Dear Editor:
Speaking as a journalist who attends many government meetings and events in Pagosa Springs, I have been impressed with the accuracy of the information posted by Pagosa Springs SUN reporters.
In particular, I appreciated the careful reporting by reporter Clayton Chaney, covering the August 11 Archuleta School District (ASD) School Board meeting. At that meeting, the School Board heard a report from ASD Chief Operations Officer Jason Taylor about deferred maintenance and upcoming repairs needed at the Pagosa Springs Elementary and Middle School buildings.
As accurately reported in the SUN, Mr. Taylor and his staff analyzed those buildings and estimated the cost of important repairs needed between 2026 and 2035. He reported the cost, over ten years, at about $17.5 million. He also noted that ASD might have additional expense due to the presence of asbestos in those buildings, but that would depend on the situation. A complete asbestos mitigation was quoted at $2 million.
From Mr. Chaney’s August 13 article:
“Taylor went on to mention that [District consultant] RTA’s projected cost to complete the ‘urgent and important needs’ at the elementary school came out to around $32.7 million, and roughly $25.9 million for the middle school’s maintenance needs, totaling at approximately $59 million.
“Taylor commented that the district could get by with ‘less’, noting RTA’s estimate as sort of the ‘best-case scenario’ as that includes [optional] projects that would improve learning spaces…”
Summarizing the costs, Mr. Taylor noted that ASD typically spends about $500,000 annually on capital improvements, but clearly, the estimated necessary repairs would amount to more than that amount, per year. That is to say, about $1.7 million per year, over the next ten years.
I was not happy, however, with a recent Letter to the Editor from Lisa Scott, chair of a local ‘Yes on 5A’ campaign committee, published in the September 10 edition of the SUN. Ms. Scott, whom I believe was present for the report by Jason Taylor on August 11, stated in her SUN letter:
“Our elementary and middle school buildings have significant issues that will cost more than $88 million to tackle and will not address other concerns that just cannot be fixed.”
Why Ms. Scott would publicly disseminate a cost number five times larger than the estimate we heard from ASD’s own staff, I have no idea.
We have a real and ongoing problem, in America, with misinformation, and disinformation. I’m pleased that SUN reporters are willing to write accurately about the issues in our community.
The projected cost of the proposed new school facility, as shown on the ballot, will be up to $6.7 million per year in increased property taxes. About four times the estimated cost of repairing what we already have.
The SUN also accurately reported that both schools recently achieved CDE’s ‘Performance’ ranking. Obviously, education is successfully taking place in our existing facilities.
Bill Hudson
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