Montezuma-Cortez School District Re-1 is asking for voter approval to use $1.874 million for asbestos abatement and demolition of the old high school building and restoration of the old high school site.
Voters definitely should approve the ballot question 3A.
There is no tax increase associated with this measure. The funds Re-1 wants to redirect originally were set aside to build a sports complex at the site of the new high school, but they are inadequate for that purpose. Voting “no” on 3A will not provide a new stadium. It will just leave money sitting, unusable, in a district account.
There are many good reasons to tear down the old MCHS. While diverse suggestions were made as to how it might be put to good use, none of those ideas have proven feasible. No potential buyer wants to take on the asbestos and mercury contamination issues the building presents. Meanwhile, the district must spend more than $70,000 each year just to maintain it as it is. It is a blight in the middle of a residential neighborhood, and a safety risk.
It is time to complete the retirement of that school location. Tearing down the building and preparing the site for another use — potentially a city park that would serve the south side of town, infill housing, or other development — would transform the old school from a liability for the district to an asset for the community.
Using the $1.874 million for demolition is the most fiscally responsible choice the district has available to it. Re-1 can also petition the state for, and has a very good chance to retrieve, $418,000 in taxpayer funds not used as a BEST match. Those funds can only be used for abatement and demolition of the old high school, and must be expended by the end of this school year. Let’s not let that money go to waste.
Vote “yes” on ballot measure 3A to get the old high school off the school district’s books, let the district focus on education, and let others redevelop the real estate.
