Rio Rancho school board approves $80M bond measure, candidate elections for fall ballot

RIO RANCHO — The Rio Rancho Public Schools Board of Education on Monday approved elections for school board members with open seats and an $80 million bond question for voters this fall.

A proclamation and resolution calling for a bond and school board member elections, set for Nov. 4, were approved by the board during its regular meeting.

The bond would help the school district fund a second pre-kindergarten school and other projects, while the school board election enables voters to consider their choice for three seats out of the five-member board.

General obligation bondThe proposed bond’s featured project — a second pre-K school – would follow Shining Stars Preschool, located at 2100 Lionel St. NE, Superintendent Sue Cleveland told the Observer.

“We have desperately needed (it),” she said, citing a legislative report that said the district has the state’s largest percentage of pre-K children not served by the program. “We’d like to get more children who are eligible to be served.”

But two recent constitutional amendments might hamper the school district’s efforts to build the new school.

The amendments, approved last year, say a veteran with 50% disability can be exempt from the same percentage of property taxes, and any veteran who is not disabled will see a property tax exemption from $4,000 to $10,000 a year. The exemptions also apply to deceased veterans’ unmarried spouses, according to House Bill 47.

Erik Harrigan, managing director of RBC Capital Markets, agreed with Board President Amanda Galbraith’s comment during that meeting that the district not pursuing a bond would “hurt us” due to the factors brought on, in part, by the amendments.

Harrigan told the board Monday that, based on available data, the district’s tax base might be impacted by $253 million.

“We have taken (the amendments) into account as best we can. Of course, until the veterans actually apply for exemptions, we really won’t know the full impact,” he told board members.

Following the meeting, Cleveland said the school district is supportive of veterans and acknowledged that once they apply for tax exemptions, school officials won’t be able to spend as much money as they like on projects.

“We’re not getting a lot of new projects this time. We’re just trying to honor the previous priorities and commitments of the board,” she said.

The last bond, approved in 2023, called for $80 million in projects, according to Cleveland. These include a new building for Independence High School, which school officials broke ground on last month. The district also hopes a new bond will help with maintenance issues, Cleveland said.

School board electionsDistrict 1 board member Gary Tripp, District 3 Board Vice President Jeffrey Morgan and District 5 board member and Secretary Jessica Tyler will appear on the ballot.

Tripp was elected in 2021, while Tyler and Morgan were elected in 2022. Morgan, however, originally filled his seat in 2019 to finish out former board member Katherine Covey’s term. Board President Amanda Galbraith, who represents District 2, and board member Beth Miller, who represents District 4, are not up for election until 2027.