San Jon picks architect for new school

SAN JON — San Jon Municipal Schools during a special board meeting Wednesday chose Formative Architecture of Albuquerque to design its new school.

Superintendent Alan Umholtz said a district committee looked at 11 architectural firms that expressed interest in designing San Jon’s new school.

He said he was “amazed” at how many firms showed up at the initial meeting about the project, though two declined to submit packets to the committee.

He said the committee whittled the list to four. Those applicants were interviewed a day before the meeting. Umholtz said committee members pressed applicants on the importance of staying on budget and addressing site’s persistent problems with drainage and wind.

Business manager Stormi Sena said the architectural firm “is not going to be cookie-cutter” with its eventual design. She said it would take input from teachers, parents and the community.

The other three finalists also were from Albuquerque.

After the meeting, Umholtz said he hopes to have drawings of the new school from Formative by late summer.

He also said he anticipates a 16-month construction schedule, with San Jon students moving into their new building by sometime in the 2026-2027 school year.

Formative will be paid a percentage of the construction project, which previously has been estimated at about $40 million, which would be paid by the New Mexico Public Schools Capital Outlay Council.

Earlier this year, the outlay council board approved an award of $4.14 million to pay for the school’s design.

District and state officials decided to build a new school at San Jon after determining repairs to the current facility would cost more than $11 million. Fixes would have included new roofs, replacing a deteriorated boiler system, drainage improvements and installing an HVAC system.

Also, the board approved a budget totaling $3.16 million for the 2024-2025 fiscal year.

Sena said the budget accounts for a 37% increase in risk insurance premiums and a 15% hike in medical insurance. Teachers also were given a state-mandated 3% pay raise.

Sena said the district anticipates a cash carryover of about $229,000 at the end of the current fiscal year.

Umholtz again described the district’s budget as “tight,” and added that school officials also expect less grant money in the next fiscal year. He said he cut one position because of its finances.

“We stayed within our limits last year, and I think we can do it again,” he said.

Umholtz briefly spoke about the lawsuit against the state’s Public Education Department on its 180-day rule. A Roswell district judge last week granted an injunction that halts the rule from taking effect until its legality is examined. (See other story in this edition.)

Umholtz said the lawsuit is “much bigger” than preserving four-day instruction weeks at many rural school districts.

“”If PED can change the rules whenever they want, what’s next?” he said.