Committee OKs 2 options for school borders
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Of all the scenarios proposed, Option 15C and Option 16A drew the
most support among boundary committee members present at Friday's meeting.
District spokesperson Kim Vesely said the committee was obligated to present
all of the options to the full school board at a special meeting Tuesday
at 5:30 p.m. at the district office,
The board asked for additional input on Opition15C, the original committee
recommendation, because it didn't believe it provided enough relief to the
overcrowded school. But a majority of parents and staff who spoke at the
sessions on Thursday night and Friday morning feared losing too many students
could lead to an unwanted reduction in programs.
Vista Grande is simultaneously the largest school in size (915 students) and smallest in capacity (600) in the district. Options offered by the district would leave Vista Grande between 505 students (Options 16 and 16B) and 764 students (Option 15-C). Option 16A gives Vista Grande 675 students next year, two more than in Option 15C.
Both of the recommended options will move students who reside in Rivers Edge III from Enchanted Hills Elementary to the newest elementary, Sandia Vista. Many parents from the area protested the change in the initial round of public hearings two weeks ago, but none appeared Thursday evening and only two in the Friday session, Vesely said.
Plans 15C, 16 and 16A moved the Rivers Edge III students; 16B and 16C do not. The other difference between the plans is where the dividing lines are drawn. Option 15C uses the proposed path of Paseo del Volcan as the divider, while the other plans use various combinations of Enchanted Hills, Santa Fe Springs and Santa Fe Hills to make the distinction.
All but one of the speakers on Thursday night preferred to keep the school larger in fear of losing programs, especially for students with special needs. District officials, including superintendent Sue Cleveland and associate superintendent Carl Leppelman, tried to assure parents and staff that programs would continue, albeit with possible reduced staff that would likely follow students to Sandia Vista. Even so, several female speakers choked back tears.
The district faces another issue: funding. The state’s first revision of the school funding formula in more than 30 years will be phased in over the next four years, and school officials from all over the state are not sure if the changes will have a positive or negative impact. And with Gov. Bill Richardson and the state legislature in a contest of wills over other funding issues, many fear school funding might be an unintended casualty.
“We’re getting ready to open a new high school and we don’t
have an operating budget yet,”
School funding for capital outlay projects not provided by discretionary funds from the governor or legislature causes other problems. Some of that money is based on what the state identifies as a pressing need for overcrowded schools, even those that could be reduced in size by boundary changes. That means some growing districts such as Rio Rancho are sometimes forced to leave schools overcrowded in order to call attention to their funding needs.
Vesely said Friday night that district officials will be working over the weekend to compile the public comments for the board’s consideration and hopes to have maps of at least the two recommended options posted on its web site this weekend. The district will be closed Monday for the President’s Day holiday.
Elementary Options
15C 16 16A 16B 16C
