Silver Schools presented schedule for bond projects

Silver Schools presented schedule for bond projects

By Lynn Janes

The Silver City Consolidated Schools held a work session and regular meeting September 28, 2026. Ashley Montenegro, Michelle Diaz, Patrick Cohn, Mike McMillan (came after the work session) and Kimberly Klement attended. Superintendent William Hawkins also attended.

Work session

Time Dolezal, Capital AE Bond Project, had a presentation on the projects schedule. He asked Hawkins if he had anything to say before he started and Hawkins said he would jump in on parts of the conversation and thanked Capital AE for helping them steer through the projects. The projects have a lot of moving parts and documentation to the state.

Dolezal said the projects to have a lot of steps that need the be made and they have had a few stumbling blocks but have some momentum now. He said he had been doing K-12 schools for 20 years.

He had a full list of what projects they have done or will be doing at each school. Hawkins said he had been meeting with and providing presentations to county commissioners and city council concerning the plan to not use the Benny Altamirano Sports Complex and spend approximately $6.5 million to repair and expand the fields at Silver High School and La Plata Middle School. He said he had also kept in contact with the coaches concerning the changes. The community had come forward with other ideas for partnership and he said the schools wanted to continue to be good neighbors withing the community. They have a few years because they will continue to maintain the sports complex for another year or two.

Dolezal said currently the projects total $22,824,456 with a contingency of $2,175,544. Harrison Schmitt Elementary School and G.W. Stout Elementary have work underway. He had some pictures of some of the completed projects. Cliff Schools will start construction in spring / summer of 2027. The Silver High School and La Plata Middle School construction on the fields will start in spring 2027. Hawkins added information to the board throughout the presentation.

They addressed the rock building at Cliff Schools that would be kept and Dolezal said some slight modifications would be made to help it continue to operate.

Klement had a question but thought it would be for Hawkins. She asked if they had a proposed use for the rock building. Hawkins didn't know anything yet.

Work session adjourned

Regular meeting started.

The board approved the minutes from the finance meeting August 13, 2026, work session and regular meeting August 17, 2026. They also approved the agenda.

Information and presentations.

Bob Carson from Kiwanis came to present the student of the month and said they had been doing this in Grant County since 1946. He wanted to mention that TWN Communications, an internet provider, has sponsored the student of the month presentations.

Kati Garcia, 8th grade Cliff Schools, is a hard worker, inquisitive learner and genuinely kind. She consistently has a positive attitude and is willing the lend a helping hand. Being a positive role model and leader comes natural to her.

Makayla Marcial, Silver High School senior, quietly reaches out as a leader to help others be successful and has worked hard to maintain high grades. She has participated in many school events and athletics.

Esperanza Sedillo, 8th grade La Plata Middle School, consistently demonstrates integrity and strives to do the right thing. She takes pride in her education and approaches responsibilities with maturity.

Hawkins said they would be starting something new in this meeting recognizing staff from each school for their years of service five, ten and fifteen. Tonight, they would start with G.W. Stout Elementary. In the past this had been done once a year and on their campuses. That will continue but they wanted to recognize them in a larger sense. They will do a different campus each month and in May will recognize those that have 20, 25 and 30 years.

From G.W. Stout Elementary, they recognized Vanessa Gilbert, instructional assistant with five years, Angela Benitez, teacher with 10 years, and Tessie Valenzuela, teacher with 15 years.

Diane Carrico and Desire McGee, SCEA (Silver City Education Association) did not have anything to report.

Information to the board

The Silver High School student council had come to provide a presentation to the board. They went over all they had been doing and what had been happening with sports and their ranking. This year they had launched a leadership class, and the student council had been growing in membership. The council has some upcoming events, homecoming, thankful food drive and caroling. They also went over the fundraisers they would be doing.  For one of them, the proceeds would be presented to El Refugio, the domestic violence shelter. The board had some questions for them about where the different teams ranked and homecoming.

Cohn said he had attended a football game and had seen a lot of pride with the school and said it had grown and commended their leadership. "You only go to high school once and make it enjoyable and memorable. I am proud of each and every one of you."

Diaz had a challenge for them. She wanted each one on the student council to continue to build on the school spirit. She wanted everyone to start standing for the school song and events and included the staff, students and parents.

Hawkins wanted to speak briefly about the Purple Star Designation. The board has one from Cliff Schools to approve. In 2021 the New Mexico legislature passed a bill that created the Purple Star Public Schools Program. This recognizes schools that make a deliberate commitment to supporting military-connected students and their families. The public education department had established requirements and an application process. It will create an intentional process for welcoming and supporting those students. The program also recognizes schools that honor the service and contributions of veterans and active duty military. Each school must apply individually.

State law requires that the school brings forward a resolution to the local board of education demonstrating the boards' support.

Hawkins said they had covered the bond projects in the work session, but he had a few high points. For Cliff Schools, the construction document stage has reached 50 percent. Harrison Schmitt has come to the start of replacing the HVAC system and all of the equipment can be seen in big containers by the school along with other things to start on the other projects for the school. He went over some of the timeline for the projects, and it would be done in phases and referred to the recent upgrades done at Walmart and how that had transpired. Regarding the athletic fields he had met with some community members, city and county commissioners. They want to find a way to continue to work and partner on the Benny Altamirano Sports Complex. He did feel there would be an opportunity to continue to invest in the school property.

Keith Bausman, associate superintendent, had a personnel report for the board. The district is 99.1 percent fully staffed. They have four full -ime positions open and three coaching positions.

Cindy Barris, associate superintendent, had not attended due to a family issue and Hawkins read her report. The district had a total of 1,929 students enrolled.

Hawkins addressed the mental health grant and went over what has been going on in the courts. They had been trying to change the qualifications from when the grants had been written. The Department of Education has been ordered to implement the ruling and notify the schools, and they will be waiting on that. The district does have funds until December.

Finance subcommittee

Klement said they had met and had an overview of all the expenditures and went over the budget adjustment requests that would be made. They had also reviewed the award for the high impact tutoring grant. It will allow for in-person tutoring for the students.

Audit committee

Klement said they had done the audit entry. They had discussed the extension for the audit deadline due to guideline delays from the federal government. It will be done by Beasley Mitchell and Company again, and they will do some in person as well as electronic.

Threat assessment committee

McMillan said they had met, and Hawkins had the report. Hawkins wanted to address the threat they dealt with a few weeks previous. On September 17, 2026, they had received an anonymous report regarding comments allegedly overheard concerning potential violence involving the schools. They had immediately coordinated with the Silver City Police Department and placed the schools in a precautionary shelter in place. They started investigating and have continued to. Hawkins had been updated that with the information developed through investigation does not indicate that they had an active or credible threat at that time. He continued to address the situation for a while. He added the investigation had not been formally closed.

Board president

Montenegro read the Purple Star Designation Program resolution. This one would be for Cliff Schools.

Board comments

Montenegro said it had been great to have the students back in the board room again and it had been amazing to hear about all the work they had done individually and as students. She thought it would be important to highlight all the bond projects. A facilities master plan had been done and was well thought out so it would be very clear what the bonds would be used for. She said the athletic fields had been on that plan and it had not been new; the plan had been followed. She loved seeing all the administrators in attendance and thanked them for all their work.

Diaz said they had the region board meeting in Silver City, and it had been a huge success and thanked the people that put it together. A soloist, Mia Lawrence, had performed that night and had done two solo pieces that she had done well. Diaz applauded her performance. She thanked Ms. Lawrence for investing time into the student council. She appreciated the feedback on the turf and athletic fields and talked about it for a while.

Cohn agreed with what Diaz had said. This would be his son's last year as a senior. He addressed the region board meeting and said the next day at a legislative meeting someone who attended that meeting said how good it had been. He had been at a New Mexico School Board Association meeting, and they will have 31 legislative initiatives. Five had been approved, six had not and the rest no action had been necessary.

Cohn had received many emails and complaints about the athletic fields. He had been stopped in Walmart and other stores in town. They complained about the lighting and the traffic. They even complained about the big trucks going down highway 180. He said that would be nothing compared to the problems he goes through in his neighborhood.

"I've had to put up with the homeless shelter these last six years. I've been told that that's the new norm and that's something we residents have to deal with. When I look at that, I don't think that's feasible because where I live, in my district that I represent for Silver Schools ,it affects all our students. When my kids were growing up in the neighborhood before that shelter was even open, there were kids playing outside. My kids were playing outside with other kids. I don't see that anymore. Myself, my grandkids don't even go outside, they stay inside. If they're going to go outside, my daughter takes them over to their house so they can play outside. Having to see somebody at your stop sign that is drugged out, going crazy. What are you supposed to tell your kid? I was told to say that that's normal. Tell me how that's normal, seriously."

He said he would love to have a lighting problem addressed that he has had complaints about and traffic problems.

He didn't see anyone doing anything about mental health. They have put together a neighborhood watch. The neighborhood has not been able to have any help, not even from elected officials. He has seen people moving out and boarding up their homes. "Is that normal?" Again, he said he would love to have a lighting problem, traffic problem and big trucks going down his street. He has had to see garbage, homeless camps and has complained numerous times. He had taken people's complaints lightly, because he had stayed silent way to long.

McMillan thanked those that had made the region meeting a success, and it had been well attended. He complimented the venue and food. It had been great to see the kids back and thanked Kiwanis for recognizing students every month. Recognizing the teachers and staff brought it up another level. The schools had always done well at recognizing veterans, but the Purple Star Designation would be better. Community collaborations will be very important.

Klements welcomed everyone into fall sports and had excitement for homecoming. She wanted to encourage the continued collaboration and partnerships with the community. She knew sometimes opinions differed ,and it could be heated. She challenged everyone for open healthy respectful communication. "We do welcome feedback." She thanked Ms. Lawrence for her work with the student council.

Public comments

Gary Stailey said he had attended school in Cliff and remembered the rock building. He had sent an email to the board. He appreciated the willingness to involve the community in the process. In some ways it appeared they had already made a decision on the ball fields and installing turf. He had heard they would be doing a $25,000 study. He hoped for input after the study had been completed, and  before they made their final decision. It had been referenced that this project had been on the books since 2022. The change from the sports complex back to La Plata would have a huge domino effect. In the email they had asked to have a meeting. He had met with Hawkins a few times and said they were very congenial meetings and had met with the maintenance director and had a good idea from his perspective of what needs to be done if the fields had to be maintained.

Neil McDonald echoed what Diaz had said about them needing to be fiscally responsible. He had talked to ten of the coaches and only two had been in favor of the change. The others didn't want to share their names in fear of retribution. The dollars presented did not make sense because the lifespan of turf will only be about ten years. The initial outlay will be $6 million, and it will need to be done over and over and added the safety issue.

He said matching funds were not even being taken advantage of. "A $6 million bond draw with a 37 percent match will generate $8,220,000. Of these incremental funds, $1,140,000 will cover the cost of the interest on the bonds, leaving a $1,060,000 for capital gains. Capital investment, the practical impact is that the school district receives $7,060,000 of capital investment funds with zero interest and then you have the issue of the unfunded capital projects. The district has significant backlog of deferred maintenance, approximately "39 million by my estimation, which exceeds the funds available from this general obligation bond."

Coach Mendoza had given him permission to use his name. He has had decades of experience and said he would be adamantly against artificial turf. He thought if you had a one-on-one with the coaches you would find the same sentiment. He had been told by Mendoza all they needed to do would be to fix the drainage, and it would fix the field. Alicia Beck had told him the same thing. "We have a lot of options that could be utilized."

Action items

Consent agenda

The board approved all requests made by Michelle McCain, finance director. She had checks totaling $2,619,158.26, and three budget adjustments and explained all in depth.

Donations included the Moose Lodge $1,000 for the La Plata football and $2,500 for the Silver High School football. Gila Community Foundation made a $3,000 to the sports medicine program at Silver High School.

McCain also had an RFP (request for proposal) award for coaching and training services. They had only received one response.

Antonio Andazola, maintenance and transportation director, did not have anything to present.

The board approved the Capital AE Bond project schedule. Hawkins wanted to clarify this would not be approving an individual project and would just be the schedule as presented. Any individual components will still come before the board.

The board approved the Purple Star designation program resolution for Cliff Schools. Diaz thanked Mrs. Shock for bringing if forward.

Public comments none currently.

The next meeting for the finance committee will be November 15, 2026
The next work session and regular meeting will be November 26, 2026

Adjourned