A vote for connection, care and community
Keep Pagosa’s schools
at the heart of Pagosa.
Our schools need investment. This bond would move PK–8 students away from the connected downtown campus our community has spent generations building. There is a better path.
Follow the river. Follow the story.
This is bigger than a building
A school is shaped by everything a child can reach.
In Pagosa, learning already flows beyond classroom walls: to the library, the river, parks, trails, fields, civic spaces and neighboring schools. These places are not extras. Together, they form a living campus where children grow into a community.
Already
here.
Pagosa has already built the campus
One connected community campus. Built over decades.
Downtown holds a rare network of schools, public spaces and natural places linked by paths and shared purpose. It is the product of grants, public investment, volunteer energy and imagination.
A child’s day, connected
Learning does not stop at the school door.
Downtown makes an entire day of learning and belonging possible on foot, along pathways and through relationships.
Early learning
Seeds of Learning and Head Start begin the journey close to the schools and community.
Elementary school
Young learners grow within a familiar, connected neighborhood.
Library
Ruby M. Sisson Memorial Library offers expanded youth, teen and after-school spaces.
River, parks & trails
Middle school PE, fly fishing, biking and exploration become part of education.
High school
Older and younger students can share mentorship, courses, activities and a sense of continuity.
What distance costs
Walking becomes busing. Connection becomes another trip.
Under the district’s stated plan, PK–8 would move to Vista Boulevard while the high school, many athletic fields and community resources remain downtown.
For families with children at both campuses, the school day stretches across opposite ends of town. A library visit becomes a bus schedule. A shared program becomes a transportation decision. More distance means more time, more coordination and recurring costs year after year.
Today
School + library + parks + river + activities
One connected downtown ecosystem.
Under the Vista plan
PK–8 apart from downtown resources and the high school
Access depends more heavily on vehicles and schedules.
130students
Care begins with those traveling farthest
A connected community considers the hardest journey first.
Colorado’s Department of Education says approximately 130 district students live across the New Mexico state line and choose Archuleta schools. For families already making a long rural journey, location is not an abstraction. It is time together, time at work, fuel and fatigue.
Keeping schools central honors every family’s effort and keeps the greatest number of community resources within reach.
Connected and resilient
Safety is also about access, options and nearby public infrastructure.
Today’s downtown schools are distributed across separate campuses with multiple approaches and connections to town services. Downtown also includes the Pagosa Springs Police Department, added fire-hydrant infrastructure and the Ross Aragon Community Center, which has served as an emergency shelter.
Multiple approaches
Separate campuses and varied access routes create options for everyday circulation and emergency response.
Public services nearby
Police, community facilities and public infrastructure are embedded in the downtown network.
Community in reach
Visibility, familiar routes and shared public spaces keep students connected to the people and places around them.
Know what the vote authorizes
A long-term decision deserves a clear view of the numbers.
The ballot asks voters to authorize debt for a new PK–8 campus and other improvements. The proposed Vista Boulevard site is part of the district’s stated plan, but the site itself is not named in the ballot language.
Ballot maximums are authorization limits, not a forecast of final financing terms. Read the complete official ballot language in the sources below.
“The biggest risk is in the limitation of our collaboration.”
A better future is already taking shape
Invest in schools. Strengthen the community campus.
Voting no is not a vote against students, teachers or investment. It is a vote to keep education connected to the extraordinary public resources Pagosa has already built.
BEST grants can support renovation as well as new construction. A thoughtful downtown path can renew school facilities while preserving walkability, shared programs, existing infrastructure and the character that makes Pagosa home.
Our only limit is what we are willing to imagine and build together.
Strong schools. Stronger community.
Vote KNOW.
Vote NO on 5A.
Keep Pagosa’s schools downtown, where learning, nature and community already meet.
Election Day: November 3, 2026
Explore the sources
Source notes
Follow the facts.
Ballot, site and financial figures
- Archuleta County official 2026 ballot language for Question 5A.
- Citizens for ASD, statements regarding the Vista Boulevard plan, transportation and concept status.
Connected campus and recreation
- Town of Pagosa Springs Parks and Recreation Director Darren Lewis, letter to the Archuleta School Board, Nov. 21, 2025.
- Town Parks and Recreation participation data, 2023–2025.
- Town of Pagosa Springs Parks & Recreation.
Students, safety and public infrastructure
- Colorado Department of Education, Archuleta County 50 JT profile.
- Pagosa Springs Police Department.
- Town of Pagosa Springs downtown infrastructure and emergency shelter notices.
Decision record and funding options
Prepared by Pagosa Citizens for Responsible Schools. This site advocates a NO vote on 5A.