Greetings good people, 820 of you petition signers (as of 3:25 p.m. today)~

We would like to credit the Durango School District 9R for hearing citizen voices in convening today's meeting. They are the only public body to act in response to our collectively expressed concerns and calls for a forum.

Although today - again - is another lost opportunity to hold meaningful public engagement, rather another back and forth comment period with no direct response to questions posed, we encourage you to tune in to listen and learn and continue to put pressure on our representatives, elected and appointed. 

The meeting format and Zoom link can be found here: https://www.durangoschools.org/apps/events/2021/12/14/9932632/?REC_ID=9932632&id=0

One of the most immediate concerns on the table is that there are currently NO WRITTEN GUARANTEES in place in the 9R-DFPD contract to preserve the historic building in perpetuity. This protection expires in 2025. DFPD's stated intent is woefully insufficient and naive of 9R to allow this omission.

This is, of course, one of numerous issues with serious implications for the future of our community, historic downtown, economic vitality, quality of life - not to mention the estimated $17M cost to taxpayers - associated with this potential sale.

We are calling on the three public bodies to take a pause and start over with truly meaningful public engagement. Something each of them missed the first time. We want DFPD to have a state of the art facility. We want 9R to be made whole. We want our City to thrive.

As we saw with the subdivision process that relied on public citizen engagement to point out that the line was in the wrong place and not fully encompassing Buckley Park, we need public engagement. We need you!

It truly does take a village. Please continue to show up and speak up for your principles, your values and what you believe in. Thank you!