Cobre Schools discusses adding a soccer program

Cobre Schools discusses adding a soccer program

By Lynn Janes

(Author's note: Tthe first 20 minutes of meeting did not have any audio and information had to be obtained from Charlene Fletcher, executive /board secretary)

The Cobre Consolidated School Board held a regular meeting on May 18, 2026. Board members in attendance included Hector Carrillo, Gabriella Begay, Gilbert Guadiana, , and David Wilguess. Interim Superintendent Randal Piper also attended. Agelina Hardin did not attend. Dr. Verenice Gutierrez, incoming superintendent attended.

A group of Bayard Elementary students had a presentation for the board.

Dottie Pfeiffer with Kiwanis attended to present the student of the month awards. They went to Snell Middle School - Angelita Aveles and Cobre High School - Fenja Keller.

Every year the board recognizes people with the NMSBA (New Mexico School Board Association) achievement award. This year the board recognized Freeport McMoRan (FMI), The Commons, Kiwanis Club, Hurley Elementary School and San Lorenzo Elementary School.

The board recognized Zavin Guck for state track championship.

The board recognized Taylor McWhorter for her win as Miss Grant County.

The board recognized Elias Guadiana for participating in the state golf championship.

The board celebrated the original opening of the golf course in Bayard fifteen years earlier.

The board approved the agenda.

Public input none currently,

Student representative report.

Taylor McWhorter, 2025-2026 student representative, provided a report to the board.

Action items

The board approved the meeting minutes from the past meeting April 20, 2026. Gaudiana commented that he felt the minutes had too much information and exceeded the requirements for documenting. He wanted to see that workload reduced for the person compiling them and only have the related actions taken.

The board approved an RFP (request for proposal) for SPED staffing and ancillary services. Crystal Norero-Arellano said they have to do this for positions they have not been able to fill with an employee and have had to fill the positions by contract for several years. She pointed out that as contractors they do not have benefits or retirement costs to the district. Gaudiana asked if someone did apply would they be considered, and Norero-Arellano said the services have been listed as needed or until positions have been filled.

The board approved the RFP for audit services. The contract with Jaramillo Group will be ending and they need to find an auditor for the 2026/2027 fiscal year.

The board approved the renewal of services with Abeyta Physical Therapy for the fiscal year 2026/2027. They come to the school because of being local. This will be the last year, and they must put out an RFP for the next year for this service.

The board approved APEC Solutions agreement. Norero-Arellano said this surpassed the amount that Piper could approve and will be part of a capital outlay funding project that the state had approved. It will be for the PA systems at Central Elementary, San Lorenzo Elementary and Hurley Elementary. It had been identified in the safety audit done by Palms and Associates. Piper went into a full explanation of the project and what the funds could be used for. He also added that Southwest New Mexico Council of Governments would be the fiscal agent for the funds and explained how that would work and as fiscal agent they would be paid a fee for each project they had to be the fiscal agent for.

The board approved the contract with Frontline Education, but Begay voted against it. Currently they have Frontline Education. Norma Ramirez, human resource coordinator, uses it for all her needs and has proposed adding a time and attendance piece, and it would replace the current substitute software they had been using and will make it more efficient. Piper said they wanted to combine it all into one program. Piper said he knew the board had some questions and issues before about people working their hours. This will be a biometric system that employees would have to log in with and it will track all staff. They will have eight units located at the schools, maintenance and administration for people to log in using a thumbprint. Their edtech funding would pay for this. With the contract and adding the additional piece will cost $68,000 and the month of June will be free, so they have time to have it installed. It will be ready to use in the next school year. In previous audits, they pointed out that having more accountability had been needed, and this had been an option they found. This will be a renewal of what they already have with the added time and attendance addition.

Piper said the district has access to $2 million to cover the cost and they had also found out from Vertex Education the funds could be used for curriculum and did not need to come from operational funds. Since Vertex had taken over, they had identified some purchases that had come from operational that could use edtech funding and save the district over $500,000.

Begay had questions about the contract and asked if they considered using Power School as a substitute finder because they have already become accustomed to it through the Silver School district system. Piper said they had been using that but wanted to combine it all into one platform so it would interface without problems. Begay continued with more questions about the software and thought Power School would be better.

Piper said the time and attendance piece had been at the request of the board and special audit. Begay asked that next time they have these agreements that it goes through finance first.

Begay had another question. This addressed the technology problems with audio and referred to the meeting that night and the zoom done with the superintendents' candidates. Piper said that would depend on if it came from their end our Cobre's. They had switched some platforms. Gutierrez said as a person that has experienced these problems, they have not been a Cobre issue but a Google issue. In the interview in which they had problems Google had hijacked her microphone. She had a brand new laptop and had done everything she could to make it work. "There is nothing you can purchase internally to fix Google." She had already had a conversation with Katelyn Church, technology coordinator, on why they have been so dependent on Google. They have a lot of free tools but when you have open source it comes with a lot of challenges. Zoom might be more expensive, but they also invest money not to have those challenges.

New business

They did the first reading of a policy advisory number 273 and 274 that had to do with employee assistance and public's right to know. Piper said these come from a policy service occasionally to update policies. These will be posted on the district website.

They did the first reading of a new policy pertaining to J-1 Visa exchange students. It would be a revision. Piper said they wanted to make sure they had a policy in place for exchange students. This way families will know if the exchange student meets all the requirements for New Mexico so they may receive a diploma and not just a certificate of completion. He went into the problems with transcripts from another country because they need to be translated.

Wilguess said he didn't think one school in the district would be ADA compliant and went on the describe the issues he has had at a number of them. If they have parking that is supposed to be ADA, it is not and has dangers and difficulties such as steep areas and gravel. He said he has had a great deal of trouble.

Carrillo said he knew that this has been a conversation for a while. He knew some things had been done and asked that someone from maintenance go through each school and see what needed to be done to come into compliance. Wilguess spoke to some other areas that have been problematic. He knew some had electric wheelchairs but he did not and hills can be very dangerous because his brakes will be his hands. Piper said he had not seen any problems with the students, but as Wilguess said they had lifts and electric chairs.

Guadiana suggested they go around to the schools and decide the most important places they need to address and work down from there. Provide a timeline of the work to be done and report back to the board. Piper said he would be addressing some of this later in his report and what they use the capital outlay funding for. However this funding will not be seen until 2027 and many of these things need to be address right away.

Wilguess said even before he had run for school board he had complained about these issues. He knew he has not been the only one with these problems.

Outdoor lighting at the administrative complex brought up the problems with not only lighting but having ADA accessibility. Piper said they do have fixtures there but just need to put bulbs in.

Old business

Norero-Arellano updated the board on the housing project. She has been dealing with Martha Salas, Bayard city clerk, because they have been the fiscal agent for Cobre. They had paid for the land, site preparation and part of the mobile homes. The grant from Freeport McMoRan (FMI) had less requirements than the funding for the state. The rest of the cost of the mobile homes will be paid. The electrical will be the only thing left, and they will be waiting to see what they have left from FMI to cover that.

Begay asked if they had talked about setting the parameters on who the housing units would be rented to and did they have a timeline on when that could happen.

Piper said he has been working with some other districts that offer housing to their teachers to see their agreements. The priority will be teachers and the agreement with the Village of Santa Clara outlines who they may be rented to also. If by chance they don't have teachers, they will look at law enforcement, but the priority would remain with teachers. Once they have an agreement, it will be run by legal counsel.

Begay had several other questions about the project that they all discussed.

Luis Alvarado asked to be on the agenda to discuss his proposal to bring soccer to the district. He had come and spoken in public input at the previous meeting. He had provided a packet to the council covering everything he thought they would need to know. Alvarado has had enough interest to have a girl's  (33) and boy's (36) team at the high school and some at the middle school. Most of the students having interest currently have not been participating in any other sport but a few do play football and volleyball, and they could work around that.

Alvarado had been looking at grants to supply the equipment needed and has some sponsorships lined up. He has also come up with a lot of fundraiser ideas.

Carrillo said this would be new to him and asked Piper how they would go about setting the program up and the person running the program would have to be an employee. Piper said they would have to follow the interview process and background checks. For the first year they would have to be independent and then NMAA (New Mexico Athletic Association) would include them. Truth of Consequences started a soccer program and Piper had concerns because they had a lot of support initially, but they did not have enough boys or enough girls, so they had to play co-ed and when you play co-ed then you have to compete against the boys' teams. He didn't know if it takes one year notification in advance but would check on because some planning would need to happen. Piper also had concerns over them having a place to practice because football and the band have the field until late. Another consideration would be the astroturf that has not been lined for soccer. They discussed using the baseball fields and not using cleated shoes or a field at Fort Bayard. Piper will be contacting NMAA to find out the process. Wilguess and Guadiana said it would be good to have another sport for the school.

Finance committee report

Begay said they had to cancel but has been rescheduled for the following day.

Audit committee report

Piper provided an update since Hardin had not been at the meeting. They would be discussing some things in the executive session that they could not in an open meeting at this time but when it has been approved by the state they will. Vertex has someone with their firm that has been exclusively working on the audits.

Gaudiana said there seemed to be a misunderstanding as to if the first audit has become public information or not referring to the first special audit. Piper said phase one has been public and on the website. Phase two audit is in process. Gaudiana commented that timelines would not be confidential and wanted a timeline. Piper didn't have one since Vertex had taken over but knew had has been a priority for them.

Board members' reports

Wilguess has received a text from one of the volunteers at the golf course, who had  helped build it. This person had been approached by the police asking him what he was doing, and he told them mowing. They left and came back telling him he had to come to the district office and do a background check. Wilguess said he had contacted Julie Garcia with Palms and Associates. As long as a person that volunteers does not interact with the students, they do not have to do background checks. The person that had been approached by the police says he will never help the school again. He said it had been fine for him to work fifteen years building it,  but he can't simply mow it now.

Piper said it had recently been mowed and Wilguess said he had been told some areas had been four to eight inches high. Wilguess said he does not go to the senior center very often but had recently gone to have lunch and had five seniors speak to him about the golf course and he had referred them to Piper.

Piper said he had spent time with Brad Holmgren the previous week and walked the entire golf course and sheds to figure out who will be in charge of what. They had come up with a plan and want to expand the youth golf program. The high school golf coach only had four or five kids in the fall and now it had increased to twenty. He had visited with the New Mexico Public School Insurance Authority and if a volunteer will not be interacting with the students, they do not need background checks. If they will be coaches, they must do background checks.

Piper would be meeting with Holmgren again the following week to identify more and prioritize what needs to be done.

Carrillo said he completely supports the golf course but has just asked numerous times who would be in charge. He commented on Holmgren being a great guy, but he had to fill out paperwork with human resources. Carrillo had heard great things about him and what he had done for the community and suggested putting him in charge. "We are not changing things to run them out. We are trying to establish who is in charge."

Piper said in his conversations with Holmgren he wanted to step back, in part because he will be out of the country for a number of months and may move permanently. "He has more knowledge than the entire maintenance department on the care of a golf course."

Wilguess said the volunteers have a lot of hurt feelings because they  donated their time building this, and Carrillo said that would be unfortunate and hoped they could fix it.

Begay wanted to acknowledge since the last board meeting, they had school nurses day, food service day and principals day. She also wanted to acknowledge the teachers that will be retiring. She looks forward to the upcoming graduation. The kids had done a wonderful performance earlier and she thanked Bayard Elementary for hosting them. The song the kids had sung had been one of her grandmother's favorites.

Gaudiana said he had asked the president and superintendent to include some items on the agenda, and they still have not. He went through an extensive list that he had at the last meeting. They briefly include the middle school principal contract, personnel records, improper sanctions and open meetings act violations. He continued with other things that had taken place that he did not feel were right. , "There is no authority given to anybody that can choose to keep things out of the agenda that are legally requested by board members."

Carrillo congratulated the softball team for finishing second in state and included a number of others in the athletic teams. He congratulated the new high school principal Cesar Alvarez. He commented on how impressed he had been by the senior capstone presentations. He thanked Fletcher for helping him serve doughnuts to all the schools on behalf of the school board. It had been great to see all the recognition of the teachers and staff presented on Facebook and social media.

Superintendent report

Piper had a security update for the board. He had visited with Carrillo on the fencing, and they had some funds that could be used for that. He would be waiting for Vertex to look at the budget and see what they could do. He had sat in on a meeting pertaining to the graduation and it had been amazing how many entrances would need to be covered. He will be updating the capital outlay plan because for the first time it will be a requirement of the state. The ICIP (infrastructure capital improvement plan) will be done for five years at a time and be updated every year and due July 1, 2026. It will not need board approval but may be edited each year. He and Gutierrez will be touring around the district and will see what projects that they may include in the ICIP. He asked the board for their input. Guiterrez would be starting June 15, 2026, and she will have her hands full so he wanted to have this done and ready to submit but he will make sure she has the information. He suggested they have a few special meetings.

Begay said she knew that food service had been requesting walk-in coolers because of issues with the current ones. A security guard had also been a suggestion for the high school. Carrillo spoke to the fencing like they had at Silver High School. It would eliminate some recent trespassing. Piper said capital outlay may not be used for personnel but if they can do a project that frees up some of the budget it could be possible. They discussed some of the facilities like the automotive shop need to be brought back up.

Piper had received three letters regarding adding Abe Armendarez to the Howie Morales Stadium. He had also had some community members come to him and verbalize they would be interested in serving on the committee. According to board policy, the board must select the community members. Once selected the high school principal sits as a non-voting chair of the committee that will have staff members and students. He will present the list in June for the board to choose from.

All fundraisers had been included in the board's packets.

The board went into executive session for updates on pending litigation. They would include:
Annette Acosta v. Cobre Consolidated School District Board of Education (CCSDBE) Cecilia Barela v. CCSDBE
Melissa Maynes v. CCSDBE
Daena Davis v. CCSDBE
Maureen Peru v. CCSDBE.

The board came back into open session and affirmed that no action had taken place, and discussions had been limited to the items listed above.

Meeting adjourned.