Cobre discusses golf course maintenance

By Lynn Janes

The Cobre Consolidated School Board held a regular meeting at Central Elementary School on February 16, 2026. Board members in attendance included Hector Carrillo, Gabriella Begay, Gilbert Guadiana, Agelina Hardin, and David Wilguess. Interim Superintendent Randal Piper also attended.

The board will recognize the state volleyball champions at the next meeting. They had not been able to attend.

Dottie Pfeifer with Kiwanis attended to present the student of the month awards. None of the students had been able to attend so she read their names and what had been said by the teacher that had nominated them.

Yasmine Sandoval, Snell Middle School, works hard every day and consistently shows up to class with a positive attitude. She also has been an insightful role model to her peers.

Jacob Arias, Cobre High School, stays actively involved in band, mariachi, golf, basketball and National Honor Society. He shows commitment to both academics, extracurricular activities and has outstanding character.

The board approved the agenda with a recommendation of change from Piper. They approved the agenda with the tabling of the recognition of the volleyball team.

Student representative report.

Taylor McWhorter, 2025-2026 student representative, said a lot of the students have been really upset having to pay $35 for a prom ticket. Grant County cannot afford that and many live at the poverty level. It has almost been doubled from last year and has caused financial stress to the students.

The potholes had been repaired, and it looks nice of which she thanked the board for making that happen. The parking lot does need the lines redone, and they have a lot of mud that people trip on.

They have nine wrestlers attending the state championship and she congratulated them.

Wilguess said when he had gone to school prom, it had not cost them anything and had been paid for by the school. McWhorter said that is still true and last year their ticket had only been $20. The excuse she heard had been they would be adding snacks. Piper will check into the tickets. The prom will also not be at the high school but will be at the Grant County Veterans Memorial Business and Conference Center and many students have told her that upset them, and they wanted it at the high school. Having it at the convention center also will require them to hire security for $500. A lot of discussion of why the changes had happened took place for a while. Piper will be looking into all of this and find out why and what could be done.

Public input

Thomas Caddel spoke to the flags that they had at the meeting and the ornaments on top should not be there and told them they could look up the proper flags to have in public meetings. He said the reason he had wanted to speak at the last meeting, but had not been allowed,  had to do with not understanding what the disagreements had been about among some of the board members.

Louis Quinonez wished the board a good and productive meeting. So much comes before the school board and they have many issues. He had been keeping up with the district through the sports programs and extracurricular activities. He congratulated the volleyball team. Quinonez spoke to the Mariachi group and it being a good program that has started in 1995. The biggest reason for him addressing the board had to do with the request he and his group had made to add Abe Armendarez's name to the Cobre baseball field. He had resubmitted the letter of application along with the newsletter with many community members and former Cobre High School baseball players that have called for this.

Wilguess had something to add he felt the board should know about. Someone had poisoned all the vegetation and cut trees down causing flooding through the golf course and onto private property. It had also caused damage to a well. This had happened by the high school on the hillside. He had talked with a retired Forest Service employee that had told him how they could fix the problem because he had worked on lands that had been damaged by fire and floods. Wilguess went on to address the handicap access ability around the district. He explained what he must go through to access different areas. Wilguess spoke about a window in one of the buildings that could easily fall out and needed to be replaced and added a mold problem that needed attention.

The board will address these concerns later in the meeting so they can have a discussion.

Wilguess said he had a couple other things he wanted to address. When abstaining from a vote, you must have a reason and to abstain would be taken as a no vote. He had also spoken to a few people that will be quitting, because they feel that their private rights had been violated when some people had obtained their personal records. His last concern had to do with terms for the board members that had been incorrectly stated and asked that they be reviewed.

Action items

The board approved the minutes from January 19, 2026. Wilguess said he could not vote because the minutes had incorrectly said he voted no for Carrillo's nomination, and he had voted yes. All voted yes with the correction.

The board approved the makeup day to be March 9, 2026, for Snell Middle School and Cobre High School because of water issues on January 12, 2026. Piper explained why they had to do what they did that day. Because of PED (public education department) rules concerning four-day a week schools they had very few choices or could lose funding. If they don't make up the day, they also lose funding, and he said he thought it would be around $36,000. The board discussed in the future having it set up so they can go virtual for that day, and Piper said the only problem would be many of the kids do not take their devices home and could not do virtual.

The board did a second reading on the revision of policy B-1400 BE school board meetings and approved it.

The board approved the bills. Begay said they had gone over all the bills, and they had all been standard.

The board approved the second quarter report for PED. Frank Ryan, finance director, went over some of the information.

New business

The board discussed public comment as requested by Guadiana. He brought up at the last meeting Caddel had wanted to speak to an agenda item, but it had not been allowed because of policies. The suggestion would be to change that so the board can have actual public meetings as opposed to semi-public meeting. The comment Caddel had made he would not have known beforehand to discuss under public comment. Begay said this had to go to legal counsel before they could move forward. Wilguess said it would be the board's option and would not require an attorney.

Guadiana said it would create a better understanding for the public as well as the person asking the question. At times the board takes for granted that the public understands what they have been talking about. Carrillo said, "I'm glad to see you changed your mind, because when you were president you didn't allow public to comment." Guadiana said during his short time as president he had allowed people to ask questions on every item.

Carrillo asked for some more specific clarification. Did it mean they would eliminate public comment? They would keep public comment. The board discussed what this change would look like and provided examples. Begay again reiterated this needed to be put before legal counsel. Carrillo said absolutely.

The board discussed the process to identify general obligation and SB9 projects. Guadiana had asked that they put this on the agenda. He wanted to know how much of the bond would be available to the district,

Piper said they needed to conserve as much as possible for any match needed for projects. They had met with the bond council at the finance meeting. It takes about three months to sell bonds. Because they didn't have a project at this point, they would hold off selling bonds because they have five years to use the money. Piper added that he thought the state would be excited to do the project to have two buildings in the top one hundred worst be replaced.

Gaudiana wanted to find out what the process will be. They should also be able to find out what other schools had done and the costs. He said again that he wanted to see public comment on what the community would want, one school or two separate schools.

Piper commented it might not need to be one building but envisioned it to be like a college campus and said they did need public comment through the design process. Begay spoke to the declining enrollment and what that would mean for the size of the new school. Wilguess talked about dividing the high school and renovating it for both schools. Begay said that would affect them on the list for them to receive funding and Carrillo pointed out that renovation could move them further down the list of the top 100 worst facilities.

Guadiana said Wilguess had not been there to follow the legislation and the matching funds had gone down. It will be time sensitive, so they need to be addressing it sooner.

Wilguess said he approaches this like a business. Many times, it made more sense to repair and upgrade.

Carrillo said it would be a good idea to have public comment on the issue. Piper said that would also be why they need to hire an architect, so they can find out what would and would not work. Piper added if they could, they would obtain the 100 percent waiver they needed to do it. He talked a little bit about what Cliff Schools would be spending for the new school and felt Cobre would be $80 million to $100 million. Once the state looks at the project, they will have a better idea and have public hearings they will know more. They definitely need to have public hearings and have people voice their opinions.

The board discussed the ADA concerns at the high school gymnasium. Guadiana had brought this forward and said it has not been safe, and they have no place for wheelchairs. It has even been difficult for people with mobility issues. The concession stand has not even been easy for people that walk to get to. The board discussed some of the problems and all agreed that many people have problems with access and talked about moving the location to a better place.

The board discussed golf course maintenance and the budget at Guadiana's request. He had taken a walk with Brad Holmgren who had wanted to share his concerns over the maintenance of the golf course. He retired from the Cobre school system and had been involved in building the course. When he started the project, he had asked every business in town for donations. With the donations and some volunteers, they had purchased equipment and built a small storage building so this belongs to the community. These people have taken care of the golf course for fifteen years with volunteers. A few years ago, the board had talked about putting it on the budget.

Gaudiana said the work being done on the course now has not been a lack of effort but a lack of understanding what needs to be done. Herbicides have been used on the hill that separates the golf course from the softball field and is a large hill. Now without weeds it has caused a great deal of erosion. Rocks and dirt have been washed into the field and are causing problems with the mowers. Holmgren provided a list of things to help mitigate the problem but the person doing the work has not done it. The volunteers used to turn on the sprinkler system and now have been locked out due to some issues with excessive water bills.

A lot of discussion on whose responsibility the golf course should be, who owned the land, and many other aspects went on. Carrillo questioned why they had volunteers on school property and pointed out the liability of this. They do have a part-time employee that does not understand how to maintain, as pointed out by Guadiana previously.

The question of how many Cobre students use the golf course came up and Piper said about twenty, but they do most of their practice at the Silver City golf course. The course will be good for putting. Some people have used it for a driving range and the balls have ended up on the softball field, but Piper didn't know who had been doing that.

The city of Bayard had been asked to help with the maintenance the previous year because the public does use the course. They had committed to it but had in the end backed down from helping them with any costs.

Wilguess came back to the issue with the water and said the city's smart meters have not been so smart and many have had issues with their bills. They will be purchasing new smart meters.

The discussion continued on the real use of the golf course and how they should move forward. Some people have been donating their time to keep the golf course going. Carrillo commented if the land belonged to the district it needs to be responsible for it and maintain it. Many years ago, the land had been used for a dump and two years had been spent cleaning it up. Carrillo still had concerns about having a building on school land that did not belong to the district and equipment that didn't belong to the district on the land. It all seemed to be very convoluted. The Silver golf team has come out and used the course from time to time. Piper will look into the situation and report back to the board.

Finance committee report

Begay said she had attended a little late and had come in at the end of the bond conversation. The committee had reviewed all the bills and credit card statements. Also, they had looked at second quarter reports and Piper went over staffing. She had to leave due to a fundraiser at her school. Piper said they had just discussed the sale of the bonds. They can sell $1.5 million but since they don't have an immediate need, they will be waiting. The state knows they want to do the project and has been waiting for them to open the process, but no letter of interest has been submitted.

Guadiana questioned the different bonds and how they could be used. Piper explained each one and what they could and could not be used for.

Audit committee

Piper said at this time he could not say anything because of being in the process. Guadiana said he could discuss timelines and asked when they would be complete including the special audit. Piper said they had requested one more item and now have been waiting to hear so he didn't have a timeline.

Board member reports

Gaudiana had attended a training in Santa Fe, and he had been able to ask some question in which he had learned a lot. Some had to do with the open meetings act and public comment. The law actually does not require public comment but does not prohibit. "I look forward to having a board that has genuine interest for the community and their insight." In another session they had talked about school grounds and safety. Part of his wanting to see a new building has been currently they can't secure the schools, especially the high school. They don't even have a fence that meets state criteria for safety.

Begay wanted to acknowledge the kids in the Little Mermaid production and the people that helped. "They did a wonderful job. I really enjoyed it."

Carrillo said the good thing about the board member reports they each see different things and different topics. In February they will have a team called Stand for the Silent coming. All the law enforcement departments and schools have worked together to fund this for the students, and he turned it over to Piper to explain. Piper said it will be a bullying prevention program and said he understood it to be very emotional. They will be bringing in the middle school and high school. Specifically, they want it for the sixth grade because they have been out of control. Silver schools will be doing it in the morning and Cobre in the afternoon. By both schools collaborating they had been able to keep the cost down.

Carrillo had also attended training in Santa Fe. He had been able to meet with the president of the school board association.

He had met with Piper and the school principals and will be submitting a board report on those meetings and how they can help the schools. Each principal had passion for their students and staff. He wanted to recognize Charlene Fletcher, executive secretary/board secretary, and said she does a lot for the school board and thanked her for all her work.

Carrillo said the timeline for the superintendent search had opened January 21, 2026, to February 27, 2026. The board will be provided all the applications on March 6, 2026, and the finalists will be announced March 16, 2026. He added a shout out to Norma Ramirez, human resources, who had worked very hard on this and has reported they have ten applicants at this time. They would be asking for input on a principal committee and will be asking for the community to be involved. The interviews will be the first week of April and recommendations on April 20, 2026.

Carrillo ended his comments by congratulating the cheer team and the wrestling team. He wished all luck at the state championships.

Hardin thanked Carrillo for his work and felt they will be moving in the right direction. She thanked Begay for her service and the whole district for all they do.

Wilguess said they had all covered everything. He had attended the Little Mermaid production and had enjoyed it. The kids had done really well. He has also attended Bayard Elementary science night and said he had three kids there.

Guadiana wanted to add some information about the Little Mermaid production. It had been a collaboration between Cobre High School, Silver High School and Aldo Leopold Charter School as well as some of the elementary schools. "The kids did awesome."

Carrillo recommended that in the future they include Piper for comments so he can comment on things that have not been put on his list for his report. Piper appreciated that to have a little flexibility would help.

Superintendent report

He had attended Grant County Days, and it had been the first time. "It was quite a process and a lot of networking face to face." He had been able to speak to the governor and lieutenant governor. The district has some great things happening and he liked sharing those. The legislature will be ending and the information he had received that maybe they would see a one percent raise but maybe nothing. One consolation they will be looking at paying 80 percent of health care benefits for the staff. Some do not take advantage of the health care benefits so they will not see an increase in their check due to the savings in those benefits.

For capital outlay projects they will be waiting for a fiscal agent to have access to those funds. School security will be a big priority. He had met with the principals and talked about blind spots and keyless entry.

Piper spoke to the board about the New Mexico School Board of Education student achievement award. The board could choose an administrator, staff member, parent, community member, volunteer, etc. They provide a plaque for the first one but if the board would like to recognize more it would be an additional $50 for each one. He suggested Freeport McMoRan who had done so much for the district. They had given so freely and listed the many grants they had provided the district. He asked the board to come up with nominations. He needed to submit it in the next week. Begay said they needed to include Kiwanis and The Commons.

Piper had provided a list of the current fundraising events being done. Wilguess asked that they find a way to better notify every one of the fundraisers.

The board went into executive session to discuss the following:

The board went into executive session to discuss with legal counsel the following items:
 Annette Acosta v. Cobre Consolidated School District Board of Education (CCSDBE), Cecilia Barela v. CCSDBE, Melissa Maynes v. CCSDBE, Daena Davis v. CCSDBE and Maureen Peru v. CCSDBE.

The board came back into open session and affirmed not action had taken place and they only discussed what had been on the agenda for the executive session.

Meeting adjourned.