Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
The Tucumcari school board unanimously approved a motion to let superintendent Aaron McKinney “move forward with the necessary steps” to acquire city land for a proposed redevelopment of the existing baseball and softball fields.
McKinney also said during the board’s meeting Sept. 16 the district likely would hold a special mail-in election in February on a $3 million bond issue for the project, instead of using the Nov. 5 election.
The district missed an Aug. 27 deadline to file paperwork for the bond election to be on the November ballot. McKinney later blamed that on a communication problem with the district’s bonding company. The special election will cost the district about $10,000 — money the district wouldn’t have paid had the bond vote been on the November ballot.
The bonds, if approved by voters, would not lead to a property-tax increase. McKinney said the February special election “gives us more time to settle this” with acquiring the city land for the ballfields.
McKinney stated one day after the school board meeting a lack of communication with RBC Wealth Management of Albuquerque led to the district being unable to put the bond issue on the November ballot, despite the district beginning the process in March.
“The company we use for bonding takes care of keeping us informed and getting things to our attorneys on time,” McKinney stated in a text. “The guy working with ours is no longer with them and no one picked up the slack.”
“We believe there has been a miscommunication between RBC Capital Markets and the Superintendent,” Ed Jones, a corporate communications officer at RBC, stated in an email Monday morning. “We have reached out a number of times to review this matter with the Superintendent but have not yet received a reply.”
Bond elections aren’t allowed except during odd-numbered years, which would push it to 2021.
The district would be on the hook to cover the special election’s expenses. It held a special mail-in election in February this year to renew a two-mill property tax; voters approved it by more than a 2-to-1 margin.
Quay County Clerk Ellen White said that special election cost the district $10,335, mostly from mailing expenses. White said last week though the registered-voter court in the district had dropped slightly — from 4,400 to 4,320 — she said she wouldn’t be surprised if that number increased because of interest in local races for the Nov. 5 election.
“I don’t expect that to change very much with the cost,” White said.
McKinney expressed confidence a bond-issue vote in February would pass, citing the success of the two-mill vote earlier in the year.
Tucumcari city commissioners during a Sept. 9 public work session seemed amenable to granting that land to the district. Three fields would be given to the district, including the diamond used for high-school girls softball games. The Little League fields would remain city property.
The district would build new baseball and softball fields, parking and a building that would host a kitchen and restrooms on the site.
In other action, the board:
• Approved a resolution where the district would trade three existing school buses for three buses that would contain additional safety equipment. The resolution stated the district “no longer has a need for these, and feel that they are no longer safe to transport students.” McKinney said the new buses would contain technology that would automatically would stop the vehicle if something crossed its path. He said the trade-in for the new, improved buses would cost the district about $8,000.
• The board approved a donation of $5,775 from New Mexico Arts for Tucumcari music students in kindergarten to fifth grade to participate in a Nov. 4-8 residency with Sowah Mensah, a Ghanaian master drummer. The district also received $100 each from David Kirk, Richard Kesten and Altrusa International to purchase instruments and music and to help defray travel costs for the elementary schools Nyoka Mirimba Band.
• The board approved a final reading on policy changes regarding homeless students, withdrawals, chronic absences, truancy and remaining eligible for extracurricular activity, all in accordance with changes in state law.
• The board approved a first reading of policy changes regarding staff orientation, use of technology resources and student harassment or bullying, also to reflect changes in state law.
• Board member Corinne Hayes asked about the district’s school-shooter training in the wake of recent news San Jon was certified as the only school district in New Mexico as ALICE certified. McKinney said Tucumcari staff undergoes regular training, including from New Mexico State Police, for such scenarios and that the district’s basic strategy is “a lockdown in place” when an intruder is reported. McKinney said Aztec High School was in a lockdown when three people, including the attacker, were shot dead there. The sheriff there credited the lockdown for saving many lives. The shooter at Aztec was a former student there.