Portales schools prepping for bond election

PORTALES — Staff at Portales Municipal Schools is getting set to encourage voters to keep a bond in place that would provide $7 million over four years for various projects.

Superintendent Johnnie Cain discussed the Feb. 16 all-mail election, and said a pamphlet of the various projects the $7 million would fund should be distributed later this month.

The Roosevelt County Clerk’s Office will handle the election, with the district covering the approximate $12,000 cost. Ballots will be mailed to the district’s registered voters on Jan. 19, and would be due by 7 p.m. election night.

Board member Rodney Savage said the all-mail vote should highlight the high number of registered voters who no longer live at those registered address. Savage noted that when he was running in the Republican primary for the Roosevelt County Commission, he purchased a list of registered GOP voters in the county. He mailed each one, and he estimated at least a third of those cards came back to him as undeliverable.

“I think the county’s voting list needs to be purged,” Savage said, and asked the district to track how many ballots come back to the district or the clerk’s office in that manner.

In other business at the Monday virtual meeting:

• Board members recognized all-state selections from the Portales High band and choir.

Applicants auditioned virtually from a selection of pieces received in April, and a sight-reading component was also included.

All-state band selections were Audrey Roberts, Angel Torres, Malia Poyer, Treylynn McKinley, Zoe Roy and Claudia Pietrzak. All-state choir selections were Adrianna Garcia, Taryn Wood, Emma Hurren, Brock Fowler and Olivia Fowler.

Also, PHS Band Director Kelli Morrison was honored as a runnerup for the Claes Nobel Music Educator of the Year. Morrison said she was nominated by Torres, and will be able to join various national panels to further her development.

“I was honored to even be nominated by Angel; I appreciate her for doing that,” Morrison said. “And I am honored to be a recipient of that award.”

• Rebekah Mitchell, the advisor for Ed Rising, discussed the Portales lights parade and that 32 PHS students took part with decorated vehicles. One of the students, Audrey Roberts, said it was a fun process and she and her little brother were overwhelmed by the number of drive-through visitors the parade received as a static display.

“It was exciting to have some interaction and see people show that they care,” Roberts said. “It was interesting to do something we wouldn’t normally get to do without COVID.”

• In his superintendent’s report, Cain said he was hoping to start working in late January toward in-person instruction at a 5:1 ratio at the middle and high school levels as the district had been able to do at elementary levels.

Schools will be required to do surveillance testing of 10% of staff weekly, using saliva tests recently introduced to the county.

“They’re looking for those asymptomatic folks,” Cain said. “They’re hoping they can identify those people and get them in quarantine before they can possibly infect other people.”

Cain said initial usage of the Curative tests have provided results within 36 hours, but, “when we get a few thousand (participants), I don’t know how that’s going to work.”

Savage asked if testing a higher percentage of staff each week could get the district back into in-person learning faster. Cain said there would be benefits to additional testing, but he didn’t think that would be one of them.

Cain said a total of 74 employees have tested positive in the district, and contact tracing put another 300 in quarantine at various points.

“That’s why you’ve seen so many schools going online,” Cain said.

• Assistant Superintendent of Instruction and Assessment Henry Montano said he’s been notified by the Public Education Department that all assessments are on hold. The district is still preparing for the process just in case the PED reverses course.

Montano also noted the district has 62 students with excessive absences, defined by the state as 36 or more. “I’m sure it’s probably like that statewide,” Montano said.

• Various staff congratulated Cheryl Aguilar, who is retiring as student services director after more than six years with the district. Her last day is Friday.

Becky Flen, who is tasked to absorb many of Aguilar’s duties, has spent the last few weeks learning the position and said, “She’s leaving me in very good shape.”

• Rick Segovia, federal programs director, said the district gave out 350 cookbook and utensil sets as a parental involvement activity, and a district-wide canned food drive resulted in four trunkloads of canned food donated to Consigning Women.

Segovia also recognized Jim Hernandez, who is retiring as the district’s parental liaison.

“He’s put a lot of miles on that car we gave him, and he’s put a lot of miles on those feet,” Segovia said.

• Nutrition Director Shaunna Smith said the district was planning to send out 1,800 five-meal packs during the holiday season. She noted the district put together 1,100 for the Thanksgiving break and exhausted its supply by noon.

• Arturo Ontiveros, PHS principal, said the district had a virtual induction ceremony for National Honor Society, and was floored by the responses to a discussion question: “If COVID-19 disappeared for a day, what would you do?” Ontiveros said he anticipated answers about vacations or shopping trips, but they said they wanted to spend time with friends, go to school or just go to the store and hug everybody they saw.

“They’re worried about getting back to normalcy,” Ontiveros said, “and that put things into perspective.”

• There was a wide spectrum as to opinions on whether sports would resume in February with the latest revised athletics calendar from the New Mexico Activities Association. Cain said, “I don’t see it as likely we’ll get back to athletics until we’re back in hybrid format.”

Athletic Director Mark Gallegos took a different approach.

“I’m trying to say positive and say, ‘We’re going to play,’” Gallegos said. “We’ve been working out the boys and girls before and after school.”

Gallegos commended JD Mead for efforts with the PHS eSports teams, which have ranked as high as 19th nationally in some areas. The NMAA hasn’t put together an eSports season, but the activity’s virtual nature allows for easier competition across state lines.

• The next board meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. Jan. 21.