A School Store Gives Cortez Students Access to Essential Items

Many Cortez students can’t afford new shoes or lack basic items like warm clothes or hygiene supplies. After years of watching students use holiday gift programs to buy necessities instead of presents, one school resource officer wanted to create a year-round solution. Her idea? Launch PantherMart, a free store where Montezuma-Cortez School District middle school and high school students could find essential items. LOR’s funding helped stock the store with socks, shoes, hygiene products, and other basic supplies, ensuring Cortez students can focus on learning rather than the necessities.