Board waits on land deed

The Tucumcari School Board seemed receptive to deeding over land used for the homecoming bonfire to Mesalands Community College but decided against doing so until the college was ready to proceed with constructing student housing on that tract.

College President Gregg Busch said early enrollment at Mesalands had risen dramatically from a year ago and that students were taking up a wing of the Best Western Discovery Inn in Tucumcari because of the lack of student housing.

Busch said it was becoming “more and more critical” for the college to develop more student housing, plus luxury apartments for faculty.

Mesalands officials first brought to the board the bonfire-property proposal in December 2019. The college’s previous president, John Groesbeck, told the board in a February 2020 he wanted to build a 150-room dormitory on the land that sits near the former armory building. Groesbeck was fired two months later and filed a whistleblower and retaliation suit, which is pending, against the college.

Busch told the board during its Aug. 16 meeting said he wanted two changes with the proposed deed with the school district. One was to extended the deadline to develop the land into student housing from 10 years to 15 years. Busch said he is requesting the additional time because finding funding for such a project often is a slow process.

Another change to the proposed agreement Busch wanted is the college providing an alternate site for the bonfire. Busch said he couldn’t do that because of liability concerns. He said a few years ago, an ember from the bonfire landed on the roof of Building A on the college campus and started a fire. McKinney and other board members said later in the meeting they did not recall such a fire.

Later in the meeting, at least two board members voiced reluctance to turn over the tract to Mesalands for now. Board member Jerry Lopez made a motion for the school district to retain the property until Mesalands was ready to move forward with the student-housing development and if the terms were acceptable. The board passed the motion unanimously.

During a board of trustees meeting the next day, Busch indicated he was amenable to the arrangement.

In other business:

• The board heard a presentation from Carol Helms of the Cuddy & McCarthy law firm in Santa Fe, the district’s legal representation, about expected roles of the superintendent and board members. Helms said the superintendent is the CEO of the district, and board members represent the community. She said when the superintendent and board are divided, student achievement declines.

McKinney said after the meeting that Helms had been scheduled to give her presentation to the board more than a year ago, but it was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

• In board comments, Lopez suggested the district look into more safety options and more anti-bullying presentations. He said his concerns sprang from a 13-year-old student being fatally shot by another student Aug. 13 on the campus of an Albuquerque middle school. McKinney said he was looking into bringing in counselors to address mental-health issues.

• Also in board comments, Matthew Pacheco said he was happy students had returned to in-person classes last week but expressed concerns about the rising numbers of COVID-19 cases. Pacheco noted each person infected with the Delta variant on average infects five to eight other people, compared to earlier variants that were less contagious.

McKinney said he likely would shut down a school if it had three cases during a two-week period to preserve ongoing sports seasons. Shutdowns once were automatic once four cases were confirmed in two weeks. However, the PED three days later announced a change in rapid-response protocols and that school closures no longer would occur after four cases in 14 days. Instead, the PED stated it instead would work with schools to implement enhanced COVID-safe practices that will maintain in-person learning as much as possible.

McKinney also said school buses and other district-owned vehicles must have the windows down and no air conditioning while transporting students. He also said that sports teams staying in hotels overnight can allow only one unvaccinated student per room. McKinney said additional travel costs associated with coronavirus safeguards will be accounted for in the district’s budget.

• The board approved a resolution of participation in the Local Government Road Fund Program. The district will receive $17,410 from the state, with the district’s share being $5,803. The money will be used to pave, improve drainage and extend a parking lot where the old maintenance shop existed. It would be used for extra staff parking and parking for athletic events.

• The board without comment approved the final reading of a policy advisory regarding child protections and reporting suspected child abuse.

• The board approved an ancillary salary schedule for teachers in the 2021-2022 school year. Pay ranges from $50,749 for first-year teachers with bachelor’s degrees to $64,000 for 25-year veterans with master’s degrees.

• Assistant superintendent David Johnson provided a few details about more than $3 million in federal American Rescue Plan money, of which 20% must be used to address loss of learning during the pandemic. McKinney said new air conditioning units for several schools likely would be installed early next year but wouldn’t guarantee it would happen that soon because many climate-control contractors will busy installing such units around the state.