Disagreement seemed inevitable, as U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert is a polarizing figure.

But Dolores School District Superintendent Reece Blincoe didn’t think the issue would linger for as long as it has or turn quite as sour for his small community in rural, southwest Colorado.

Blincoe, a principal and other officials have been under fire for weeks from a group of parents angry and concerned that the district invited Boebert to speak to several hundred students at Dolores Middle & High School last month for a civics discussion that turned somewhat political.

Parents within the district say they were blocked from attending or watching the congresswoman’s address to the students when they voiced concern ahead of time. And they’re worried about the message that hosting Boebert sends to the students.

The nearby Durango Herald even penned an editorial criticizing the congresswoman for wading into politics in her March 15 speech to students.

Boebert has a history of espousing anti-LGBTQ views. She’s called women “weaker” than men, criticized the separation of church and state and made Islamophobic comments implying a colleague in Congress might be a terrorist. Political and religious experts say her Christian nationalist rhetoric presents a danger to the country’s democratic foundations.

“This is about Boebert herself, the hate she spews and the policies she continues to support and put forward that vilify those that are different from her,” Molly Cooper, a parent in the district, told school board members during an April 13 meeting.

Blincoe estimated the school district received a dozen negative emails and four or five voicemails. Others, he said, expressed support for the congresswoman’s visit.

Last week, district parent Leah Burkett filed a formal complaint against Blincoe and the high school principal, Justin Schmitt, who declined to comment for this article. She’s waiting to hear back from the Dolores school board, but wants the two fired or to resign.

The parents who’ve complained tell The Denver Post they’ve lost faith in district leadership and they’re fearful of the longstanding implications of the congresswoman’s visit.

“Boebert’s assembly/campaign speech made to our public school students should concern anyone paying attention to MAGA tactics,” Burkett wrote in an email. “If Dolores Public Schools and Boebert get away with this stunt, it could be copycatted across the nation as a new approach to young voters.”

Blincoe acknowledges that Boebert’s comments did include some political spin and that, in hindsight, the district could have been more transparent. But the congresswoman’s presence also gave officials an opportunity to lobby for much-needed funding for the rural district, for which the superintendent says he makes no apologies.

Through a spokesman, Boebert — who represents Colorado’s sprawling 3rd Congressional District — lamented that her visit turned into a partisan issue and called the opportunity an honor.

Boebert denied making political comments at the school, saying she instead was “just explaining the basics of civics and government and the way things operate and giving them kind of an insider’s look without a partisan lens. I think that it was well received and the students were amazing, friendly and welcoming… they were a joy.

“It’s sad that people would even consider that and maybe even place that seed of doubt in students’ minds, blocking them from receiving information that they can learn about their federal government,” she continued.

“NOT” a political event

Last fall a civics class at Dolores High School expressed interest in speaking with Boebert, though she wasn’t available until this spring, Blincoe said.

Word of the congresswoman’s upcoming visit spread quickly throughout the district.

Burkett, whose children are in preschool and elementary school, emailed district leadership, asking them to stream Boebert’s address. She expressed concern over the congresswoman’s public stances and the type of environment the event would foster in the schools her children would one day attend.

“In a sense, by extending this invitation, the school has taken the position that they like Boebert,” Burkett wrote. “By giving her the privilege of speaking to our youth, you are turning a blind eye to her harmful rhetoric over the years (and ostracizing those who her words have hurt).”

Cooper, whose children are in elementary school, also wrote to school officials, questioning whether Boebert — famously fond of guns — would be armed when she visited.

Two days before the congresswoman arrived in Dolores, school district officials emailed parents with details of her visit.

Boebert was coming to offer students a “rare chance to hear from the sitting congresswoman from our region and to promote civic engagement,” the message said. No, parents could not attend. No, Boebert would not carry a firearm on campus.

Students were not required to attend, the message continued, and those who wished to skip could go to a different classroom during that time.

The message stressed that Boebert’s visit would “NOT” be a political event.

But Leigh Sand, another parent in the district, noted that a public appearance by Boebert is inherently political. The congresswoman is already on the campaign trail, seeking a third term in the 2024 election.

“She is addressing students who are, or are about to be, voting age,” Sand said. “The other kids, they’re still children and are extremely impressionable.”

“Let’s talk about the word ‘spin’”

The day Boebert arrived at the Dolores Middle & High School, Blincoe said perhaps 250 of the school’s 300 students attended. From the stage, the congresswoman urged students to recognize their own value, The Cortez Journal reported. She spoke of her family and said students can participate in elections to determine which candidates best reflect their values.

The congresswoman’s remarks also turned to the COVID-19 pandemic and how government responses curbed individual freedoms, The Journal reported. She spoke of her work as part of the far-right House Freedom Caucus.

Boebert also brought up efforts to delay the election of U.S. Rep. Kevin McCarthy as speaker of the House in January, Blincoe said.

Her stance during that House election was highly controversial, even among Republicans, though also lucrative for her campaign, Politico reported.

Boebert painted the House speaker election as a positive and “beautiful” thing, Blincoe recalled, acknowledging that the comments took a somewhat political bent.

“I wish I could have stood up and said, ‘Hey boys and girls, let’s talk about the word ‘spin.’ Everybody does it and this is what you need to know,’” Blincoe said.

Nothing Boebert said, though, made Blincoe gasp, he said.

“Did she stand up and say, ‘Republicans are beautiful and Democrats are pieces of crap?’ No,” Blincoe said.

After she spoke, Boebert stuck around to snap a few pictures with some students and then Blincoe and the school board members took the chance to ask her about federal funding for their district.

“If the devil himself came around and had an application for a couple million dollars, I may apply,” Blincoe said. “I’ll go to bat for my students and community.”

District officials learned after scheduling the congresswoman’s visit that they could apply for a seven-figure grant through her office, so they seized the opportunity, Blincoe said. The grant played no part in deciding to host Boebert, he said.

But parents who spoke with The Post remain skeptical. They have no transcript of what Boebert said, so they started filing open records requests with the district to learn more about how the event came to be.

Boebert’s team also offered to visit the Montezuma-Cortez School District in January, superintendent Tom Burriss said, not long after the House speaker election.

“She wanted to explain how the government works and how all that came out,” Burris said.

Because his district lags behind most others in the state for student achievement, Burris said the school couldn’t afford to lose any classroom time, so he “respectfully declined” the congresswoman’s offer. Instead, he said he’d give her a tour of the facilities but her staffers didn’t take him up on it.

More than a month has passed and Blincoe notes that a minority of parents opposed Boebert’s visit and are continuing to raise the issue.

Overall, Dolores’s Montezuma County is split in its support for Boebert. During her 2022 race against Democratic challenger Adam Frisch, the county voted 57% in Boebert’s favor and 43% for Frisch.

The superintendent acknowledges, though, that perhaps the school should have streamed the address. They have the capability, but he noted that Boebert’s visit came together in just a few weeks and the short timeline complicated that request.

All told, Boebert’s March 15 address brought an unforeseen level of controversy to the Dolores School District, Blincoe said.

He paused when asked what he’d do if the situation arose again.

“Phew,” Blincoe said with a nervous laugh.

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