School officials say district buildings are aging; ask community to weigh repairs vs. bond

School district officials in Archuleta County told roughly 200 community members that a facilities assessment by RTA shows several district buildings are in poor condition and that the community faces a choice: continue paying for piecemeal repairs from the general fund or pursue larger community funding such as a bond and state grants.

Rick Holt, a school district official, said the district’s elementary building received a 56% adequacy score in the RTA review and that about 25% of elementary classrooms have no access to natural light or fresh air. "The elementary score got a 56% adequate," Holt said, adding that core spaces built decades ago no longer fit current enrollment patterns.

Mr. Holt said the middle school scored about 55% and that many classrooms are locked inside older additions with no daylight. He noted the high school, at about 25 years old, aligns more closely with modern instructional designs but still has shortcomings such as a noisy roof and insufficient auxiliary and storage space.

Josh Sanchez, the district’s director of operations, described immediate infrastructure concerns that officials characterize as urgent: sewer and plumbing issues that may require excavation this summer, air-handler replacements that were completed in recent years, and fire alarms that until recently were not connected to dispatch in some buildings. "They are dying and they're picking up speed," Sanchez said of the district’s buildings.

District leaders told attendees they have spent about $4.6 million on capital improvements since 2018 and that the annual pattern of emergency repairs is constraining money available for broader projects. Sanchez said the district currently budgets roughly $3–4 million per year for capital work since 2018, and he warned that as buildings age those maintenance costs will grow.

Officials framed the choice for the community as a "fork in the road." One option is to continue shifting general-fund dollars—money intended for classroom instruction—toward repairs. The other is to seek community investment through a bond, supplemented where possible by state assistance such as the BEST Grant. Asked directly, one attendee said, "So Mr Holt, are you going to raise my taxes?" Holt responded that the district itself does not unilaterally raise taxes and explained the funding choices: bond, grant, or a certificate of participation (COP). He noted the board is generally opposed to COPs because they obligate general-fund dollars without a public vote.

Officials also raised programmatic capacity limits: San Juan Mountain School, the district’s alternative high school, serves about 50 students with six staff and has only two toilets; district leaders said preschool capacity is short by roughly 60–70 seats; and CTE (career and technical education) spaces are limited, prompting partnerships with local workforce initiatives.

Next steps include analyzing community feedback, forming a planning assistance team (Lisa Scott volunteered to help lead), and sharing a survey link for residents to provide input. Holt said the district plans to return to the community in January with findings and hoped to have a concrete next-step proposal by the end of the school year.

The meeting closed with officials encouraging residents to scan a posted QR code to complete the district survey and to volunteer for the planning advisory team.