By Margaret Hopper
The Cobre school board met at the administrative offices building in Bayard on Monday, April 13. The closed meeting had begun at 6:00 p.m., and according to Toy Sepulveda, board president, they had discussed student identifiable information, limited budgetary information, a cafeteria audit, an audit of baseball and softball finances and limited personnel issues. No decisions were made.
The open portion of the meeting did not begin until after 7:10. All five members were present: Frances Kelly, Frank Gomez, Frank Cordova, Robert Montoya and Sepulveda. There was no unfinished business from March. Razanna Thomas was eager to give her report on an organizational meeting coming up shortly and major directions for her organization, Youth Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition.
Thomas informed the board that her group had plans for increasing the youth council members to three from each high and middle school in the county. The direction her group was looking at was more voice for the area's students, who had said they felt depressed but didn't know how to express their feelings. The coalition itself thought leadership and speaking skills could be taught, and to watch for mental health issues as they supported students.
One important effort, she said, was to look at school policies and to see if some could be rewritten in more reader-friendly language, as she was told local readership levels for parents in this area suggested that fifth-grade reading skills were about average. Her specific interest was those policies about drug and substance abuse, as they were addressed by the schools. She hoped efforts to clarify the language would help parents become interested and involved.
The reality was that reformatting, rewording and reprinting this work would cost the district, and her organization was willing to assist with the financing of such changes, as they would come out of grant funds, but she wanted to help make this information available to the families who wanted it. All this would require help from the board members, and she hoped they would help her coalition members sift through the policy information, telling what parts were state-mandated and not subject to change, and identifying those parts that could be redeveloped.
Sepulveda told her that Cobre had just gone through policy review and revision about a year ago, and that much work had been done at that time, but they could look at it, anyway.
The second major part of Thomas' presentation was to inform the board that this summer they would be again offering the activity theme of "101 Things to Do in Grant County" over the summer. Last year, 48 businesses and groups had participated, and this summer the total would be 63. Students would be given the 101 list, which would be both a score card of activities and a bus pass on Corre Caminos to get to where they could do the options.
The planning meeting would be April 27 at the Health Council Building in Silver. She hoped some board members would be present then, and that they would participate. The list of activities for students should be out by mid-May, and the program would start about May 30, shortly after school ended. The next major meeting for this group would be in September.
Under administrative issues, Superintendent Mendoza notified the board that Freeport McMoRan had awarded a grant of $50,000 to upgrade technical needs. Smart-boards had been suggested, and they could be used at the elementary levels. Other things were possible, too. The board voted to accept the donation, and Sepulveda said a letter of thanks should be going out soon. Just recently thy had received $7500 from Freeport for Helping Hands, a group that helped homeless children, and another $50.00 memorial gift for a former student who had died in a gun accident. These letters of thanks had been recently written and sent.
Mendoza also had a list of student fundraisers and information about them for the board to look over. As the Region VIII meeting was at Animas on Tuesday evening, he reminded board members that a bus would be ready for that trip, and that those interested should be plan to leave about 2:30 p.m.
Jose Rubio, one of the student representatives, reported on some recent student affairs. Principal Frank Quarrell and Edward Peña had talked with students, explaining the testing schedule and why it was set up that way. They also discussed the Friday morning advisory periods. Rubio said students felt they would be better off with homeroom time at the end of each day, as the help was immediate; the goal-setting advisory time hadn't worked out the way students expected.
And next week students would have a chance to assess the PARCC test efforts. They wanted to give their opinions on that, he said. He informed the board of the SkillsUSA team results from their showing in Albuquerque. Five students had first place medals for drafting, cabinet making, customer service and job interview skills, and bulletin board promotions. Two others placed third (in First Aid and CPR) and fifth in advertising design.
Rubio ended his report with a New Mexico Activities Association news announcement that Cobre's softball girls had won the distinction of "Compete with Class" for the month of March. The girls had helped a handicapped student from another high school get in a scoring position, and at the end of the game, awarded that high school the game, a significant team effort showing respect and sportsmanship.
Looking at topics for the next meeting on April 27, Mendoza said the school calendar should be adopted then. The meeting adjourned after 7:40.