Rio Rancho Public Schools to ask state for more buses following mandated study

RIO RANCHO — Rio Rancho Public Schools said Monday it will ask the New Mexico Public Education Department for more school buses after a study the agency ordered found that the district is transporting thousands of its students efficiently despite a relatively small fleet of buses and a national driver shortage.

The study, conducted by Massachusetts-based AlphaRoute, examined the impact of the district's transportation service should it switch from a four-tier to a three-tier bell schedule. The current schedule, which impacts student pickup and drop-off times, leaves the majority of the district's elementary schools starting instruction later than their peers, which school officials believe is problematic. The current system, they say, does not allow students to take full advantage of the district's opportunities, including after-school programming.

AlphaRoute's study, found on the RRPS website, concluded that switching to a three-tier solution would result in the district needing an increase in buses and operating resources. In two different analyses, the district would need either 95 buses or 86, compared to the 63 currently serving more than 12,000 students, the firm's report said.

RRPS Superintendent Sue Cleveland said during Monday's district school board meeting that she had prepared a letter to the state asking it to fund more school buses.

"I think we have an argument under the Yazzie(-Martinez case)," said Cleveland, referencing a case involving public school parents throughout the state who argued to a judge, who agreed with them, that the New Mexico Constitution failed to provide their children an equal education. "I think we now have some pretty good evidence."

During the meeting, Mike Baker, the district's chief operations officer, quoted the AlphaRoute's conclusion that the RRPS team is "taking full advantage of its current four-tier structure, particularly in light of the national driver shortage." That comment, Baker told the board, refutes PED's reported claim that the district runs an inefficient system.

Without naming PED, Cleveland told the board it was unfortunate "a lot of careless comments were made" about "the efficiency and effectiveness" of the district's transportation system that are false.

PED spokesperson Janelle Garcia did not respond directly to the comments by district administrators in a prepared statement to the Observer. She confirmed that her agency recommended that RRPS conduct a study of its buses and routes following data collection and site visits by PED transportation staff. However, did not endorse a specific vendor, as Cleveland claimed Monday.

"PED has provided feedback and additional recommendations to RRPS and will continue collaborating with the district on this issue," Garcia said.

During Monday's meeting, Cleveland called the study important for the district's transportation needs, "but what it really impacts is learning in the schools everyday."

"I wish we had done this study earlier," Cleveland said. "This study has implications far beyond when we start and end school."

She told the board that the four-tier system has caused the district to lose some of its students, but she did not say how many.

Cleveland said constituents, from lawmakers to parents, have expressed concerns to her about the impact of a later start time on students. The impacts, she said, range from late breakfast for students to no chance of them participating in extracurricular activities.

"So we've eliminated them from some of the things that make the very best part of childhood," Cleveland said.

She said the district spoke to Mariana Padilla, secretary for the New Mexico Public Education Department, who told school officials she was concerned about the 9:20 a.m. instruction start time for the city's elementary schools.

"Concerned about the loss of the some of the best instructional time, she said, 'As the mother of young children, I could not do a 9:20 a.m. start time,'" Cleveland said, quoting the secretary.

Cleveland, who has served the district since its founding in 1994, called it "frustrating" to make decisions about the school district based on transportation of buses.

"That has driven every instructional decision we make," she said. "We shouldn't be making decisions based on schedules."

The study affirms the hard work of the district's transportation staff who "take just an almost impossible situation and make it work," Cleveland said.

Baker, in an interview following the meeting, said the district awaits a response from PED regarding the study. He said the district hopes the agency appropriates emergency funding for its school buses.

"Elementary kids, they don't need a late start, and when they're getting home at 4:30 p.m., it doesn't give them much time to do anything else," Baker said.