The Archuleta School District Board of Education held a board retreat on Tuesday, Aug. 27, at The Springs Resort.
Those in attendance included ASD Superintendent Rick Holt; board president Bob Lynch; and board members Tim Taylor, Amanda Schick, Butch Mackey and David Iverson.
Other ASD staff members in attendance included Director of Operations Josh Sanchez, Financial Director Eric Burt and Human Resource Director Heather Schultz.
Holt updated the board with some initial discoveries from the district’s facilities assessment report performed by RTA Architects out of Colorado Springs.
“Our schools are 50 years old,” Holt said.
Holt clarified that a final report from RTA has yet to be released and that “these are draft reports,” mentioning that the feedback he has received from RTA at this point is “worth talking about.”
He explained that ASD staff will be meeting with RTA representatives next week to further discuss the assessment and gather any important missing information in regard to the ASD facilities’ utility systems.
“The middle school sewer system is beginning to fail,” Holt said. “It has developed a few bows in the lines — things get backed up the way they shouldn’t.”
Holt explained that two sections of sewer lines were recently scoped, and both sections have bowing lines.
“So, that was concerning,” he said.
Taylor questioned if the bowing is a systemic issue and if it is occurring in a main sewer line serving the middle school building.
Sanchez explained that one of the sections is a main sewer line running underneath a main hallway of the building.
“It’s actually bowing, literally, under the two staff restrooms,” Sanchez said.
“We have some important decisions to make,” Holt added, noting, “That’s just one of the system issues that we’re starting to develop.”
Holt reminded the board that only draft reports have been compiled by RTA.
“They’re subject to change and update,” he said.
Holt went on to explain part of the assessment being performed by RTA features an educational adequacy score which grades the “spaces our kids are learning in.”
He indicated that according to the draft report, the elementary school scored a D- and the middle school received a grade of F.
Holt mentioned that RTA recommends a grading of C to be an adequate learning space.
Holt also mentioned that although high-quality education is happening in those spaces, it is still something the district needs to look for an opportunity to improve.
Holt noted that the results of the assessment are going to factor in on how the board goes about its master planning process.
“I think we should wait until they are not draft to share them, but we are starting to get that feedback,” Holt said in regard to the draft assessment from RTA.
Holt noted that there are multiple spaces at the elementary and middle schools that have no windows. He also mentioned the roof at the high school is a “nonstop distraction.”
“I told ‘em not to do it when we did it,” Mackey said in regard to the high school roof.
“We have some things we should be concerned about at the high school, as well,” Holt said.
Lynch noted that the high school is now 25 years old.
“Our new high school is 25 years old,” Mackey added.
Taylor mentioned that the board may want to look into some sort of contingency plan for major capital improvement projects that could be coming the district’s way.
“We waited so long and if something happens to that, that school’s going to be shut down,” Taylor said.
Holt indicated that the district is looking for an immediate solution, a three-year solution and a permanent solution in regard to bringing facilities “up to par.”
“We need something in place right now we can do,” he added.
He explained that the district was made aware last year of a pipe that was backing up into the middle school’s kitchen.
Holt went on to explain that a section of the middle school was scoped last year by a gentleman who had previously scoped the school’s systems about 20 years ago.
At that time the district was cautioned about the potential problems ahead, Holt explained.
“Maybe the bows are just catastrophic at this point,” he said.
No draft reports were opened or shared during the retreat.
“I’m reluctant to open up all those reports, just because they are draft,” Holt added.
He went on to explain that the district needs to prioritize safety concerns, legal requirements and quality of learning environments first.
Holt noted there is a difference in a teacher wanting an extra whiteboard in their classroom and a teacher complaining about no air flow and inconsistent temperatures in their classroom.
Sanchez explained that the district is looking at what it can do to get through this school year, and then looking at what improvements can be made next summer.
Sanchez also spoke about how more issues could arise just from trying to access a problematic sewer pipe.
“We’re starting to see major systems fail,” Holt added.
Schick questioned if the final assessment result would be shared at the board’s September meeting, with Holt indicating that is the current plan.
He explained that the overall purpose of the facilities assessment from RTA is to let the district know the amount of funds needed for the buildings to be brought up to industry standard.
Mackey mentioned that being code-compliant with modern building codes will be costly.
“Is the orange carpet the best anymore?” Sanchez asked.
“There’s a cliff out there, and it’s getting closer by the day,” Mackey said.
Holt explained that the district has a “healthy reserve” and that it can afford to fund a few more repairs.
“We have the funds to patch a few more things,” he said.
Holt explained that the district is looking into how to move currently unassigned reserves into assigned reserves, potentially for a contingency on capital improvement projects.
Schick asked at what point does the board need to give absolute directness, to the point of deciding that the district needs a new building.
Holt cautioned that the board “take a stance” on the matter and that the district will need to gather feedback from the community to see the best way to move forward.
Holt indicated that the district will hold community meetings in the coming months to discuss the final results of the facilities assessment.
clayton@pagosasun.com
