The Archuleta School District Board of Education (BoE) saw a presentation at its Oct. 14 meeting from Build Pagosa’s Executive Director Will Ridlehoover which outlined Build Pagosa’s vision and ongoing planning efforts to develop a new regional workforce center (RWC) for career and technical education (CTE) programs and facilities.
The board also discussed the possible sale of district-owned property.
Build Pagosa update
The update detailed Build Pagosa’s vision for the RWC, which would provide over 10,000 square feet of dedicated space for high school CTE courses on agriculture, health sciences, metal fabrication, auto, building trades, wood shop and business.
Ridlehoover explained it has been an exciting year for Build Pagosa, with lots of big changes underway.
“We’re kind of at a turning point in the progress that we’re making, and we want to make sure that we are really open with you guys as our main stakeholder and counterpart, and the main organization that we try to support,” he added.
Build Pagosa saw an opportunity for growth within the CTE program with the addition of facilities, Ridlehoover explained, which would allow for the ability to expand existing classes into newly freed-up space in the current building. The RWC would also allow for each course to move into a dedicated workspace, with enough room for classes to be working on projects concurrently and the necessary equipment.
Additionally, Ridlehoover shared that Build Pagosa and the Pagosa Springs Community Development Corporation (PSCDC) have been in discussions about the RWC housing the PSCDC office, which would amplify the PSCDC apprenticeship program and tie economic development to education in a clear and intentional way.
“Over the last 10 years, the school district has committed significantly to expanding these programs and has gone from just a few teachers to now five that are delivering a litany of really important, really high-demand, popular, great courses that are extremely meaningful for an important demographic of high school students,” he continued.
Ridlehoover noted that additional space and teacher retention are priorities identified across many community stakeholders, and the demand for these programs has outstripped available seats despite growth.
“There’s a wait list for lots of those courses, and that demand maybe has always been there, but you guys as a school district have fostered that and grown that, and the community supports that significantly,” he said.
Of the proposed $6 million, Ridlehoover shared that Build Pagosa has raised $4.3 million with significant community, philanthropic and federal support, but needs an additional $1 million.
He added that fundraising will continue aggressively through the winter, as Build Pagosa needs all the support it can get. Build Pagosa raised $2.5 million in flexible dollars from local individuals and philanthropies, with $1 million facilitated by Sen. John Hickenlooper via a CDS-USDA Rural Community Facilities Grant, and $600,000 by the Town of Pagosa Springs via a DOLA Community Development Block Grant.
“We’re having support from foundations, support from individuals and we’re doing kind of last-mile fundraising now to get to the amount of money that we need to have to finish the building,” he continued. “That said, we can’t just sit on four and a half million dollars forever. People have generously given that money and it’s not responsible or ethical to do that, so we are moving forward to keep the project going and to establish credibility to get that last amount of fundraising as well.”
Ridlehoover also noted that the terms of the memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the BoE and Build Pagosa had lapsed, as the original agreement was somewhat informally made in 2023.
“You have demonstrated good faith by investing in those classes, [and] I think we have demonstrated good faith by fundraising hard and getting community engagement for this,” he said.
He continued, “We need to think about what that agreement and kind of mutual support looks like in concrete terms moving forward, but we hope that the intention of mutually wanting to expand CTE programs and make those bigger and safer and better classes remains.”
Ridlehoover added that both parties need to revisit the specificities of the MOU before any kind of progress happens moving forward.
The original MOU is a conversation that needs to be renewed in practical terms, Ridlehoover explained, now that an architectural firm has been selected and Build Pagosa has the necessary funding to move forward with this project.
Moving forward has looked like procuring an architectural firm, Ridlehoover told the board, as one mutual intention written in the original MOU stated that after 50 percent of the funds were raised, Build Pagosa would move forward with the district and find an appropriate architectural firm.
Working with five committee members representing the school district, members of Build Pagosa followed a system and developed a rubric to independently rank architects who responded to their request for qualifications. Ridlehoover explained that Oz, the firm selected by the committee, has a team that does specifically CTE education buildings around the region, and sent four or five ideas of how the flow of a building could work in their proposal.
“They’ve put quite a lot of thought into their proposal, and this was one that stood out as kind of a nice option, because we think that really what the community could need is potentially a $12 million facility, and the way this is built is you could add on to it in a kind of clean way,” Ridlehoover said.
On behalf of Build Pagosa, Ridlehoover proposed that the school district contribute the cost of the building design quoted by the architectural firm, around $420,000, with flexibility for reimbursement options.
“Our request and proposal would be that the funds that are allocated for this in your budget are released quite immediately, because they’re there, and they’re here for this,” he said. “But Build Pagosa has funds available to move this project forward, and so if you guys were in a position to support this project by covering the architectural fees, we could make reimbursement an option whenever it was convenient and appropriate for you guys in the budget.”
An immediate release of $177,000 from Hughes Grant funding was agreed upon by both parties to be used for the architectural fees, with the remainder to be provided after reviewing the business plan.
Following the presentation, the board also discussed the importance of advancing the RWC project and aligning CTE offerings with community workforce needs.
There was also consensus on the need to take advantage of future grant opportunities that would ensure the project is moving forward.
BoE president Bob Lynch asked Ridlehoover when he anticipates the architectural project would break ground, with Ridlehoover responding that Build Pagosa is aiming for late spring or early summer of 2026.
Board members also discussed the total project timeline, agreeing with Build Pagosa that around 18 months would be realistic.
“One of the things we heard in our design trip when we did this was that students want to feel proud of being in CTE classes, so making this building look nice and be right at the front of the high school is important, I think, in changing the narrative on those classes a little bit,” Ridlehoover said.
The BoE concluded with the recommendation to approve moving forward with the Build Pagosa partnership, and authorize the administration to allocate the necessary funds to support the initiative.
Property sale discussion
The BoE also discussed the possible sale of a plot of land owned by the school district adjacent to the elementary school.
Superintendent Rick Holt presented visuals describing the property’s location and functional limits, noting that it is mostly used for parking during events.
Holt said an individual was curious about purchasing the land to be used for personal property access, and he thought it best that the board first discuss an interest in selling the small parcel of land before starting a larger investigation into it.
Holt posed the question as to whether or not it would be acceptable and advisable to pursue selling off this fraction of the property.
He added that the interested party proposed splitting the cost of exploring the sale, including things such as a property assessor, but that may be negotiable as well.
“If we were to sell the property, those dollars have to be deposited into either a capital reserve or be put towards buying down the bond into our bond project, if we were to pursue a bond,” Holt said.
The property in question ends at the base of the hill on 10th Street.
Holt explained he did not know the details of the property agreement between the town and the school district, but that would be something to explore and figure out.
Some board members expressed reluctance to dispose of district land while a master planning project is underway.
“I am absolutely going to agree that I don’t think that we should engage in any conversation about this. We have other properties and things that we’re focused on at this time,” board member Amanda Schick said.
Lynch expressed agreement, adding that he, too, feels reluctant to dispose of any property, as it would be a premature decision.
“What I hear from the board is that I should relate to the individual ‘not yet’,” Holt said. “Maybe later, but, right now, we’re still in the thick of the master planning process.”
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