- Montezuma-Cortez RE-1 School District struggles with what to do with their old high school building that contains asbestos.
“A big empty building sitting in the middle of town.” That’s how Re-1 School District Superintendent Alex Carter describes the old Montezuma-Cortez High School on Seventh Street. Since completion of the new high school, the fate of the old has become a sticky issue. At a work session Tuesday night, Carter and the school board discussed the problem before an audience that included many members of Cortez City Council. The planned demolition of the building grew complicated when the state Department of Public Health and Environment said asbestos in the walls will have to be abated using an expensive procedure if the school is torn down. Recent bids for abatement varied from a low of $1.31 million to a high of $2.47 million. The original budgeted cost for abatement was about $140,000. Carter said even draining the school district’s capital reserves wouldn’t supply enough funds. He suggested repurposing the building to house the district’s administrative offices, currently in the former Downey Elementary School, and the district’s food-services warehouse, now in the old Calkins Building. Other entities may also be interested in sharing the space. Cortez Mayor Karen Sheek said the issue is a difficult one for the city and likened the old building to “an albatross around our necks”. Carter promised to bring estimates for remodeling to a subsequent board meeting.
