{"id":33366,"date":"2023-06-17T21:46:29","date_gmt":"2023-06-18T03:46:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/montezuma-cortez-survey-shows-low-morale-of-staff-and-students-amid-change\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T02:09:10","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T08:09:10","slug":"montezuma-cortez-survey-shows-low-morale-of-staff-and-students-amid-change","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/montezuma-cortez-survey-shows-low-morale-of-staff-and-students-amid-change\/","title":{"rendered":"Montezuma-Cortez survey shows low morale of staff and students amid change"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Students
Students voiced their concerns over teacher retention and Principal Emily Moreland being put on administrative leave. (Bailey Duran\/Special to the Journal)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

Surveys at Montezuma-Cortez High School this spring showed low morale about school culture as teachers and students alike faced turnover among staff and instability in district management in the past year.<\/p>\n

Anonymous survey results acquired by The Journal<\/em> showed that only 43% of respondents said they felt that school staff cared for them as people, and 44% of respondents were neutral.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey just wanna get paid,\u201d one student said.<\/p>\n

\u201cTeachers are there to teach, I doubt they\u2019d care for a student they see once a day,\u201d another said.<\/p>\n

More than 290 students participated in the student survey out of the roughly 600 students enrolled at the school. Students were sent surveys during their homeroom class, but not all students have homeroom.<\/p>\n

\"Montezuma-Cortez
Montezuma-Cortez Superintendent Tom Burris<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Former
Former high school principal Emily Moreland<\/span>Bailey M. Duran<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

About 80 staff members were sent a similar survey, and 18 completed it. Most of the survey respondents were teachers. Staff surveys also showed frustration as teachers and other faculty voiced concerns about staff and school culture.<\/p>\n

Many of the terms used to describe staff or district culture included \u201cantagonistic,\u201d \u201cdivided,\u201d \u201ccynical,\u201d \u201cnegative,\u201d \u201cstuck-in-their-ways,\u201d \u201cpessimistic\u201d and \u201cfearful.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fear rose to the top of the complaints, as teachers commented that they felt they couldn\u2019t say what they truly think \u201cfor fear of ramifications.\u201d \u201cIt is often better to just stay quiet than ask questions or offer suggestions,\u201d one comment said.<\/p>\n

A few teachers recorded in the staff survey noted that the low rate of retention of faculty and staff has had a negative impact on student well-being.<\/p>\n

Other staff said they felt underappreciated and disrespected by the Montezuma-Cortez RE-1 Board of Education and upper administrators.<\/p>\n

Still, many praised the efforts of high school administrators, which at the time consisted of Principal Emily Moreland and assistant principals Lauren White and Jennifer Boniface. Boniface is now working as the interim principal at the high school.<\/p>\n

Teachers noted that Moreland, White and Boniface were doing \u201cgreat work\u201d to boost student engagement and make teachers feel heard and welcomed in the schools.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou are not what is wrong with this district,\u201d one survey respondent said.<\/p>\n

The survey was quickly dismissed from the top. When asked about the survey, Superintendent Tom Burris responded by email on June 9.<\/p>\n

\u201cAny survey you have was not vetted and therefore cannot be held to a legitimate standard,\u201d he stated.<\/p>\n

Wave of resignations, student pleas follow<\/div>\n

After Moreland was placed on administrative leave April 18, parents, students and faculty alike began voicing their concerns, sometimes on Facebook, about the high turnover rate in the high school and district and attributing much of the problem to actions by Burris.<\/p>\n

A letter from Burris informed Moreland that she would be placed on administrative leave. It noted that the district would launch an investigation of her, but did not state what would be investigated or when the investigation would conclude.<\/p>\n

Moreland\u2019s forced leave was followed by a wave of resignations. Assistant Principal Lauren White quit on April 18. Her last day was April 20.<\/p>\n

Athletic Director Louis Horton\u2019s last day was April 18, and he cited the treatment of Moreland as one of his reasons for leaving. The new finance director, Jim Grierson, and two different secretaries, Cammy Stevens and Cristy Reyes, resigned as well, though for reasons not directly tied to Moreland\u2019s case.<\/p>\n

At the same time, students began to express their concerns about the staff change and instability in the district. About 30 students walked out of class<\/a> on April 20 to express their concerns over the instability of staff and the district, saying they just wanted to graduate without turmoil rocking their school.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need stability,\u201d a sign held by one of the students said.<\/p>\n

Cruz Hernandez, an incoming junior at M-CHS, wrote a letter to the editor on May 24, but both Hernandez and the Durango Herald\u2019s<\/em> opinion editor, Ann Marie Swan, said his letter wasn\u2019t published as a letter to an editor because he is a minor, and parental permission is needed.<\/p>\n

Swan also said Cruz\u2019s letter exceeded the word count for a letter to the editor.<\/p>\n

In his letter, Hernandez sounded the alarm on what he has seen going on in the school, asking that student voices be heard.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe issues being faced are mainly due to a lack of transparency, false accusations and much more,\u201d Hernandez said. \u201cAs a student, Burris says that we should leave adult matters to the adults, taking away not only our voices, but the staff as well since if they act out, they could lose their jobs.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hernandez also spoke of the work done by Moreland, saying she had made a positive change to the school.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe was nothing but kind, welcoming and full of charisma. She truly got to know every student and staff member. She made several improvements with safety in our school,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Hernandez said he attempted to meet with Burris multiple times to discuss issues going on in the school from a student\u2019s perspective, but Burris canceled each time.<\/p>\n

He provided The Journal<\/em> with texts from Burris to support his claims.<\/p>\n