BPS seeks to expand Algodones, Placitas schools

BERNALILLO — Algodones and Placitas elementary school students could someday have a lot more friends to choose from.

The Bernalillo Public Schools Board of Education passed a pair of resolutions Dec. 22 signaling the district's desire to reorganize Algodones to a pre-K-6 school and Placitas to a K-8 institution. The proposal heads to the New Mexico Public Education Department for approval.

"My thinking is, rolling back programs hasn't helped student retention, so maybe expanding programs will help," BPS Superintendent Matt Montaño said in an interview prior to the meeting. 

The board's decision came following a Dec. 9 town hall meeting at Placitas and online surveys completed by parents, who largely endorsed the plan. The results were strongly considered by the board, and the Dec. 22 meeting was called to move "forward with other administrative requirements for reorganization," Montaño said.

While the Algodones resolution passed unanimously among the five-member board, the Placitas resolution did not, as Board Secretary Christine Suina voted no. She did not elaborate on the reason for her vote during the meeting and did not respond to a request for comment.

Expansion timeline and loose ends

Even if PED approves the school board's request, it does not mean Algodones, a K-5 institution, and Placitas, offering K-6, will expand grade levels anytime soon — or even at the same time, according to Montaño.

The expansion of Placitas, located at 5 Calle del Carbon, could happen as early as fall 2026, but Algodones' expansion is contingent upon completion of an annex located near the school off of New Mexico Highway 313. BPS already received approval for a new school in Algodones from the public school capital outlay council, Montaño said, but with "updated adequacy standards," the district is asking the council for further building expansion.

The bond passed by voters in November 2025 will help fund the Placitas and Algodones expansions, but since that funding will not be enough, BPS is asking the state for support in the building of Algodones Elementary, Montaño said.

Expansion concept

Both "need and desire for community" influenced the idea to expand grade levels at Algodones, which was also in need of a new school, Montaño said. 

For Placitas, the need to achieve grade-level expansion also involves a long-running challenge BPS has had to keep students in the district, according to Montaño.

Several years ago, BPS received the blessing of many Placitas families to expand the school from a K-5 institution to K-6, he said. But families began moving their children out of the district for middle school, citing issues they had with Spartan Learning Academy.

"There was definitely a perception when I first got here (that) the middle school is not a good middle school," Montaño said. 

While Spartan Learning Academy's reputation has improved, he said the BPS is still faced with the issue of some families leaving the district.

"Placitas families may or may not consider Bernalillo to be part of their community," Montaño said. "People have more choices; it's not like 30 years ago, where you go to your local public school. So we're thinking of different ways to keep our kids in our school district."

The superintendent's own research and working with other superintendents led him to believe expanding schools is one way to retain enrollment.

"In my experience working with superintendents around the country, you've got to look at unique partnerships and expanding opportunities, because what's happening is parents are choosing options, and we have to be able to put all the options on the table for them," Montaño said. 

He called the idea to expand Placitas and Algodones "a gamble," but he also believes keeping the schools the way they are is not going to help declining enrollment.

"We could do the same thing we've always done and get the same results ... or we could think about doing things differently and being a little bit more aggressive in what we're doing to retain our kids,"  Montaño said.