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Published: 30 September 2020 30 September 2020

By Hallie Richwine

The Silver Consolidated School Board meeting took place on September 21, 2020. Board President Eddie Flores; Board Members Patrick Cohn, Michelle Diaz, Mike McMillan, and Ashley Montenegro; Superintendent Audie Brown; Associate Superintendent Curtis Clough; and Director of Finance Michele McCain attended or joined by telephone.

Prior to the approval of the agenda for the meeting, McMillan raised a concern about a lack of executive session time for the board to discuss items like the Superintendent's review. With no further objection, the agenda was approved and the meeting commenced.The first non-action item brought before the board was a presentation on the NMPED COVID-19 Response Toolkit by Nursing Director Jeanette Medran.

"Sixteen symptoms are listed. If any students or staff experience the symptoms and they are at home, they are to stay at home and get tested," Medran said. "If they are at school they are to tell a teacher or supervisor, go into an isolation room, and wait until they can be picked up to get tested." If tests are negative, the person will stay at home until their fever breaks for 24 hours. If tests are positive, they will stay at home for ten days after the onset of the symptoms.

Key guidance states isolation, testing, and waiting for at lest ten days. Decision trees have been given to the district nurses to follow.

"The document was sent out to the school district as a whole, and not as a public document. Is it now public?" McMillan asked.

"NMPED will put out a public version soon, within the next two weeks," Medran said.

The next presentation was from Director of Maintenance Barry Ward.

"Regarding the High School construction project, we've been in scramble mode to get students to be authorized to be in the building," he said. Then, an email was received by Deputy Fire Marshal Raymond Torres about a peculiar issue with the fire alarm system.

"I pulled up last year's reports and both the Fire Marshal and the installation company had no mention of any corrective notice or mention of being out of compliance," Ward said. No negative remarks were shared after the plans were shared with the Public Schools Authority, either.

Ward began working to get a temporary certificate of occupancy, valid until all changes were made to the systems. "They are not allowing temporary certificates of occupancy and I don't know why," Ward said.

After a week of trying to uncover specifics about the hangup, Ward finally heard from Torres. The synchronization of the strobe lights on the fire alarm systems is the reason the state is not allowing occupancy.

"The system was built in an era when synchronization was not a requirement, and we've been operating under that guidance for years," Ward said. "Why it changed with the state marshal, I have no idea."

"There are three options about what we can do to bring them within compliance," he said, "None of which can be done within a couple of months which misses the target date for the high school."

Diaz asked if there was any leniency given, knowing the school system is working toward making the appropriate changes.

"No, the state said this is going on all over the state, so we are not alone," Ward said. "It's not typical that we can't get a temporary certificate of occupancy while we await the final inspection."

"What should parents of high schoolers expect at this moment?," Montenegro asked.

"The best I can tell you right now is that unless something happens we're not going to be able to get in until we can make these corrections and the best I am hearing is at least two months," Ward said. He said right now they are trying to determine the best option, then they will meet with Brown.

"Most state officials are aware this is going on," he said. "It's not just public schools, but other public entities as well."

Ward said he even looked at having fire watch personnel in the building, but that exception only gives about seven days' time.

McMillan asked the extent of the shutdown.

"Administration can probably be in there doing regular stuff, but the full-blown use of the campus for the purpose with which it was intended is not allowed," Ward said. He added that any violations will result in a cease and desist from the state. "Pretty strong language from a public official."

McMillan asked about the other facilities, and Ward said there are some after-hours projects at Jose Barrios that are moving along as scheduled.

Brown informed the board of a leave of absence request from a staff member. He also briefly read the Asbestos Management Notification Plan.

He also spoke about the return to school for secondary school students. "The goal as a community is to be open by October 19 for our students. It is up to the Public Education Department to allow reentry. It is not a District decision," Brown said. "In light of the information from Mr. Ward, there might be a delay for us."

Then Clough spoke about the return to school. "Today is the first day of hybrid. I want to stress that it went well, but with something new there is always room to improve." He said there were minor delays due to temperature checking, but all entry and operations went well.

Clough gave further information to the board about renewing the school system's membership with the Southwest New Mexico Council of Governments. This would be the third year working with the SWNMCOG, an entity with resources for grant-finding and other partnerships in the community.

McCain then presented the budget adjustments for the month. "Everything about this year is not normal," she said. "We're doing our best to stay ahead of the game and foresee issues, to be prepared for them," McCain expressed that she wants to be able to pay for staff and regular budget items. "We're at the mercy of the governor and the legislature. We will do everything we can to stay ahead and to maintain our budget."

During board comments, President Flores briefly read the proposed changes to the resolution to establish reasonable notice to the public of all public meetings of the board. This is not a new resolution, but it does need to be officially adopted. The full resolution can be found below.

Flores thanked everyone for their patience in the virtual world. "Hopefully we can have a more normal meeting in the future," he said. "I do want to remind everybody that not everyone is going to be happy, whether we go to school or not, and even more after the news about the fire alarms. I hope the public understands we are doing the best we can with what we have."

McMillan said amidst his frustration with board operations he remains excited about the hybrid school model beginning. "There are going to be setbacks but the board is here to support you," he said. "I'm excited that we've started this journey, and best of luck to everybody."

"It feels good, there's a lot of positivity in the air," Montenegro said. "I feel like Silver Schools is making a statement that we know the virus is real but we are taking the appropriate precautions to keep everyone safe." Montenegro is proud of the work that has been done and believes Silver Schools will prove to be a model for other school systems.

Montenegro also commented on the return to physical activity. "Kids are excited to be out there," she said, "Kids are even participating that haven't done sports in the past. I think it's great for physical fitness, mental health, and morale."

Diaz also welcomed everyone back to the school year. "I'd like to encourage people that the protocol is there to keep us in school." She shared a bit of wisdom the she imparted to her own children, "You have to be patient and the word of the year is 'adapt.'"

No public comments were received for consideration by the board.

All action items passed unanimously.

The next Silver Consolidated Schools meeting is set for October 19, 2020.

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