LL Schools BOE pauses closure plan for RGE

LOS LUNAS — Over the summer, the Los Lunas Schools Board of Education announced its intent to close Raymond Gabaldon Elementary, but the district is now applying for funding for a rebuild of the campus.

Discussion regarding the potential closure of RGE was first heard at a board meeting in May, when Los Lunas Schools Board of Education President Michelle Osowski presented a proposal for the closure of the school to the alarm of many RGE community members.

As outlined in multiple presentations and discussions, the reasons for potential closure included a combination of factors ranging from declining enrollments, budget constraints, under-utilization of facilities and school building adequacy concerns.

“In 2023, the estimated construction improvement project cost for RGE was $26.7 million. We do not have $26.7 million in cash reserves. We will not have $26.7 million in cash reserves to where we can handle just the renovation of RGE,” said Osowski at the May meeting.

In June, the BOE then unanimously approved establishing a work plan to close RGE by the end of the 2026-27 school year. At the meeting, then superintendent Ryan Kettler shared a timeline for determining RGE’s future, which highlighted a pre-k award from the Public School Capital Outlay Council as a significant obstacle in how to proceed with RGE.

He explained district personnel would meet with the New Mexico Public School Finance Authority to identify and review all options for the award to build a pre-k center at the school, as that would determine next steps for RGE.

Discussion regarding the work plan and RGE’s future remained dormant until a BOE meeting in October in which Acting Superintendent Susan Chavez gave an update on RGE.

“District administrators met with the PSFA officials in late summer. They provided the district the opportunity to modify the current pre-k award to a full standards-based award,” said Chavez. “Board approval will allow the district to proceed with a full standards-based award (application) to the PSFA and this will include a complete rebuild of RGE with a full pre-k center, so we are very excited.”

The board approved moving forward with applying for a full standards-based award at the October meeting.

During a recent phone interview, Chavez said the district is currently completing the process to apply for a full standards-based award and “within the next few months, we’ll know what’s been approved and next steps.”

She said the district was awarded the pre-k center funding in August 2020, but declined to share the amount that was awarded instead saying the News-Bulletin is welcome to file an Inspection of Public Records Act request.

The News-Bulletin did so and is awaiting a response, but in the meantime the newspaper found documentation from PSCOC that shows a state contribution of $2,805,660 and a local match of $1,647,769 for phase one of the project to “renovate 8 pre-k classrooms at Raymond Gabaldon Elementary School to create a westside Pre-K center in the district.”

Chavez said the district did not use the award due to many moving parts, including the pandemic and moving forward with construction of Peralta Elementary.

Chavez confirmed funding for a rebuild of RGE is not guaranteed, and should it be denied, “that would be something that we would have to consider at the time, but right now, we’re focused on going to PSFA for that full standards-based award.”

The News-Bulletin asked Chavez why the PSFA wasn’t contacted about potentially modifying the pre-k award before the board decided to announce its intent to close RGE.

“The pre-k center has always been the award that was given to us ... we hadn’t met with PSFA to know that it was an option to change it to a full standards-based award,” Chavez responded. “We didn’t have that information yet.”

When asked questions for clarification on the board-approved work plan for closure, including its current status and if it would be continued or discontinued based on the results of the rebuild application, Chavez repeatedly stated that the plan right now is to move forward with the full standards-based award application.

The News-Bulletin then contacted Osowski for further clarification.

“Continuing or pausing the schedule of events in the approved work plan is a board decision. This topic is on the next regular board agenda,” Osowski wrote in an email dated Dec. 14. “Considerations each board member may reflect on when voting to continue or pause the work plan may include the pending decision of the (PSCOC), and board members may reveal their individual considerations or concerns during the discussion segment of this agenda item.”

Osowski was also asked why the PSFA wasn’t contacted about potentially modifying the pre-k award before the board decided to announce intent to close RGE.

She said outreach to or communication with the PSCOC is a function of the superintendent, and she does not know if they were contacted about modifying the award prior to the discussion and vote to implement the work plan.

“It is possible the superintendent in place during the summer, fall or winter 2023, or early spring 2024, did contact the PSCOC to gain insight on the options. I do not recall hearing that the PSCOC was contacted about the possibility of converting the pre-K award to a standards-based award during spring 2024 as the board began public discussions about RGE,” she wrote.

“Moving forward, I am sure this is a question the board, or future boards, will direct the superintendent to ask and report to the board when these types of applications are made on behalf of the district.”

At the Dec. 17 BOE meeting, Chavez told the board there has been no work done toward closing RGE, and the board unanimously voted in approval of pausing the work plan to close RGE by the end of the 2026-27 school year.