Students ask Cortez school board to rein in AI use

Two Montezuma-Cortez High School students asked the Montezuma-Cortez RE-1 school board to limit the use of generative artificial intelligence at the school, in a presentation to the board’s workshop on Tuesday, KSJD reported.

The students told the board that generative AI is harmful to both staff and students and argued that it should be banned at the high school, according to the station’s report. They said they had surveyed 49 students and five teachers before putting the presentation together.

On learning, the students cited an American Psychological Association study they said found lower test scores among children who often use AI tools, along with findings of reduced brain activity and a weaker ability to form neural pathways. They argued that heavy use of AI for study could slow the gains in test scores the school has been working toward.

They also raised water use, saying the Four Corners is already water-stressed, and pointed to a projection that proposed data centres in the Phoenix area would need 3.7 billion gallons of water a year, against 385 million gallons now. Some of that water, they said, could come from Colorado River tributaries including the Dolores River.

On artwork, the students said AI-generated posters and art conflict with the school’s copyright policy, and noted that AI companies are facing lawsuits alleging they trained their systems on copyrighted work without permission. One of the students said the criticism was aimed at the technology rather than at staff, and suggested the school commission artwork from students, display student art and support student artists the way it supports athletes and theatre students.

Relaying what teachers had told them, the students said AI could help with analysing data but limits the connections teachers build with individual students, and that heavier workloads with no extra time had left some teachers treating AI as a necessity even when they objected to it. They said AI use at the school has grown sharply over the past year and that students have at times been required to use it on in-class assignments.

The board thanked the students for the presentation. No vote was taken and no policy change was reported.

The Cortez Current does not name students. The figures and study findings above are as the students presented them to the board.

Reported by KSJD: “MCHS students voice concerns over use of generative AI”, October 8, 2026.