Now that Cariños Charter School administrators have found a temporary location to educate their students, the next step is to determine where students will be Dec. 4, when their stay at Northern New Mexico College’s El Rito campus ends.
First District Court Judge Sarah Singleton held a status conference Oct. 15 in the case between the Cariños Charter School and Española School District. She called the conference to discuss where students would be located for the remaining academic year and to inquire about the move.
Officials from the state’s Fire Marshal’s Office and the Construction Industries Division of the New Mexico Licensing and Regulation Department performed an inspection of the El Rito campus Sept. 5. It took a week and a half for Cariños and Northern staff to address the issues. State officials gave their approval Oct. 16 after a second round of inspections.
“From what we understand, four of the five issues have been resolved,” Division attorney Tania Maestas said. “The Fire Marshal has to give his final approval and he is performing the inspection as we speak, from what I understand.”
Cariños Administrator Liz Lucero said the Marshal’s Office staff gave their approval the following day and Cariños students began classes at El Rito Monday.
The New Mexico Public Education Department suggested the location, and the Charter School obliged, but there have been a few hazard issues that needed to be addressed before officials could approve the facility for student use.
This is a temporary solution since the lease agreement is for six weeks and Maestas said Division officials would not allow students to remain in the building past that time.
“The repairs that were made to the site is (sic) approved for temporary use only,” Maestas said. “If students are going to remain at the building past that point, then additional changes would need to be made to make the building suitable for student use long-term.”
The two sides are still arguing over food and transportation costs, despite Singleton’s order stating the District is responsible for the cost.
“The logistics have yet to be worked out,” District Board member Pablo Lujan said. “We have not received a resolution for food or for buses that we, as a Board, have to vote on. Until that happens there is nothing we can do.”
Cariños administrators are looking to other options, such as asking the Mesa Vista District to provide food for their students, if problems with Española continue.
In the meantime, both parties said they believe finding a long-term location for Charter School students is the more significant issue, and they are working to find a solution to that problem.
One option is to deliver portables to the former Alcalde Elementary School and teach students there for the remaining part of the year — that is the option Española Superintendent Danny Trujillo would prefer. However, Cariños Chancellor Vernon Jaramillo dislikes the idea.
“The old Alcalde school is too far for us,” Jaramillo said. “Most of our students live around Española and parents cannot travel that far twice in one day, five days per week.”
Jaramillo also said the location is unsafe for his students. According to documents filed with First District Court in Santa Fe, Jaramillo claims the walls at the former Alcalde School were cracking because of the soil on which it was built and that additional supports would be needed if District administrators wanted to build the new school at the same site.
Jaramillo referenced a report created by Terracon, an engineering consulting firm based in Albuquerque. In that report, Terracon stated the building sustained noticeable movement. The report also mentions that cracks were visible throughout the building, such as the library and the courtyard.
However, the report also mentioned there was no visible displacement from the portable classrooms that were already on the premises.
Instead of that location, Jaramillo wants the District to repair the former middle school despite District administrators’ plan to have it demolished. If that is not feasible, then he wants portables installed on the field next to the building.
However, the District’s lawyer, Jacquelyn Archuleta-Staehlin, said there is an issue with the drainage system and the site will continue to flood when it rains or when snow arrives during the winter.
Singleton ordered Dan Hill, an attorney from the New Mexico Public Education Department, to mediate a resolution between both parties regarding food for students, transportation issues and where to house Cariños students once the lease agreement with Northern is over.