By Hallie Richwine

The Regular Meeting of the Cobre Consolidated School District Board of Education began on Monday October 23, 2017, following an executive session which lasted approximately one hour.

Before the update on unfinished business the trustees presented Misty Pugmire with a plaque recognizing her retirement after 25 years of service with Cobre Consolidated Schools.

Unfinished business included the consideration of and approval of a resolution authorizing sale of school bonds. Regina Gaysina explained the bonds will be available as of December 1, 2017 with full maturation in 2032. Gaysina also presented information for the consideration of and approval of a bond purchase agreement and the consideration of and approval of an escrow agreement with the Bank of Albuquerque, the trustee of the bonds. After documents are signed they will be sent to the New Mexico Finance Authority. Board member Gilbert Guadiana asked if counsel had approved this arrangement and Gaysina said the bond counsel has reviewed every step of the process.

Superintendent Robert Mendoza presented the new job description for the director of special education after modifications were made by administration. Mendoza recommended an evaluation process be part of the description and that licensure be acquired within the first year of service if it had not been acquired already. If the candidate does not become licensed within that time period they would be asked to step down.

Mendoza also explained the review of the use of facilities policy. At this time administration requested permission to use the new forms that were created, an application for use of facilities and a form signifying the entity using the facility has been trained in brain injury protocol. Mendoza also said they are working to retrieve any outstanding keys from previous use of facilities. The district wants to begin charging for custodial services used by non-school related parties that use the facilities after hours and on weekends. Fees collected would help offset custodial costs and utility bills. Board president Ralph Sepulveda mentioned how much the rising utility costs affect the budget and that other schools charge for the use of their facilities.

Youth wrestling coach Ruben Udero asked if this kind of regulation and control was going to help or hinder the community programs and to consider what the community is doing for the schools.

Vice-president Frank Cordova said that the community does not pay directly toward the utility costs and said, “it’s not the kids we are trying to control as much as the adults. We need to be responsible and control some things to keep costs down.”

Gabriel Holguin agreed that they should try to offset utilities, as long as they are consistent with all programs requesting facility use.

The administration is currently reviewing four use of facilities requests, which Mendoza will negotiate and report back to the board.

A donation has been given to Hurley Elementary School, Rebecca Bartlett donated $350.00 to purchase a new popcorn machine.

During the financial report the board voted on the review of bills after an administration recommendation to approve. Guadiana asked that the director of finance certify the payments prior to board review. Mendoza reminded him that the information is presented to the board prior to the meeting and any questions on specific items can be addressed, however all checks go through the procurement process and any itemization would need to be a request from the board as a whole. Guadiana opposed the vote to approve the bills as presented.

A budget request to help students in need of extra support passed unanimously. This offers extra instruction to fill gaps for students who miss school due to pregnancy, injury, and approved absences.

An increase in the library budget was approved after receiving a grant from the state to obtain additional books and visual aids. This is an adjustment to the budget of nearly $17,000 and if the funds are not used they will be returned.

School Representative Markus Flores reported continuing the discussion to change the test schedule. Students want to improve test scores and utilizing the full time for testing rather than having too many tests per day will help students avoid burnout. Students will bring the principal into the discussion. Other ideas for improving testing include pep rallies and incentive drawings.

The next Regular Meeting of the Cobre Consolidated School District will happen Monday, November 6, at 6 PM at Central Elementary School.