RE-1 board to vote on patching the Manaugh roof Tuesday

The Montezuma-Cortez School District RE-1 board of education will be asked on Tuesday to patch the roof at Manaugh — not replace it, and not yet decide what happens to the building.

The agenda for the November 17 regular meeting, posted this week on the district’s Diligent Community portal, carries an action item headed “Manaugh Roof Directive.” It says Interim Superintendent Drew Pearson “recommends the Board approve the roof patch work at the Manaugh Building while the district explores a updated Master Facilities Plan.”

That follows the November 3 work session, where the board heard that its insurer would not pay to replace the roof and discussed what to do with the building. A patch, by the agenda’s own wording, is a holding step while a facilities plan is worked out.

An hour earlier than usual

The meeting is at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, November 17, in the board room at the District Administration Building, 400 North Elm Street in Cortez. The board’s regular meetings normally start at 6 p.m.; the 5 p.m. time is the one printed on the district’s own meeting page and on the agenda. It is streamed on the district’s YouTube channel, and the Current has filed the earlier time on its events calendar.

Anyone who wants to speak has an hour of public comment, three minutes each, and has to turn in a ticket before the meeting — either the paper ticket in the board room or a “Request to Speak” submission through Diligent Community. Electronic submissions that arrive before the meeting starts are read aloud by the board president. The agenda says the board listens but does not respond during the meeting.

The other decisions

Besides the roof, the agenda lists these action items:

• A superintendent search firm. The board is set to select one; the agenda marks the item “Pending: Finance Office Recommendation,” so the recommendation itself was not published with the agenda. The board heard from search firms at its November 3 work session.
• Matthews HVAC litigation. An action item on “next steps.” Before the reports, the board is scheduled to go into executive session under section 24-6-402(4)(b) of state law to receive legal advice on an update to the same case.
• Transgender litigation appeal. An item tabled in October comes back, with a District 49 motion-to-dismiss opinion attached. The board put off a vote on this appeal in October.
• Two LOR Foundation grants. Pearson recommends accepting $4,500 for the Montezuma-Cortez Middle School band and $9,950 for the Montezuma-Cortez High School choir, both for sound system equipment.
• An audit extension request for the 2025-26 financial year.
• Three Unified Improvement Plans — for the district, for the middle school and for Mesa Elementary. All three attachments were marked pending when the Current read the agenda.
• The First Tee program. Pearson recommends approving the youth golf program for use in district physical education classes, including the donations and materials that come with the building-level partner agreements.

The consent agenda carries October and November minutes, the monthly employment and vacancy lists, two student fee forms from the high school, and a consulting services contract with School Food and Wellness Group LLC. The agenda says that contract is coming back for approval after attorney revisions; the board approved the award to the firm on October 20.

Reports and executive sessions

The board is due to hear reports from the superintendent, the executive director of finance, the executive director of academic services and the executive director of exceptional student services, plus celebration reports and a report from the board’s student representative, whom the Current does not name.

Board members are also set to continue an October discussion about a board member handbook — a reference covering board roles, governance practices, meeting procedures, communication protocols and board calendars — with a draft attached.

The quarterly report from the mill levy override independent citizen review committee is on the agenda with a note saying the committee has not met since its third-quarter report in October and that there is no significant new information in it. The note says the report was submitted to respect the requirement in the committee’s resolution that it meet and report to the board at least quarterly.

The meeting ends with a second executive session, under section 24-6-402(4)(f)(I), “for a personnel matter regarding Interim Superintendent Pearson’s evaluation.” The agenda says nothing more about it, and the Current will report only what the board states on the record.

What is coming

The agenda’s own list of dates: a board work session on Tuesday, December 1; district accountability on Monday, December 7; the December board meeting on Monday, December 14 rather than the usual third Tuesday; a staff appreciation party on December 15; and winter break from December 18 to January 4, with staff back for a work day and students returning January 5.

Source: Montezuma-Cortez School District RE-1, “Board of Education Meeting Agenda - Nov 17 2026,” posted on the district’s Diligent Community portal, read November 12, 2026. The agenda says items added after it was released to the public are marked with asterisks; a posted agenda is not a promise that every item will be heard.