Design funds approved for new San Jon school

SAN JON — The superintendent of San Jon Municipal Schools received word Thursday that state officials had approved the first phase of designing a new school for the district.

The New Mexico Public Schools Facilities Authority approved an award of $4.14 million to design a replacement for the current school facility. The award included a waiver of the district’s match, meaning San Jon schools won’t have to spend any of its money on a designer.

Superintendent Alan Umholtz said during the board’s meeting Wednesday the PSFA had elevated San Jon’s request as an emergency agenda item for its Thursday meeting.

“I should get the award letter next week,” Umholtz stated in an email Thursday to the Quay County Sun. “Now we start work working on phase two, which is construction. That should pass, also. Great news for San Jon.”

Umholtz said he requested San Jon be placed as an emergency item during the PSFA’s meeting because the district recently had to spend $15,000 to repair a boiler.

Also, a heating unit in the newer gymnasium went down last week, prompting the district to move scheduled high-school basketball games into the older gym. The games, however, were canceled because of a blizzard.

Umholtz said the state originally had in mind a five-year plan to build a new school at San Jon, but PSFA placed it on the emergency agenda “because the current school isn’t going to last five years.”

The district is requesting state funding for a new school because of failing infrastructure throughout its facility, including its boiler system, plumbing and roofs.

It’s been estimated the school will cost nearly $40 million. It would be built on adjacent land owned by the district.

In other business:

— Board President Frank Gibson administered the oath of office to new board member Eddie Ray Behrends, who won the second of two seats by defeating incumbent Brian Watson during the November election.

Board member Dale Bone was re-elected to his seat.

During the board reorganization, Gibson was reappointed as president, as were Bone as Vice President and Cynthia Lee as secretary. There were unopposed in their nominations.

— The board approved the audit report for the 2023 fiscal year.

De’Aun Willoughby of Willoughby & Willoughby CPAs of Clovis presented the report by videoconference.

Willoughby said San Jon was “a very strong district” with its finances, with low liabilities.

The report detailed six findings, though Willoughby said business manager Stormi Sena improved in those matters.

“You guys are going in the right direction,” Willoughby said.

The findings cited underreported wages to the state labor department, incorrect fund reporting to the Public Education Department, late purchase order payments, deficits in available cash balances, late reports to the state’s pension plan and failing to report new hires.

Willoughby also told the board of more than $1 million in cash on hand by the district, about $771,000 was uninsured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. She voiced concerns about the condition of the U.S. banking industry due to loan defaults, and she recommended the district boost its total of insured deposits. Willoughby said more insurance coverage could be obtained at no additional cost.

— Athletic director Bobby Kandel said he’d received about a dozen entries to redesign the school’s sports logo. He said a committee would look at the designs this week, which would recommend three to the board at its February meeting.

After the logo is chosen, Kandel said he would introduce it to the community with new merchandise.

— Noticing the lack of track and field equipment, Kandel said he has contacted other athletic directors in the region on whether the district could obtain surplus equipment from them.

Kandel said the district especially lacks hurdles. He said he was looking at obtaining a grant from the NMAA Foundation or a Future Run Team grant from Brooks, the athletic shoe company.

Board members suggested obtaining a shipping container for less than $3,000 to store the track equipment.

— Kandel, also food services director, said the district has completed its transition to LaBatt Food Service for its supplies. As an example of its cost savings, he said milk costs 40% less than the district’s previous contractor.

On a related note, Umholtz said state payments for food were as much as five months late, and amounts were erratic.

“We’ve never waited this long” for payments, he said. “Thank goodness we have the cash in the bank.”

He said a few cash-strapped schools have been forced to take out loans to meet the shortfall.

— Principal Sharla Rusk detailed assessment reports in August and December of elementary and middle-school students. She said almost all classes showed improvement in math and reading, some significantly.

— The board tentatively set is goals-setting meeting to May 18, one day after graduation.

— The board rescheduled its March 13 board meeting to March 6 because of spring break.