that all the money expended would stay local and not go to some contractor on the Front Range.
I believe the voters in Re-1 are being bamboozled and will regret voting for this poorly described project.
William H. Taylor
Dolores
Via email
Editors note: Any usable equipment in the current M-CHS building will be used in other schools in the district. The current building will be offered for sale. Enrollment at Montezuma-Cortez High School is currently 653; the proposed new school will be built for 715 and designed for easy expansion.