RR Tops Needy Schools Listing ; State Agency Ranks Vista Grande First

By ELAINE D. BRISEO Journal Staff Writer

The state has determined that the Rio Rancho school district has one of the greatest needs in the state for new schools or major renovations.

A list ranking 752 schools in New Mexico — from those with the most needs to those with the least — places Vista Grande Elementary first. Colinas del Norte was 30th.

The list was compiled and released by the New Mexico Public School Facilities Authority.

The state ranks the schools to determine which will get funding for their projects. Usually, the state funds schools ranked in the top 100.

Al Sena, Rio Rancho Public Schools director of facilities, said Vista Grande and Colinas ranked high because of the rapid growth in the areas served by those schools. Vista Grande is in the Enchanted Hills subdivision, in the northeast part of the city. Colinas is in the North Hills subdivision.

The 40th day enrollment for Vista Grande was 842 students and Colinas had 851. They are the district’s second and third largest schools, with only Ernest Stapleton Elementary having more with 877 students.

The state uses nine categories to rate a school. Some categories are given more weight than others. For example, a school with health and safety issues or space issues would be ranked higher than a school with inadequate equipment.

The ranking process was adopted a few years ago to take the politics out of awarding schools money. The new process offers an objective way to determine which school districts should receive state money for new construction and renovation projects, according to state officials.

The highest-ranked schools are awarded money through the state’s Public School Capital Outlay Council. Sena said the district would use the money to build two new elementary schools to help alleviate overcrowding at Vista Grande and Colinas.

“Building more classrooms (at those schools) does not make sense at this point,” he said.

Sena said that the district was not too surprised by Tuesday’s announcement. Last month, Gov. Bill Richardson pledged $26 million to the district so it can build two new elementaries. The Legislature must approve the appropriation.

Bob Gorrell, director of the Public School Facilities Authority, said if the money is approved by the Legislature, it will probably still flow through the capital outlay council.

The list released Tuesday is considered a draft. School districts will have the chance to review the list and appeal the rankings if they choose.

A final version will be released sometime in March.