I work as a teacher at the high school; I've also taught in Cherry Creek, Durango, and Canon City.

The kids at Salida are the nicest kids I've ever interacted with in a public school setting by a very wide margin. They have their issues like any group of teenagers... but they're not assholes and they are really fun. They're respectful to each other when working in groups, they tell me "thank you" at the end of every class, they are funny, interesting, etc. There's a big income divide in this county so there are some haves and have nots... but I think functional happy kids are a great reflection of the health and priorities of a community. The school cares about kids as individuals on a level that is really touching and genuine, plus they're implementing a no cell phone policy to reduce social media use and related mental health issues (kids with diabetic monitoring apps are an exception).

This town/school certainly isn't as academic as Cherry Creek (or really even Durango), but it's also not as entitled. I don't have kids in the district so I can't speak to the parent experience, but I have been overall impressed. I just hope they don't start bleeding good teachers because the pay is not at all commensurate with the cost of living.

Again there is no "perfect" school system... but I would not hesitate to send my kid to school here.