RRPS School Board hears reports, approves grant requests

RIO RANCHO – The Rio Rancho Public Schools District Board of Education had a lot of questions when they met on Monday, Feb. 24, to hear reports and approve grant proposal requests.

Superintendent Sue Cleveland and Board President Amanda Galbraith were joined by board members Jeffrey Morgan, Jessica Tyler, Gary Tripp and Beth Miller.

First up, the board heard from the principal of RioTECH, Dr. Kris Johnson, who presented a report about the recent donations and projects RioTech has invested in with the help of TLC Plumbing, Heating and Cooling, a local HVAC company, and Leadership Sandoval, an education initiative designed to ensure continuity of leadership in education programs.

The project, which involved two working groups of eight people each and took 10 months to plan and execute, regards the HVAC Refrigerated Air Conversion Facilities Project at Ernest Stapleton Elementary School.

According to Johnson, the project consisted of retrofitting two portables at ESES with new heating and cooling systems.

“You all might want to start thinking about what it’s like to start teaching on July 30 in a portable classroom [without air conditioning]. ... It’s a miserable experience,” said Cleveland. “I can just tell you this is a very exciting project.”

The good work doesn’t end there, though. Johnson expressed a desire to do further projects, including purchasing six new “Buddy Benches” and new paint.

The second report was from RRPS Elementary Improvement Officer Jenna Chenault and Dr. Kurt Schmidt, executive director of fine arts for RRPS. The pair presented the board with an explanation of the “crosswalk between arts integration and Montessori” learning formats. The pair were joined by the man who literally wrote the book on arts integration, Sean Layne (author of “Acting Right: Building a Cooperative, Collaborative, Creative Classroom Community Through Drama.”)

Overall, the plan is to combine the elements of Montessori learning used by the district into the emerging plans for Arts Integration at Sandia Vista Elementary School. The presentation involved explaining what each style is, where the district stands now, and what it will look like in the future as the district moves toward total Arts Integration.

According to the Kennedy Center, arts integration is “an approach to teaching in which students construct and demonstrate understanding through an artform. Students engage in a creative process which connects an art form and another subject area and meets evolving objectives in both.”

Chenault gave a list of the benefits of arts integration, which included fostering student and teacher creativity, getting students moving and introducing new ways of assessing progress, among many other documented benefits.

In addition to the presentation, the board was provided with a number of studies about the benefits of such an approach.

One study Chenault and Schmidt cited for the board involved identifying five key areas in which Montessori and Arts Integration overlap.

• Interdisciplinary learning

• Creativity

• Holistic development

• Self-expression

• Collaboration

Schmidt, Chenault and Lane fielded questions from the board before moving on.

Next, the board moved to the public comment phase of the program. There were no public comments in person.

There was one online comment submitted. Galbraith summarized the online comment, saying it was concerning special education programs and the hiring of special education teachers.

The board then moved on to a proposal to end the Montessori program at Sandia Vista.

“So, the first thing we heard is to combine the two, and this would be to sunset the Montessori program?” asked Galbraith.

“Correct,” said Chenault.

The proposal to “sunset” the Montessori program at Sandia Vista passed 5-0.

Next, the board considered approval “to look into a Science Magnet School at Rio Rancho Elementary.” Chenault presented this proposal as well.

“This effort is to increase student choice and spotlight Rio Rancho as an innovative, forward-thinking district,” said Chenault.

The vote was simply to do an analysis over the next school year to see if a magnet school at Rio Rancho Elementary School is warranted.

The proposal passed 5-0.

Among other considerations that were voted on and passed were the approval of the 2025-26 instructional calendar and adding Carl Leppelman to the list of nominees for the School Board Association Excellence in Student Achievement Award. Leppelman was a longtime RRPS administrator who retired last year. He joins fellow nominees Julina Garza and Craig Brandt.

“He gave so much of himself over those years, and I think it’s a great nomination,” said Cleveland.

The board also voted 5-0 to approve the partnership between Leadership Sandoval and TLC.

The other biggest item considered was the approval of the Project Lead The Way Grant (PLTWG). Larry Davis, director of CTE for RRPS, presented the item, which involved a $20,000 grant to Mountain View Middle School.

PLTWG provides STEM grants for elementary schools, middle schools and high schools to implement computer science, engineering and biomedical science STEM curriculum as well as professional development for teachers.

The item passed 5-0.

Lastly, the board considered two requests for proposals. One was RFP No. 2025-016-COO: Special Education Program Review and the other was RFP No. 2025-017-FAC: Architect Design Services for Cleveland HS Classroom Addition and Security Vestibule Upgrade.

Both passed 5-0.

The next board meeting is set for March 10.