- The fate of the former Montezuma-Cortez High School building remains undecided.
- Montezuma-Cortez School District board names Lori Haukeness as the district’s interim superintendent.
The fate of the former Montezuma-Cortez High School remains undecided. On Tuesday, the Re-1 school board voted to form a community task force to study the issue and make recommendations. This came after the directors heard that it would cost more than $500,000 to ready the old building to house school administrative offices, one idea that had been proposed, and that no other prospective tenants were committed to renting space. Demolition of the aging facility has been put on hold after estimates for asbestos abatement came in at up to $2.5 million. Also on Tuesday, Monica Plewe of the District Accountability Committee, which makes budget recommendations, said their suggestion was to ask voters to reallocate to the asbestos abatement $1.87 million now set aside for a new football stadium. The board plans a walk-through of the vacant structure during its next meeting. That meeting will be March 15th because the directors voted to change their regular meeting date from second to third Tuesdays to avoid conflict with Cortez City Council meetings. The board also voted unanimously to name Assistant Superintendent Lori Haukeness as acting superintendent from March 1st to June 30th. She replaces Alex Carter, who is leaving to take a position with a nonprofit.
