School board OKs Ram summer workouts

PORTALES — The New Mexico Activities Association is referring to reopening summer workouts Monday as “Return to Play.” Portales Athletic Director Mark Gallegos sees it more as a return to normalcy for Portales High’s various athletes.

“I think some of our kids are just hurting mentally,” Gallegos said during Monday’s school board meeting, where he outlined the June workout process. “I think they need to have some interaction with each other. I think they need to see coaches who are huge parts of their lives.”

Athletes are registering on the Portales schools website for the blocks — Mondays and Wednesdays or Tuesdays and Thursdays at either 7 a.m., 8 a.m. or 7 p.m.

Gallegos said PHS grad and new Portales teacher Nathan Chavez has designed a program that is being sent to each athlete for the June workouts, and sport-specific work will begin in July. In creating the June plan, Gallegos credited coaches for thinking not in terms of their individual programs but in the best interests of the kids.

Under NMAA guidelines, workouts will take place in coed pods with five athletes and one coach. The 11 pods will be at the PHS football field (four pods), soccer fields (four) and football practice field (three). To limit contact, there will be separate parking lots for each field, athletes are to come dressed with their own water bottle and the campus will be cleared before the next groups arrive.

All coaches will get a COVID-19 test, and any athlete will be able to get a free test at La Casa with parental accompaniment. Athletes must wear masks when they enter the facility, but can remove them prior to working out. The district will have masks available if needed.

Entry requires a temperature check and screening, and any athlete with a temperature of 100.3 or higher will be sent home and cannot return until a medical professional provides written clearance.

Gallegos is hoping for minimal pushback on limiting facilities to coaches and athletes, and hopes people who use the track at the football field will instead use the one at Eastern New Mexico University.

“My biggest concern, honestly, is that the community understands we’re not trying to keep them out,” Gallegos said. “We need to keep the well-being of our children as the No. 1 concern. That first night, I may have some upset parents or upset community members.”

Details for a second phase in July are pending, but Gallegos is optimistic many activities will move inside.

Board member Inez Rodriguez said the plan looked promising and encouraged Gallegos to go ahead with everything.

Fellow board member Rodney Savage advised telling kids not to do physical activity immediately before the workouts because it could raise their temperatures. Gallegos thought Savage made a good point and planned to give those instructions, but he anticipated most of the morning session kids would be rolling out of bed just in time to make the practice.

The NMAA has also allowed waivers on student physicals provided one was on file for 2019-20, and parents sign a waiver and an updated health history. Though he’s still working on how they’ll be administered, Gallegos still plans to require physicals for fall sports practices in August because he sees too many potential issues with growing and developing athletes to skip a year.

In other business at the Monday school board meeting:

n Superintendent Johnnie Cain honored Gallegos with an Excellence in Student Achievement Award from the New Mexico School Boards Association. The award is one of 142 awarded by 64 school boards honoring individuals who have played an important role in improving student achievement.

The only negative, Cain said, was that this upcoming season would be Gallegos’ last — unless Cain could somehow talk him out of retiring.

Gallegos started his teaching and coaching career in 1988, first for three years at Santa Teresa, then three years at Portales Junior High and four years in Alamogordo before he became the Portales High boys basketball coach. After 14 seasons, which included the 2001 Class 3A championship and a 2005 Class 3A runner-up finish, he was elevated to the athletic director position and has served eight years.

“Like I say all the time, I’m very fortunate to work here,” Gallegos said. “I wouldn’t be here 25 of my 33 years if I didn’t believe in what this community does and what this board does to support not only me but the kids.”

Gallegos told The News after the meeting Cain might be able to convince him to stay, but he evaluates on a yearly basis and his decision to stay this year was somewhat influenced by not wanting to leave the district in a bind during the pandemic.

• The board approved a facility usage agreement with the city of Portales allowing school field usage for city league sports.

• The board approved an agreement with the Portales Police Department for a resource officer at the schools. Under the agreement, the district pays half of the resource officer’s salary and the officer is dedicated to the schools during the school year.

• Cain told board members he is trying to plan for the upcoming school year, but will likely have to make two or three different plans because so many of the parameters are uncertain.

Cain noted that he has budget authority on $900,000 in CARES Act money, but is holding off on spending it until after the special legislative session because state legislators are discussing using those dollars to balance education budgets.

“If they take credit for that CARES money,” Cain said, “that replaces what we were going to do because CARES Act money would go toward operational expenses.”

• The next meeting is scheduled for 1 p.m. July 13.