Photo: Pagosa Springs Middle School, in downtown Pagosa Springs, freshly painted in the ‘school colors’. September 2026.
I think we should invest in the future of our community. Doctors, nurses, teachers, tradespeople, small business owners will not move/stay here if their kids have to attend crumbling schools. Every American child should be able to attend a fabulous public school…
— from a Letter to the Editor by Lee Stopher, Pagosa Springs SUN, September 24, 2026.
The September 24 edition of the weekly Pagosa Springs SUN included several Letters to the Editor in support of a substantial property tax increase proposed by the Archuleta School District (ASD)… including a letter from Lee Stopher, quoted above.
Ms. Stopher is Vice Chair for Community Outreach for the Archuleta County Democratic Party.
I agree with Ms. Stopher, that we should invest in the future of our community, and for the past two years, I’ve urged ASD School Board and staff to ask the voters for a relatively small tax increase to better maintain our existing school buildings. Given the current economic situation, I suspect that Archuleta County voters will feel uncomfortable approving a $156.5 million property tax increase to build a totally new PreK-8 facility, when are current school buildings are in reasonably good shape.
I have to disagree with Ms. Stopher’s assertion that our kids “have to attend crumbling schools.” Our school buildings are not “crumbling” in any sense of the word. In fact, our school building have been well maintained — given the funding available. The foundations are sound; the roofs are relatively new; the entrances have been upgraded to provide additional security; fresh paint is applied when necessary.
But when a small group of local activists desperately want voter approval for a substantial property tax increase, we are likely to hear exaggerated, misleading claims about the condition of our existing buildings.
As an investigative journalist, I have a particular interest in information about my community. I also have a particular interest in “misinformation”, and also in “disinformation”.
“Misinformation” can be viewed as distinct from “disinformation”. We are all “misinformed” occasionally. Maybe we’ve been exposed to information “through the grapevine”… or through social media… or through an online news website… and the “facts” turn out, later, to be incorrect.
“Disinformation” is something different. Persons and groups sometimes spread propaganda — stories or information that they know to be untrue, or partially untrue — with the intention of achieving some personal, or social, or political goal.
“Misinformation” results from mistakes and carelessness. “Disinformation” comes from purposeful lying and exaggeration.
Referring to our downtown schools as “crumbling” is disinformation.
We understand that “misinformation” and “disinformation” is all around us. So we often choose to make our decisions based on a gut feeling.
Earlier this month, the Daily Post published a press release from Pagosa Peak Open School (PPOS), letting the community know that our tuition-free, tax-supported charter school has achieved ‘Performance Plan’ rating from the Colorado Department of Education (CDE) in its official 3-year framework report.
From that press release:
“We are so proud of the hard work and dedication of our staff and students,” PPOS School Director Emily Murphy said. “This single year of growth hitting the 75th percentile highlights the ongoing progress our students are making within a Project-Based Learning (PBL) environment.”
PPOS was authorized by the Archuleta School District (ASD) in 2017, to operate as a innovative charter school in a former office building. Although the building as not constructed as a school, PPOS students continue to show educational success.
In August, ASD communications manager Kelsy Been sent out a press release, celebrating ‘Performance Plan’ rating for all five District schools.
The Colorado Department of Education released 2026 results from the Colorado Measures of Academic Success (CMAS), PSAT, and SAT assessments, along with preliminary school and district performance frameworks, in August. All Archuleta School District schools earned a Performance rating…
Assessment results also show continued student growth across several grade levels and subjects…
Community members want to know that their taxes are going to a good cause, and ASD seems to be just such a good cause. Apparently, our public schools are doing the best job they’ve done in years, in terms of academic achievement.
I consider that a meaningful accomplishment for a rural school district. I also consider it to be accurate information.
Sometimes, we’re not sure if the presented information is accurate. In some cases, we base our beliefs on who is giving us the information, where they may have gotten their information, and what they might have for an agenda.
For example:
The Archuleta Board of County Commissioners — in various incarnations — has been discussing the idea of a new, modern, County Administration Building and Detention Center since the late 1990s… maybe even earlier. Years ago, they bought a 5-acre parcel on Hot Springs Boulevard directly across the street from Town Hall, with the idea that we’d end up with a convenient ‘local-government campus’ in that part of town. For reasons we won’t go into here, the plan was shelved, and the BOCC donated most of the parcel to an affordable housing project, Rose Mountain Townhomes, serving 34 households.
At a recent BOCC work session, County Manager Longinos Gonzalez asked the commissioners if they wanted to hire an engineering/architecture firm to give realistic quotes on two possible options for finally fulfilling the dream of a new Administration Building:
Option 1. Build a completely new facility, on a 5.5-acre parcel recently purchased by the County in the Aspen Village subdivision… or…
Option 2. Purchase and remodel an existing building in the City Market shopping center, likely at a much lower cost.
What would either of these two options be truly cost-effective? We don’t currently have that information, although we might have a gut feeling about the best way to address the situation.
The BOCC discussed the option of spending taxpayer revenues to get a report from an qualified engineering or architecture firm, comparing Option 1 and Option 2, in terms of cost.
But let’s be honest. The information we get from expert out-of-town consultants is not necessarily accurate, if those same consultants might earn millions of dollars, designing new buildings.
Which was exactly the situation, when ASD hired some Colorado-Springs-based architects to analyze our existing school buildings…
Read Part Two… on Monday…