Recent accomplishments lauded at May 13 school board meeting

RIO RANCHO — Less than a month after officially naming the 23-acre career technology complex Rio TECH, the CTE building undergoing renovations on Zenith Court now has its own name.

At its May 13 meeting, the Rio Rancho Public Schools Board of Education officially named it the Skilled Trades & Technology Center — “STTC, which rolls off the tongue,” said presenter Carl Leppelman, chief academic officer.

The Central New Mexico Community College (CNM) automotive trades building, which will be erected on the Rio TECH campus, will get its own distinct name as well, with CNM deciding on its name but with RRPS endorsement.

In other business matters, the board approved the application for about $2.8 million in funds through the Fine Arts Education Act, which aids fine arts in the elementary schools, as outlined by Executive Director of Fine Arts Kurt Schmidt, and endorsed approval of the Public School Capital Outlay Broadband Development and Connectivity program for 2024-25, which means about $206,000 for that endeavor.

As usual, the board recognized award-winners and champions of various activities and competitions:

• The Rio Rancho High School girls powerlifting team, which won the state championship last month, was applauded; nine lifters and coaches Ally Salata and Rocky Ramirez were introduced;

• Dr. Kris Johnson, the principal of CTE, lauded the work of DECA students at Cleveland and Rio Rancho high schools, including two locals who were among the top 10s in their categories at the recent International Career Development Conference, and two RRPS students who are on the four-member DECA officers team;

• Educators Rising students and advisors were recognized, with the hope that the students planning to become educators will remain within RRPS; Skills USA students active in automotive and criminal justice, and CHS’s John Booker, also an assistant wrestling coach, was named the “New Advisor of the Year”;

• The Maggie Cordova Elementary archery club (made up of third, fourth and fifth graders) showed up in force to be lauded as the state champion and Emory Barton was feted as an individual state champ; the MCE team competed in Sandy, Utah, at the Mountain America Center for coach Toby Jackson, who noted that although MCE has the only elementary archery club, CHS RRHS and the four middle schools have archery offered; 2,000 students in RRPS elementary schools participate in archery; and

• Schmidt led recognition of the Lincoln Middle School choir, which placed third in the middle school division of the recent New Mexico Activities Association’s competition; plus the CHS concert choir, which was third in its division, and the CHS Wind Symphony, which won the state Concert Band Contest.

Schmidt also told the board the National Association of Music Merchants named RRPS as one of 975 national “Best Community for Music Education” sites in the country, and one of just four in New Mexico. It’s the sixth year in a row RRPS has garnered that designation, Schmidt added.

The last day of school is May 24. Also announced was the fact that the four high schools combine for 1,192 graduates this month.