Sincere thanks to the parents and community members who responded to our recent safety survey and participated in our safety forums. This is an important topic, for which great concerns have been raised among all citizens, given recent events across the nation. The reality is that the challenges of society do not stop at the schoolhouse door.

In an attempt to help out kids in Durango, Durango 9-R, EXIT Home and Realty and American General Media are teaming up to hold a summer food drive Sunday, June 3rd. From 10am-2pm come find us outside the Durango Albertsons and the Town Plaza City Market collecting food for the newly established Durango School District Food Pantry.

Durango 9-R invites you to join us for public meeting for community members to provide feedback on the proposed 2018-19 budget and weigh in on budgetary priorities. The meeting is on Tuesday, May 8, 2018 from 6-7:30pm at Miller Middle School auditorium.

Durango School District 9-R announces Samantha Gallagher as the new Director of Finance serving all 12 schools as well as the administration building.

Gallagher, born and raised in Durango, has spent the last 12 years working with large accounting firms and school districts, sometimes managing budgets over $1B. A graduate of Fort Lewis College, Gallagher started her career as an accounting clerk for the San Juan Boces Cooperative Services, located here in Durango

Dear Durango 9-R Parents/Guardians:

Since last week’s school shooting in Florida, schools across the nation are operating in a heightened and sensitive environment. This is reinforced by the constant, and at times graphic, media coverage regarding school threats, violence, guns, and safety.

Durango is so fortunate to have a highly dedicated team of teachers, support staff and administrators who work hard to provide our children a positive experience.

The Durango School District 9-R Board of Education is creating a community-based committee to solicit knowledge, expertise and feedback from the community regarding the long-range planning for facility use in the district. This ad-hoc committee will be responsible for reviewing existing district facilities and setting a vision for growth and development. As the community and the district continue to grow, it is important for the district to hear from community stakeholders so that the direction supports both district and community needs.

Recently the 9-R community has been discussing the enforcement of the existing district policy, JLIF, or Service Animals in Schools. This policy has been in the district since 2015, and speaks to both the use of service and therapy animals in the classroom. This long-standing policy excludes animals as pets in the classroom, but our district has agreed to allow animals in the classroom as appropriate for aligned standards or curriculum delivery. While this has been an established policy, it has not been consistently enforced in the past at all schools.

In honor of School Board Appreciation month, we want to take a moment to thank our volunteers on the school board for their tireless efforts to support education and youth in our community!

We want to follow up on yesterday’s accident involving our bus. We appreciate the support of paramedics in assessing our students and thankful that no physical injuries were experienced by students on the bus.