Education

Los Alamos Public School officials are hoping that when the district’s request-for-bonding ballot arrives in the mailboxes of Los Alamos residents in early January, residents will vote “yes” for the district to release another $20 million in general obligation bonds to help the school system rebuild its infrastructure.

If the bond request sounds familiar, it’s because residents already voted for the bond issuance back in 2009. Then, residents voted for a one-time tax increase to fund $40 million in general obligation bonds for a project dubbed the “20-year Facilities Renewal Plan.”

The district has already spent $20 million and is sending out a ballot again in early January asking residents for permission to release the next $20 million.  

While the last bond funds cycle was earmarked for improving and renovating Los Alamos High School, LAPS officials have made Aspen Elementary School the next top priority in this round, asking residents for $12.4 million in bonds to fund a total rebuild of the school. New Mexico’s Public Schools Facilities Authority has even pledged an additional $5 million toward the rebuild of Aspen — if the voters approve the bond.

Congressman Ben Ray Luján of New Mexico’s Third District highlighted $25 million in Race to the Top funds that New Mexico will receive to improve education in the state.
The grant from the Department of Education is part of the Early Learning Challenge that focuses on improving early learning and development programs for young children by supporting states’ efforts to:
• increase the number and percentage of low-income and disadvantaged children in each age group of infants, toddlers and preschoolers who are enrolled in high-quality early learning programs;
• design and implement an integrated system of high-quality early learning programs and services; and
• ensure that any use of assessments conforms with the recommendations of the National Research Council’s reports on early childhood.
“Education is the key to unlocking opportunities for our children and preparing them to be leaders in our community,” Luján said. 
“It is vital that New Mexico’s children get off to a strong start with a solid foundation, and these funds through the Race to the Top program will enable New Mexico to invest in early education that is a critical component to future success.”
New Mexico will receive the $25 million award over four years.

What began as a routine contract approval hearing turned into anything but, at a recent Los Alamos Board of Education meeting. Problems zeroing in on the school district’s aging infrastructure quickly took center stage.

It all started when the Los Alamos Public School District’s purchasing manager, June Gladney, informed the board that the district has secured a contractor to repair the roof at Piñon Elementary’s “200” building, without the school board’s official approval. Usually, the school board would have a small debate about the specifics of the proposal, but this time, in order for LAPS to take advantage of state funding, the project had to be completed by the end of December.

That is why the school district decided to go ahead with the project with little input from the board, merely requiring board President Kevin Honnell’s signature to start the project off before the board had time to look into the specifics of the contract.

“To this end, the department has been very proactive to meet the Dec. 28 deadline,” Gladney told the board. “PSFA (Public School Facilities Authority) funding expires Dec. 31.  There is no getting around that, and that means this project has to be finished by Dec. 28, and that is what we told the contractor.”

Counselors have been on hand at Los Alamos High School and middle school since Monday, and they will continue to be available as students and faculty mourn the passing of Nikolas Ventura-Arencon. His funeral was Wednesday morning at Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church.

Ventura-Arencon, 14, and a freshman at LAHS, was killed in a car accident on N.M. 4 last week.

Since the accident, LAHS has been taking an active role in making sure students who knew Ventura-Arencon get the help they need to deal with the sudden death.

Guidance Counselors Prentice Chatfield, Danielle Straate, Enid Burgess and Cindy Black have been visiting classes and talking with students about Ventura-Arencon.

“We’ve had different reactions as any group of students would,” Straate said. “Some don’t react, some are crying, it’s very individualized.”

Though events like this don’t happen frequently, the staff does have specialized training to help students deal with what has happened.