Logan turns down grant

The Logan Board of Education said “thanks, but no thanks” to an estimated $50,000 state grant for the district’s preschool for 4-year-olds for the 2022 fiscal year because of accumulating red tape.

That preschool program will continue at Logan, but superintendent Dennis Roch said the district would make up the shortfall through its operational fund or using federal Title IX funds.

During the board’s Feb. 8 meeting, preschool teacher Angie Medrow detailed the growing burdens the state has added to her and other staff members in exchange for the grant. She said the state requirements add 2 1/2 to 3 hours of work nightly and require 45-minute meetings on the Zoom videoconferencing program. State employees visit every two weeks, she said, and staff members often are absent because of mandated training.

“It’s time-consuming,” Medrow said. “I could be doing something else.”

Roch noted Logan also declined the state grant some years ago because of similar red-tape complaints. Logan re-enrolled in the program about 2015 because state officials assured the district it would not be as bureaucratic.

Roch said the state program provided about $52,500 last year. Despite the board voting to forego the grant, Roch said he would keep the preschool program going.

“We are are committed to the program,” he said. “We are not committed to take the money with all the conditions attached.”

In other business:

• The board approved scheduling spring assessments for grades three, four, five and 11 for English and mathematics.

The New Mexico Public Education Department issued more flexible testing guidance this year because of COVID-19 disruptions. Roch said elementary teachers wanted to continue with the tests because the results would help construct their curricula around them. High-school teachers wanted to continue with the testing because of graduation requirements and scholarship opportunities. Middle-school teachers said the testing data wouldn’t be as valuable to their students after months of remote learning and would cause them to lose a week of instruction time.

• Roch said more staff members were pressed into service last week as the middle school and high school held in-person classes for the first time since March. He said all classes but a few electives are being taught in-person.

Roch also said Logan’s secondary students are “not quite on pace” academically as elementary students, who began in-person classes in September, are in a normal year. Roch and the board for months have discussed the academic struggles of students in online learning.

• In his facility report, Roch said he recently found a vendor for air-filtration machines that can be placed in every classroom. He said he likely would apply for a grant to cover their cost. Air filtration remains a high priority in schools during the pandemic.

• Roch said he would look for a grant to buy Promethean boards – an oversized computer tablet – to install in every classroom. He said the district’s current smartboard technology is about 20 years old and is showing its age.

• The board approved the sole bid of $21,000 from RBM Construction Inc. to reconstruct a boundary wall and add a shade structure on the district’s northwest grounds. Roch said the shade often is needed for elementary students during sunny days.

Later, in his facility report, Roch said he is seeking another shade structure for preschoolers.

• Since many public schools have returned to in-person classes this month, Roch said COVID-19 surveillance testing now is required of 25% of staff. Since the district has gone to saliva tests instead of uncomfortable nasal swabs, he said far fewer staff members have refused to take them.

• The board approved the financial audit from De’Aun Willoughby of Clovis for fiscal year 2020. The audit found two findings. One was a $24,880 budget deficit in the food-service fund caused by a typo. The other was where an employee had too much money accidentally withheld from the payroll program. The worker received a $641 check for the funds over-withheld.

• A representative at RBC Capital Markets of Albuquerque gave a presentation about the district’s finance planning. The district shows “good growth” in revenue but acknowledged the fiscal effect of the COVID-19 pandemic remains unknown.

• The board met in executive session to discuss Roch’s quarterly evaluation and took no action.