The only school in New Mexico operating in a roadside visitors center is looking to relocate and this time, it’ll be in a school building.
La Tierra Charter School opened its doors as a school in the Rio Arriba County’s Oñate Monument Resource and Visitors Center two years ago.
To convert the Alcalde center into a functioning school, La Tierra staff has filled it with makeshift walls, sheets, desks and bookshelves. Yet it cannot be a permanent housing solution for the young charter school.
The lease for use of the center will expire in June, La Tierra Governance Board President Ron Martinez said at the Jan. 28 board meeting.
Director Ed Wood said the current facility does impair the learning of the students and the teachers’ ability to be effective.
“A new environment would give more space and allow the teacher to be more flexible. Right now, the students and teachers are afraid to be loud in case they interrupt the class next door,” Wood said.
This temporary site has one drawback far outweighing the rest: the school enrollment can not grow past the facility’s capacity of 85.
Not only does this hurt the school financially, it also put La Tierra in non-compliance with its own charter, which has since become a contract between the school and the state Public Education Department,
La Tierra Business Manager Deanna Gomez said the school lost $126,000 in state funding this year because it did not meet its projected enrollment.
“Once you have a permanent location, that will help, because you have been losing students,” Gomez said. “You need a location to accommodate new students.”
The school’s charter was approved with a very aggressive growth plan, Martinez said.
The first year in enrollment was projected at 70 students; the second and current year was projected to be 110 students; the third year was 145; the fourth year was projected to be 160 students; and the fifth year was projected to be 180 students.
Martinez said for the school to maintain a solid budget, enrollment needed to be up and growing, though not at the aggressive rate outlined in the charter.
“When we have a permanent location, the parents will be at ease that the school is providing a safe environment for the kids,” Martinez said.
A permanent location is in the works for La Tierra. The school is currently in negotiation with Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo and the Tsay Corporation for the use of the 44-year-old John F. Kennedy Junior High School on Roadrunner Drive.
The building is a block away from the Moving Arts Española Center. Martinez said the building currently is used as office space for a contractor and an architectural firm.
On Feb. 10, Public Schools Facilities Authority Planning and Design Manager Martica Casias did a site visit of the facility.
She will have tabulated the viability and feasibility of the facility by the next board meeting on Feb. 25, Wood said.
If the facility is a viable option for La Tierra, the next step will be to receive approval from the state Public Education Commission.
Wood said the facility will definitely need some work in heating, ventilation, air conditioning, roof repairs and plumbing. In spite of these necessary fixes, the facility looks promising, he said.