After fighting to keep their location, being asked to share the facility with the Española School District and enduring several court hearings to determine their fate, staff and faculty from the Cariños Charter School have finally settled on a location — at least temporarily.
Cariños Board members and Northern Vice President of Finance Domingo Sanchez finalized an agreement allowing Cariños students to use the El Rito campus. The Construction Industries Division of the New Mexico Licensing and Regulation Department and the Public Schools Facility Authority must approve the move, but both parties are confident state inspectors will give their support.
“Paul Aguilar suggested we look into El Rito as an option and we took his suggestion,” Board member Stan Sanders said.
Aguilar is the New Mexico Public Education Department Deputy Secretary for Finance and Operations.
Sanders said state investigators were expected to visit the campus either Sept. 25 or 26 to ensure the facility has the necessary amenities for students.
After their inspection, Sanders said Cariños staff hoped to move by the weekend and begin classes Monday (9/29).
“Nothing has been finalized yet,” Cariños Special Education Department Assistant Liz Lucero said. “We are looking at different options for transportation, food and moving. The District can move us or we can have a moving company move us and the District will pay for it.”
Sanders said the food situation is complicated because of the distance from Española. He said cost is not an issue because the District will pay for accommodations, but the logistics are complex.
“We are looking into the situation,” Española Superintendent Danny Trujillo said. “One option we are looking into is to have a place in Española where they (Cariños employees) can pick up the lunches and take them to their students, but that is not the only option.”
Sanders said he thinks students will eat breakfast before they leave for El Rito, perhaps even eat on the bus.
Sanders said scheduling the buses becomes problematic because of availability. The District has a limited number of vehicles and drivers to escort Cariños students.
Sennie Quintana is the District’s food and transportation services director.
“Sennie (Quintana) said her drivers cannot drop off the students after 9 a.m. and can’t pick them up before 4 p.m.,” Sanders said.
Sanders said Cariños administrators could also use a chartered bus company and have the company invoice the District. Sanders and Lucero both said they are confident the issues can be worked out and said they can always outsource the services and have the District pay for them, since it is the District’s responsibility to provide food and transportation.
Even with the move, Lucero said the charter school still has support from students’ parents.