\u201cIt\u2019s good for one-time expenditures, but you can\u2019t rely on the money, and it doesn\u2019t address the systematic need we have of attracting and retaining teachers,\u201d said Lori Haukeness, superintendent of Montezuma-Cortez School District Re-1<\/a>.<\/p>\n Dan Snowberger, superintendent of Durango School District 9-R<\/a>, said the biggest pot of money from Colorado\u2019s recreational marijuana sales goes to fund the BEST grant<\/a>, a $40 million fund that 178 school districts compete for with grant proposals on building projects or for noneducational purposes such as asbestos removal.<\/p>\n On May 16, administrators from Durango will be in Denver to deliver what amounts to a 2-minute presentation on their grant proposals to partly pay for replacement of a portion of Durango High School\u2019s roof and to partially fund replacement of the district\u2019s outdated electronic locking system at its schools.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you take $40 million and distribute it among 178 school districts, it\u2019s minuscule. Proportionally, it\u2019s only a drop in the bucket,\u201d Snowberger said.<\/p>\n Durango School District was luckier than most in the 2017-18 grant-funding cycle for BEST funds. It was awarded $46,921 for partial replacement of the roof at Park Elementary School, with the district pitching in another $83,299. It also received $76,361 for asbestos abatement, with the school district pitching in $130,019 of its own money. By comparison, 9-R\u2019s total budget for 2017-18 was about $48 million.<\/p>\n BEST grants are awarded on a sliding scale; districts that have more at-risk students who receive free or reduced lunches receive a greater share of grant money to pay for projects. However, all school districts must pay for a portion of all projects that receive BEST grants.<\/p>\n In 2017-18, Durango 9-R could get as much as 33 percent of a project funded by BEST grants, but in 2018-19, that will drop to 29 percent, Snowberger said.<\/p>\n