Montezuma-Cortez School District RE-1 Board of Education Packet Summary — 2026-08-04
Meeting: Work Session Meeting Agenda - Aug 04 2026
Scheduled Time: 6:00 PM
Location: District Administration Building Board Room, 400 North Elm Street, Cortez, CO 81321
Meeting Overview
The August 4 work session agenda includes presentations on a school-attendance initiative and the Montezuma School to Farm Project, followed by discussion of a proposed elementary HVAC replacement plan. The agenda also provides an opportunity for written or electronic community comments submitted before the meeting to be read by the Board President.
No reports are submitted for August. The packet notes that the next Superintendent's Report is planned for September to align with six-week grading periods.
Key Items on the Agenda
School Attendance Initiative
The board is scheduled to receive an update from Erin Schmitt on a new initiative involving the Colorado Department of Education and the Denver Broncos intended to improve school attendance.
The agenda describes this as an initiative in which Montezuma-Cortez School District was invited to participate. The packet does not identify a proposed board action associated with the presentation.
Montezuma School to Farm Project
Sorrel Redford and Gwen Houchens are scheduled to present an update from the Montezuma School to Farm Project (MSTFP). The materials cover garden programs and student instruction at Kemper Elementary, Mesa Elementary, and Montezuma-Cortez Middle School.
At Kemper Elementary, MSTFP reports that the garden is planted and being maintained two to three times each week. Monthly garden instruction is planned to resume in September. The presentation also reports that from February through May 2026:
- Classes visited the garden once a month for 50-minute sessions.
- The program served 510 students.
- MSTFP provided 50.25 hours of instruction.
- Students received 1,173 tastings.
- Lessons included plant adaptations, worms, and biodiversity.
At Mesa Elementary, MSTFP reports receiving $10,000 from the LOR Foundation to renovate the school garden. Planned or underway improvements include wood chips, metal raised beds, soil, plants, seating, and mulch. The presentation says the project started in July and is expected to be completed in October.
Monthly garden lessons at Mesa are planned to resume in September. MSTFP also reports collaboration with Dolores River Boating Advocates, San Juan Mountain Association, and Montezuma Land Conservancy on potential spring programming focused on water conservation. The agenda-item narrative says the organizations are hoping to receive a Walton Foundation grant that would support guest instruction and field trips; it specifically notes that the grant had not yet been received.
At Montezuma-Cortez Middle School, MSTFP reports maintaining the garden three days a week and holding community volunteer days on Mondays. The materials also describe two new garden-related electives being piloted beginning in August, with MSTFP planning to support them through materials, curriculum, and AmeriCorps teaching assistance.
The agenda-item summary lists no change to the district budget from the MSTFP update, stating that the organization is operating under its current memorandum of understanding with M-CSD RE-1.
Facilities and HVAC
Elementary HVAC Proposed Replacement Plan
The board is scheduled to discuss an Elementary HVAC Proposed Replacement Plan. The agenda references Policy FEB-R, Construction Procurement & Management in connection with this discussion.
The agenda itself provides no detailed replacement cost, funding source, project schedule, vendor recommendation, or proposed board action. Those details therefore cannot be established from the pre-meeting agenda materials.
The agenda includes a Citizens Address the Board item for comments submitted in writing or electronically before the meeting begins. The materials state that qualifying submissions will be read aloud by the Board President and identify Diligent Community's "Request to Speak to the Board" feature as a way to submit comments.
The packet's general meeting notes clarify that the public may view work sessions but does not address the board during those meetings; comments may instead be submitted electronically through Diligent Community.
Upcoming Dates
The packet identifies several upcoming district and board dates:
- August 10: First day of school
- August 18: Board meeting
- August 25: CDE Boardmanship Training Session 1
- September 1: Boardmanship Training Session 2
- September 7: District closed for Labor Day
- September 15: Board meeting
What to Watch at the Meeting
The HVAC discussion is the principal facilities item on the work-session agenda. Because the agenda identifies a proposed replacement plan but provides few details, the meeting may provide additional information about the scope of elementary HVAC needs, procurement considerations, timing, or possible next steps.
The two presentations also focus on district initiatives rather than requested board approvals: one addresses school attendance, while the MSTFP presentation provides concrete updates on school gardens, instruction, a $10,000 Mesa garden renovation grant, planned fall programming, and new middle-school electives.
Civic Translator summarized publicly available meeting materials from the Montezuma-Cortez School District RE-1 Board of Education.
