This year’s school board elections in Montezuma County have been decided by the time you read this column. I am not going to speculate on who won the two contested seats. One of which was in the Dolores School District, and the other was in Cortez. I am, however, going to comment on how the candidates chose to run their respective campaigns, and the lack of contested positions.
Of the six seats up for election in the Cortez RE-1 District five candidates merely had to vote for themselves to be elected. This is not a reflection on the individuals’ suitability for office, as all of them are dedicated citizens, who will bring a wide breadth of life skills to the school board. It is however, a reflection on an electorate that grumbles, yet does nothing to solve the problems they are grumbling about. True, you can complain at any time to the school board about whatever strikes you as offensive policy, but wouldn’t it have been more beneficial to engage prior to an election than afterwards?
One of the unopposed candidates spoke at a Republican Women’s luncheon and offered that the sad state of public education and other societal ills are our fault because we allowed it to occur. We did nothing to stop the corrosive erosion of our basic rights and responsibilities because we were too busy pursuing lifestyles and left it to others to do. She has a valid point and it will be interesting to see what changes she brings to the board. As to the one contested race on the Cortez School Board, between the incumbent Tammy Hooten and challenger Ed Rice, the outcome will be more about the public perception of how people feel towards the current board’s actions, rather than the individuals. Both candidates have run positive messages about what they see as the issues, rather than engage in negative campaigning.
The same cannot be said about the Dolores RE-4A School Board race to fill two seats from four candidates. It is always disappointing, from a civics point of view, to learn of attempts to coerce candidates into not running due to a personal agenda. Campaign tactics that attempt to smear a given candidate that they aren’t “conservative enough, or that they are a “single issue candidate” are the tactics of an insecure candidate attempting to deflect any information of a substantial nature from voters. Declining to participate in public debates while running for re-election to public office, seems, cynical, arrogant and elitist.
This last school year has been incredibly frustrating for families that have school-age children. It’s not surprising that parents with school age children, and other concerned citizens are demonstrating their frustrations with our public educational system at school board meetings. Using Dolores School District RE-4A as an illustrative point can be useful. It serves approximately 676 students. It has a budget of about $13 million. The government per student funding is close to $8,000. The RE-4 District received almost $11 million in emergency COVID-19 funding for the 2019-2020 school year. Without adding property-tax revenue that comes to the district, as well as all sorts of grant funding by various entities, which isn’t anything to sneeze about, that calculates out to about $16,400,000 for 676 students to be educated. Over $24,000 per student, and counting.
Yet, Dolores RE-4 School Board is warning of a potential budget shortfall. Really? Where is all the money going? Why doesn’t the media ask questions like these on a regular basis? Isn’t that a basic function of a local and independent press?
It shouldn’t come as a shock that more parents are turning to home-schooling or pod schools, where several parents form a cooperative effort to share their skill levels or pool financial resources to hire a teacher for a small group of students. That model has the benefit of providing a high quality of individualized education amid a controlled social setting that reflects the parent(s) values. I believe in local public education that serves the population that uses it. I also believe in families over failing institutions. Americans have an independent streak that crosses over demographic grouping. Trust in government schools is at a new low these days because they have overstepped, believing that top-down management in conjunction with compliant media outlets, ultimately wins in the end.
For our country’s founding principles of freedom and our children’s children futures, I sure hope we can prove them wrong.
Valerie Maez writes from Lewis, Colo.
