ASK Academy breaks ground on gymnasium building

RIO RANCHO — As student athletes with The ASK Academy looked on, school officials and dignitaries broke ground March 4 on a long-awaited gymnasium that will provide much-needed space for teams.

The 14,524 square-foot, $4.6 million facility, simply known as The ASK Academy Gym, will be located west of the ASK Academy campus once construction finishes next year. While the gym - a space the school does not yet offer - is the prime amenity, there are plans for some additional classrooms, officials said.

“Today we break ground not just on a gym, but on the next chapter of the ASK Academy story,” CEO Ed Garcia said.

The groundbreaking came following not only years of delays due to the pandemic but also the Rio Rancho Governing Body’s approval late last year for the project to move forward. A handful of residents who lived close to the spot where the facility will be built requested it be moved or even downsized to accommodate the needs of nearby neighborhoods. But the controversy was not mentioned Wednesday, when members of the ASK Academy community and five Rio Rancho lawmakers took time out of their schedules to attend the ceremony on nothing more than a dirt plot.

“I can’t wait to get the shovels in the ground,” said Rep. Joshua Hernandez, a Republican whose two daughters attend ASK Academy.

Hernandez said he came to the event more as a parent - a major factor in why he supported the building project.

“It’s great to see ASK Academy growing with spaces where students will be able to learn, compete, graduate, and grow,” Hernandez said. “I can’t wait to see what this building and the future of ASK Academy are going to accomplish.”

Dr. Jason Harper, a member of the ASK Academy’s governing council, recalled his days as a lawmaker from 2013-24 in which he used $5 million in discretionary funding he received to make this project possible. 

“About four or five years ago, we became aware of this project, and we decided this is one of those super important things we want to help fund,” he said. “I want to say thank you to my colleagues for joining with me on this. We are super excited to start construction.”

Harper’s successor, Rep. Catherine Cullen, a Republican, said Garcia visited the legislature numerous times to ask lawmakers to help fund the project.

“It is true Mr. Garcia does reach out - you have to be very proud of him, because when we’re coming up with our capital outlay, we only have a few short days to disburse it,” Cullen said. “Sometimes you have to be right there when we ask you to remind us how much money you need. (Garcia is) right on top of that.”

She added that lawmakers “will continue to support this school” and “we’re very excited for the new building.”

New Mexico Sen. Jay Block, a Republican, told students that the facility is “going to be strengthening your minds and your bodies.”

“Students, I would like to remind you today that it is your mission in life - to strengthen your mind and your body,” Block said. “You’re never too old to keep learning.”

Several of the students - known as “scholars” - he was referring to included members of ASK Academy athletes, who donned purple jerseys as dignitaries wore yellow crew vests for the groundbreaking.

One of those scholars, Riley Parrish, a right-side hitter on the volleyball team, said in an interview following the ceremony that her team members are in need of a new place to play and practice. Although it has been “fun” using E3VB New Mexico on Southern Boulevard Northeast, she believes a gymnasium on campus will help.

“I feel like what we’re missing (at E3) is the fact that it’s so public and the scholars will feel very intimidated by the other teams,” Parrish said. “With (a gym) at school, it won’t feel as public, and we won’t have people comparing themselves to us.”

She anticipates a fresh feeling walking through the doors of the new campus facility.

“It will look new and feel very nice - walking into a gym and being like, ‘Yeah, this is our gym,’” Parrish said.

The facility is expected to take 12 to 18 months to construct, Garcia said.