Board votes to close Ranchvale

Clovis public school board members on Tuesday voted unanimously to close Ranchvale Elementary School, but they also gave Ranchvale supporters a glimmer of hope with the words used in making the decision.

The motion was read by board secretary Terry Martin:

“I move to no longer offer educational services at Ranchvale Elementary School, starting with the 20016-17 school year — closing the school subject to PED (New Mexico Public Education Department) approval. And that determination about how and whether the property will be used going forth for school purposes will be subject of future studies. The District reserves the right to continue use of the property for school purposes.”

Board Vice President Paul Cordova provided the second to the motion, which was followed by a roll call vote in which Martin, Cordova, board President Kyle Snider and members Justin Howalt and Cindy Osburn voted in the affirmative.

The portion of the motion that acknowledges the closure would have to be approved by NMPED provided a measure of solace for those who seek to keep the school online.

“I’m saddened the district has not been forthcoming,” Ranchvale parent Susan Macfarlane said. “We will now go to the state. It could take the Public Education Department up to a year to close our school. So we could very well be in place next school year.”

Macfarlane, Marla Jones and Kenneth Davis were three Ranchvale supporters allotted time to express their thoughts in open discussion after a presentation by Deputy Superintendent of Schools Carrie Bunce, who shared background information regarding Ranchvale and the district’s concerns leading up to the potential closure vote.

Bunce highlighted three primary concerns:

• Safety. In the event of an emergency, the best-case scenario of 11 to 15 minutes response time from first responders is more than double the worst-case scenario of all schools within the city limits (one to five minutes).

• Water. The school uses a privately owned well a quarter-mile from the school because its on-site well had high nitrate levels and was abandoned.

• Overall condition. Items needing replacement include the school roof (an immediate $1.2 million cost), carpet, various doors, windows, piping, sewer lines, intercom. Items needing upgrades include the HVAC system, 11 classrooms, the nursing area, the administrative area, restrooms that aren’t compliant with the Americans With Disabilities Act and the electrical system.

Under the closure provisions, Ranchvale students residing in on- and off-base housing would be rerouted to Barry Elementary School while rural and SR311 students would attend Sandia Elementary School; although prior to the vote, Cordova requested that all measures be taken to keep the 274 students together in the relocation process.

Jones said there are still a number of loose ends she would like to have the school board address in full. She also criticized the presence of two uniformed police officers at the meeting.

“I don’t think they’re being realistic about the busing issue,” she said.

“Our children are going to be spending more time on buses going to and from school and overcrowding at Sandia is an issue that hasn’t been resolved.

“Lastly, I’m very disappointed in the decision to have a police presence here tonight. We are concerned parents, but we are not violent or aggressive. This is a big disappointment to all of us.”

Ranchvale was formed in 1917-1918 when Sunshine, Ideal, Bethal, and Fertile Valley were closed and consolidated at a site one-quarter mile west of the Vernon Tate family home, and named by them as Ranchvale. In 1919 a new building was erected at the present site of Ranchvale School.

Davis is a direct descendant of those who donated the land on which Ranchvale stands.

“You have a responsibility to the parents of the 31 kids who are descendants of those who were promised an education in the rural school,” he said in addressing the board members. “My family put the property in the school district’s hands. All we want you to do is keep that promise alive and keep the school open. It’s more than a school. It’s a community. I love Ranchvale School. It’s in the fabric of our community. ”

Davis also offered responses to the school district’s concerns with regard to safety and water in the form of the sheriff’s department serving as first responders in an expedient manner in the event of an emergency, the impending assembly of a volunteer fire department and a more than stable water supply.

“This was a very difficult decision,” Snider said. “It’s the most difficult decision I have been faced with since being elected to the board. We know you all are very passionate about Ranchvale and we are, too.”

Martin said he would like to see the school district’s link to the area in which the school is located somehow stay intact.

“We have a rich history with Ranchvale and that I don’t want to go away,” he said.