COLUMBUS, N.M. — The Board of Education took its regular monthly meeting to the border village of Columbus on Thursday evening, with newly appointed member Sophia Cruz taking her seat for the first time.
Cruz was appointed by the board on Nov. 9 to replace Francine Jacobs, who relocated to Albuquerque in September.
The board meeting came two days after an anonymous threat circulated on social media caused widespread absences from district schools on Tuesday, with Deming High School hit the hardest. There was no mention of the incident on the meeting’s agenda and members of the public who crowded the library at Columbus Elementary School for the meeting did not raise the issue.
February school bond election
The board approved a resolution and proclamation of a school bond election in 2018, which will ask voters to approve general obligation bonds up to $10 million for school buildings or grounds, computer hardware and software for student use, or matching funds for capital outlay projects.
The lone dissenter was Ron Wolfe, who said he wanted to see project proposals with estimated costs before asking voters to approve new debt. Bayne Anderson reminded colleagues that regular bond issues contribute to stable tax rates, and there was agreement among other board members to proceed with the proclamation before a new 5-year plan is complete. Wolfe voted no, but the motion carried. The school bond election is set for February 6.
In other business, the board elected Billy Ruiz as its Vice-President, following the departure of Dr. Jacobs.
School district grade is a D
Teri Trejo, the school district’s Director of Accountability, gave a presentation on the 2016-17 School District Report Card issued by the New Mexico Public Education Department. The district evaluation follows school report cards and teacher effectiveness scores released earlier this year.
The district’s overall grade was a D, which Trejo said has been consistent since the institution of PARCC testing three years ago. Trejo also indicated that several proficiencies are moving up, bolstering hope for higher district grades to come.
A complete breakdown of the six-page district evaluation will be published in the Headlight. The report includes details about the district’s demographics, individual school site performance, professional qualifications of district teachers, and comparisons of local outcomes to state averages.
Trejo pointed to increased proficiency in reading at every grade level except for 9th and 10th, and other increases at the elementary level. Deming High School’s graduation rate is 78 percent. Enrollment in schools across the district stands at approximately 5,400 students.
Columbus Elementary presents 90-day plan
Principal Armando Chavez and Columbus Elementary staff presented the school’s 90-day plan, partly focusing on an improved schedule of classroom observations, feedback by administrators to teachers, and peer-to-peer guidance. In recent years, the school has moved from failing school grades to being one of two schools in the district earning a B last year.
Later in the meeting, Columbus resident Roberto Diaz rose and addressed the board. “[Columbus Elementary] must be doing something correct, going from an F to a B,” he said. Diaz attributed the school’s rapid improvement to bilingual education, and called on the board to maintain stipends that for teachers trained in dual-language instruction. Diaz also called for smaller class sizes.
Loading at the Port of Entry
Deming Public Schools students who live south of the border may need to get up earlier in the morning once the new Port of Entry is complete. Students will need to arrive 30 minutes before boarding their bus to complete immigration screening procedures, in part because the pedestrian path from the port of entry to the parking area will be longer.
Columbus Mayor Philip Skinner appeared with Mario Juarez-Infante of the engineering firm Wilson and Company to present plans for a new loading zone at the new Port of Entry. The loading area itself is not a federal project, said Juarez-Infante, but rather a collaboration among Luna County, the Village of Columbus, and the school district. He said that the firm would be reaching out to local governments in January for monetary and in-kind contributions to fund the project.
