School board outlines 2025 priorities, handles other business

RIO RANCHO — The theme was “the future” at the most recent RRPS School Board meeting Nov. 18 as the board outlined its legislative priorities for 2025.

They also took public comments concerning the future of Safe Space signage in RRPS schools, the future of Policy 806 (“Agendas and Orders of Business for Board Meetings”) and who will be awarded a districtwide landscaping maintenance contract.

Legislative prioritiesGet the funding back.

That’s the overall directive for this year’s list of RRPS School Board legislative priorities.

The 60-day legislative session runs from Jan. 21 to March 21, 2025, but Dec. 13 is the deadline for submitting capital outlay requests.

RRPS chief legal counsel Loren Hatch gave the priorities report to the board.

The “administrative priorities” of the RRPS Board of Education include restoring lost FY25 funding, extending the timeframe of SB131 match reduction to FY30, increasing professional development time allowances for K-12 teachers and reinstating the out-of-school-time funding that was lost for FY24.

Another administrative priority is clarification of background check requirements for CTE internships. Currently, all adults working on campus with students must have a full background check.

CTE internships, however, often happen off-campus. The board is seeking to clarify the regulations around how many employees at these off-campus sites will require full background checks.

“It’s a balancing act,” said Hatch. “An example would be, let’s say [CTE educators] gets an intern placed at an auto dealership. Does everyone at the dealership need to be background checked? ... Can one person get a background check and stay with the student at all times? ... And it’s not clear to me from the statute at this point.”

Some of the legislative funding priorities include investing in CTE, competitive benefits packages for education employees, transportation funding, school safety funding, teacher licensure advancement, funding for special education positions, funding for cybersecurity and capital outlay improvements.

These priorities were submitted to the New Mexico School Board Association for inclusion in the legislative agenda.

Public commentsThere were a number of public comments at this meeting, and they were heated.

The Safe Space signage that was removed from RRPS schools has been a source of community debate since it was removed last year.

Board President Amanda Galbraith read the names and subjects of the nearly two dozen online comments the board received, and then in-person comments were heard.

Per RRPS bylaws, the board was unable to respond to public comments not already on the agenda. Safe Space signage was not on the agenda for this meeting.

There were five speakers in attendance, representing both sides of the issue.

Anti-Safe Space speakers included Denise Weaver, who spoke about the signage “affirming mental illness” and promoting communism. Tanya Watkins spoke about springing into action when she heard pro-trans groups were trying to get the Safe Space signage reposted. Pastor Roy Weaver spoke about the signage segregating students.

“As a mother, as an educator, I feel ALL children should feel safe when they go to school,” Watkins said.

Pro-Safe Space speakers included Erica McDowell from Listen New Mexico, a local LGBTQ+ rights group. Lastly, clinical mental health specialist Richard Strife spoke about the benefits of the signage for LGBTQ+ students with neurodiversity issues.

“According to the Trevor Project, 41% of LGBTQ+ teens have considered attempting suicide. This is a suicide prevention strategy,” McDowell concluded.

Landscaping contractThe board heard from Michael Madrid, RRPS director of purchasing and chief procurement officer, concerning the landscaping maintenance contract for the district.

According to Madrid, the contract has four bidders which he asked the board to consider.

Specifically, the contract is for “comprehensive landscaping maintenance services for outdoor spaces across the district. The goal is to keep all outdoor areas safe, clean and visually appealing.”

The board heard the report, but nothing was voted on.

Policy 209This board policy outlines the order in which meetings proceed. The proposed change would simply move the “Public Comments” section of meetings to after the “Reports” section rather than before.

Other businessThe board also handed out two fine arts commendations, one to the Rio Rancho High School Marching Band for its state championship victory, and one for Cleveland High School junior Kiana Aragon for getting first place at the State Fair Arts Show.

Potential new graduation requirements were also discussed.

The next RRPS School Board meeting takes place at 5:30 p.m. Dec. 8. To view a livestream or recording of the meeting, visit the RRPS YouTube page, @RioRanchoPublicSchools-RRPS.