{"id":44447,"date":"2021-10-01T19:31:00","date_gmt":"2021-10-02T01:31:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/montezuma-cortez-decides-on-two-week-mask-mandate-for-students\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T03:19:28","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T09:19:28","slug":"montezuma-cortez-decides-on-two-week-mask-mandate-for-students","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/montezuma-cortez-decides-on-two-week-mask-mandate-for-students\/","title":{"rendered":"Montezuma-Cortez decides on two-week mask mandate for students"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Montezuma-Cortez School District RE-1 YouTube<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

The Montezuma-Cortez School District RE-1 Board of Education voted Friday to approve a two-week mask mandate for students beginning Monday and approved a motion to allow board members to vote on emergency remote learning orders by phone.<\/p>\n

Masks will be mandatory through Oct. 15.<\/p>\n

Board member Cody Wells made the motion, and the board voted 4-1, with board member Sheri Noyes voting against the motion because of the mask mandate portion of the proposal, which was added to the original action item.<\/p>\n

The board saw the mandate as a compromise to keep students in schools.<\/p>\n

\u201cSheri, I think that if we did the two weeks of masking, it would then again prove exactly what you and I have been saying: that the masks aren\u2019t going to help,\u201d board member Tammy Hooten said.<\/p>\n

The vote came after the board called for an emergency meeting to discuss giving Superintendent Risha VanderWey the authority to shift schools into remote learning as needed.<\/p>\n

In the virtual meeting Friday morning, board members also weighed in on workforce shortages and COVID-19 as factors in the decision.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is not about the virus, this is more about our workforce,\u201d VanderWey said.<\/p>\n

VanderWey is reaching out to the community to source help during the staffing shortage, and the board discussed implementing more outreach efforts to get more parents on board to help in classrooms, like sending out a parent letter.<\/p>\n

On Friday, 45 teachers were out of the classroom and 16 were without substitutes, VanderWey said. At times, she has relied on district office employees to help cover classes. Teachers are out for a multitude of reasons \u2014 from cancer to seeing family to having their own kids quarantined, she said.<\/p>\n

As of Friday morning, 156 students were quarantined. Twenty-two students and five staff tested positive for the virus.<\/p>\n

Assistant Superintendent Lis Richard said that quarantines apply only to students. Staff must wear masks, and many are vaccinated.<\/p>\n

She said quarantines have helped to reduce the spread of positive cases in students.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf those kids are in school that would spread a lot more quickly,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, she said staff shortage is a more critical issue.<\/p>\n

\u201cBring 156 kids back, and we still have a staff shortage,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

VanderWey said the workforce shortage has been an ongoing problem in the district.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe thing is, you couple workforce challenges with the recurrence of delta, and it becomes a very difficult situation and people are really stressed. People are at their wit\u2019s end, and I\u2019m just trying really hard to support my staff and I\u2019m trying really hard to support my principals.\u201d<\/p>\n

The conversation shifted to masking, as School Board President Sherri Wright proposed requiring students to wear masks beginning Monday for two weeks to reduce the amount of students in quarantine.<\/p>\n

\u201cMasking always helps,\u201d VanderWey said. \u201cMandatory masking \u2013 I\u2019ve asked to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Remote learning disrupts a child\u2019s education and family life, Wright said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m very anti-masking, but if this will get us over the hump I could see that,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Board member Stacey Hall agreed, saying she\u2019s also against masks, but was willing to compromise.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m against masking, but we have got to to do something to keep these kids in school,\u201d she said. \u201cWe have continued to talk about research and this way and that way but research also shows that if our students are not on reading level by the third grade, they\u2019re lost. We\u2019re losing kids.\u201d<\/p>\n

She said she\u2019s heard from teachers who are opposed to masks, but currently want masking to keep kids in school.<\/p>\n

Hooten also said she would be willing to compromise, and even proposed requiring student masking for the two weeks following Thanksgiving and Christmas breaks.<\/p>\n

VanderWey said that she thinks teachers would feel safer with kids wearing masks, based on petitions the district has received.<\/p>\n

Board member Noyes said that while she would be willing to hold as many emergency meetings as needed, she didn\u2019t want to give VanderWey the power to close schools.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not going to make everybody happy,\u201d she said. \u201cIf we go to remote we will lose kids, if we don\u2019t go to remote we will lose kids, if we go masking we lose kids \u2014 if we don\u2019t \u2014 we\u2019re not going to please everyone.<\/p>\n

The board decided it didn\u2019t want to give VanderWey the authority to initiate school closures without their approval. Instead, they decided, if VanderWey felt there was a need to close a school, she would call Wright, and Wright would then call each board member from there to cast an immediate vote.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t want to worry people \u2013 I\u2019m not saying we\u2019re going into remote learning right now,\u201d VanderWey said. \u201cRemote learning is really challenging to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

She said that she believes in in-person learning, but wanted to be able to make the call quickly if necessary, like in a situation where a school found itself significantly short-staffed last minute.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is not for today, but I can\u2019t say what\u2019s going to happen in the community in the next 10 days,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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