Rezoning Plan Would Help Area Schools

By JOHN SENA

Plan: El Dorado, Ramirez-Thomas, Sweeney to stay the same

Three of Santa Fe’s most crowded south-side schools would lose 680 students under a rezoning plan approved by the school board last week.

Enrollment at Agua Fra and Cesar Ch vez and Pinon elementaries would drop by 137, 202 and 241 students, respectively.

That’s good news, principals say, but at the same time they are worried that they could lose some resources — and would still need portable classrooms.

“(Rezoning) would give us enough space with the portables for everyone to have a space of their own,” said Cesar Ch vez principal Laura Castille.

But, she said, it wouldn’t mean getting rid of the portables.

Currently, the school has six portable buildings, five of which are used for regular classrooms. Art teachers haul a cart from room to room because there isn’t enough space for an art room. Band is held in the gym. One room, initially intended for a computer lab, is used as a room for special education students.

Castille is also concerned that she might lose key support staff if the school’s enrollment drops below 500. That number is the threshold that determines whether a school qualifies for an assistant principal. A drop in enrollment could also mean the school no longer has the services of a full-time nurse or counselor.

Every student at the school qualifies for free meals and for more than 40 percent of the student body, English is a second language, Castille said, and rezoning does nothing to address those challenges.

“You’re in the same boat as you were before, you just have fewer kids on that boat,” she said.

Castille worries as well that district officials might underestimate the number of students enrolling at her school — something she said happens nearly every year because of the rapid growth on the south side. If that continues to occur, she said, the school will be forced to accommodate students without the proper resources.

Pinon Elementary school, with more than 700 students, has become the poster child for rezoning. But Principal Janis Devoti is more concerned about her facility than cutting enrollment.

Unlike Cesar Ch vez, which was built only 10 years ago, Pinon is an aging building that was put up in pieces over a number of years. It needs 14 portables to accommodate all its students and programs.

The library is substandard even for the 460 students the school is expected to serve after rezoning, though it is scheduled for a remodel. And traffic during pick-up and drop-off hours clogs the nearby neighborhoods.

“Certainly 200 students less would have an impact on the school facility,” she said. But she added that she wants to be sure that rezoning doesn’t detract from other needs.

At Agua Fra Elementary, co-principal Therese Moulton said fewer students would mean that the school will spend less time serving breakfasts and lunches. But, she said, “It’s sad for us that we might lose some families that have been with us for a while.”

Regardless of how these principals feel about the proposed changes, nothing will happen if the school district doesn’t find a way to pay for a new elementary school in the Rancho Viejo subdivision south of the Santa Fe Community College.

The rezoning plan depends on the district’s ability to shift students from schools such as Pinon to a new school for 424 students.

So far, though, officials aren’t quite sure where they’ll find the estimated $800,000 to run the new school.

Deputy Superintendent Bobbie Gutierrez said the district is paying close attention to the work of the state funding formula task force, which has proposed spending about $350 million more on New Mexico schools. That could mean a lot more money for the district.

Officials are also keeping an eye on student enrollment, which drives how much money the district gets from the state, said Caron Snow, chief financial officer for the district.

If the district doesn’t receive more money from the state, officials said they might have to start looking at cutting program costs or the amount of money schools spend on supplies to free up resources.

If the district had to write a check today, Gutierrez said, it wouldn’t have the money for the school. Officials are hoping something changes by the time they have to submit their proposal to the state.

Under the plan, enrollment at El Dorado, Ramirez-Thomas and Sweeney would remain about the same.

The rezoning plan, available on the school district Web site and at public libraries, must still go through a review process that will include public comment. Officials have not determined when that will happen.

Contact John Sena at 986-3079 or jsena@sfnewmexican.com.

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