By Margaret Hopper

Cobre school board met Tuesday, May 27 with a bare quorum. In the absence of Toy Sepulveda, president, Frank Cordova, vice president of the board, opened the general meeting at 7:20. Other members present were Fran Kelly and Frank Gomez.

Under unfinished business, the board approved for submission a request for $200,000 from the Public School Finance Authority as an Emergency Packet for plumbing work and joist repairs to Cobre High School. The present plumbing dates back to 1953, when the building was first contracted, according to George Peru. He said the plumbing had worn thin and repairs were needed all over the building, and they could no longer continue to patch it. A major consideration was that the geothermal system installed eight years ago had been fed into the old plumbing as an economy measure, and the repairs now were extensive. This work had to happen soon.

A New Mexico School Board Association Achievement Award was given to Brad Holmgren, social worker and golf coach, in recognition of his efforts to create a putting green for students. The greens are a remarkable achievement, considering the local desert conditions and its vibrant color, according to one board member. The "Open House" is scheduled for this Saturday between 10 and 12 a.m. To attend, directions are to take Royal to where the greens can be seen close to the football and the girl's softball fields.

An administrative request for approval of the 2014-2015 Special Education Budget of
$369,712 was given, and another request for approval of the 2014-2015 Operating Budget of $12,972,301 was also approved. In the financial review of April bills, the board approved the amount of $964,162.81. An amount of $1215 was approved by the board for the budget increase for dual credit instructional materials for the month of April.

Food service workers asked for information for the contracting of cafeteria foods for the next year. Presently, many are contracted through the state, but the staff thought it would like to work with other sources. The board requested that they contact Superintendent Mendoza in another meeting at a later date, as this is an involved request.

Debra Montes and her high school volleyball team asked permission to hold fundraisers in June and July for their Volleyball Camp. They planned bake sales to be held at Silver City's Walgreen, and car washes to raise the funds.

In a letter sent from Santa Fe, one Cobre student was commended for his exemplary conduct at the state baseball tournament as a player. Each year the School Board Association gives a scholarship to one student in each region, and this year a Deming student received the award for Region VIII, it is reported. The Cobre 2014 graduation ceremony will be held in the high school gym this Friday at 6:00 p.m.

As there will not be a quorum available for the June 9 board meeting, the next Cobre board meeting is scheduled for June 23. The public is invited to attend the open session, which starts at 7:00 p.m. or soon after.