After 10 years of operation, Cariños de los Niños Charter School will close its doors to students at the end of the school year.
The Cariños Board unanimously passed a resolution, April 30, to close the school on June 30. Students in kindergarten through sixth grade will finish classes on May 25, while seventh- and eighth-grade students will finish classes on May 31.
“It is a sad day for Cariños,” Principal and Chancellor Vernon Jaramillo said. “There are many challenges, this one time, that we were not able to overcome, but we bow gracefully as well and we thank our parents, our students who attended Cariños and all its supporters.”
A letter was sent home with students, with more information about the closure.
“The (New Mexico Public Education Department) and (New Mexico Public Education Commission) recently took steps and action towards (sic) starting the revocation proceedings of our Cariños Charter School, through a future pending (New Mexico Public Education Department) hearing, due to our poor letter grades and for other non-compliance issues,” the letter states.
According to the resolution to close the school, there has been a significant decline in student enrollment, budget problems, as well as non-compliance issues.
During the 2013-2014 school year, Cariños had 222 enrolled students, according to an August 2015 Rio Grande SUN article.
At the beginning of this school year, in August 2017, there were 127 students. According to the letter that was sent home with students, there are currently 64 students enrolled in the school.
Vice Principal Bernice Life said enrollment began to drop in August 2017.
During this time, former administrator Deanna Gallegos alleged Jaramillo sexually harassed her on two separate occasions.
Gallegos filed a statement of harm, which included an account of the alleged harassment, as well as allegations that Jaramillo touched a student on the buttocks, as well as kissed her forehead, hugged her and made pseudo-sexual remarks toward her, according to an October 2017 Rio Grande SUN article.
“It was ongoing and not only just right at that time, we had an influx of people leaving us,” Life said.
Parents were also unhappy with the number of teachers at the school.
“I honestly believe, too, that there’s a second reason why some parents have left and that’s because we didn’t have the staff that we needed in our lower grades,” she said. “We had a vacancy in third and fourth, actually in the elementary-level English component and parents found a school where there was a teacher.”
There were seven teachers on staff at the beginning of the school year, now there are four teachers. One is currently on bereavement leave.
Although the Board voted to close the school, they made a last-ditch attempt to keep it open.
On April 18, members of the Board presented a proposal to the Española School Board of to authorize Cariños as a local charter school.
According to a letter written by Española Superintendent Bobbie Gutierrez, neither she, nor any of the Española Board members, requested the proposal be placed on a future agenda for discussion and negotiation.
“It is important that (Española School District) focus on improving its own financial status and operations this time and, unfortunately, cannot afford to engage in negotiations Carinos (sic) that have both financial and programmatic consequences for (Española Public Schools),” Gutierrez wrote.
In 2017, for the second consecutive year, Cariños received an F on its New Mexico Public Education report card.
Out of a possible score of 100, the school received 29.29 points.
The school is scored upon the number of students performing at grade level, students’ academic progress and the improvement of high and low performing students.
If a school receives an F grade for two consecutive years, the Public Education Department allows guardians to transfer their child out of that school and into one with a higher grade.
“I know that our clientele, our students, has changed dramatically over the last few years and our program no longer truly suits — reaches their needs,” Cariños Board President Juanita Cata said during the meeting. “I am satisfied to take a year, or two years even, if necessary, to step back and to really look at putting together a program that will meet the current needs of students.”
Instead of teaching a bilingual curriculum, Cata wants to create a program for at-risk youth and reopen the school in one to two years.
When the school officially closes, Rio Arriba County will take over ownership of the building.
County Commissioner Alex Naranjo attended the executive session portion of the Monday meeting to discuss the transfer of the property.
County Manager Tomas Campos did not return calls, by presstime, inquiring about the planned use of the property.
Jaramillo said the County plans to use the facility to house the RAC-STOP program, which is currently located on Industrial Park Road.
Cariños and County officials are still negotiating the deal and it is unknown how much money the County will pay the school for the building.