Board Discusses Possibility of Closing Some Schools

Alcalde Elementary could receive students from other schools like Dixon and Velarde, if the school board decides to close some schools and consolidate. There’s been no decision on how to handle declining enrollment and school closures were just a discussion topic among the board members at the May 5 meeting. (Photo from Alcalde Elementary website)

By Brad Butterfield Special to the Rio Grande Sun
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Options Being Considered as Enrollment Continues to Decline Throughout the District

As many as five elementary schools in the Española school district may close in the coming years as it faces an enrollment decline and financial struggles. 

The district’s population has decreased significantly since 2020 and is now at 35,580, with only 19.6% of the students under 18 years old, Colleen Martinez, president of Visions in Planning, Inc., said during a presentation at the May 5 school board meeting. 

Enrollment has fallen by over 30% since the 2015-16 school year, dropping from 2,291 to 1,478 elementary students, Martinez said. Projections estimate a further decline to 1,152 by 2030-31, leaving 59.5 surplus classrooms — equivalent to two to three elementary schools, she said. This declining enrollment is costing the district significantly, particularly at the small schools.

“Smaller schools cost significantly more to run, and you’re not getting a return on that investment because you still can’t support full-time music, you still can’t support full-time art, you still can’t support full-time PE at an under-enrolled school,” Martinez said.

The district faces significant maintenance costs for its aging schools. For example, Abiquiú Elementary, with a capacity of 140 students, had only 70 enrolled this year, which is down 40% since 2015-16, Martinez said. Hernandez Elementary, once full at 159 students, now has 85 students enrolled. The 73,000-square-feet of excess, unused space requires upkeep, affecting the district’s small schools.

“The number of work orders that are coming into our system are substantially higher in our smaller schools, because those are generally the older schools,” Superintendent Eric Spencer said. “When you start taking a look at what’s the total number of purchase orders to date, divide that by the population of students during the school year, you can definitely see where all the human resources are going.” 

The district spends around $17,000 per student at EPS’s smaller schools and around $7,800 at the larger schools, he said.

The enrollment decline is consistent with a statewide trend of a more than 20% reduction since 2009–2010, affecting even growing districts, Martinez said. EPS projections, based on averages, indicate a further 21.4% enrollment drop over the next six years, driven by ongoing out-migration, low birth rates and a shrinking local population she said. This decline is expected to particularly impact Abiquiú, Dixon and Velarde elementary schools, with projected enrollments in six years falling to 44 students at Abiquiú and 30 at Dixon, Martinez said.

To address the anticipated, continued decline in enrollment, Martinez presented four options to the board. Option one would shrink the district to six elementary schools by merging Velarde and Dixon into Alcalde, splitting Hernandez students between Abiquiú and Española elementaries and moving Chimayó students to Sombrillo elementary. Option two would cut EPS down to five elementary schools, combining Abiquiú and Hernandez with Española; Chimayó with Sombrillo; and Velarde and Dixon with Alcalde. Option three would merge San Juan and Fairview elementaries, while keeping option two’s changes. Option four would keep seven elementary schools, merging Velarde, Dixon, and Alcalde, with parts of Hernandez folding into Abiquiú and Española.

“In summary, just looking at declining enrollment, maintaining the 10 elementary schools and the teachers, both economically and educationally, is just going to be unsustainable,” Martinez said.

The prospect of closing schools has been met with resistance by some in the community.

“I know there’s been fights amongst the community, especially Velarde, about closing their school,” School Board President Javin Coriz said. “But in the long run, they can’t be selfish. We have to think about every single kid in this district and how it’s affecting their learning environment.”

Regardless of which option the district selects going forward, the board recognized that communication with the community will be key.

“We’re going to have to be transparent with (the communities),” Coriz said. “We’re going to have to make sure that they’re aware of the reasoning of our possible action.” 

He advocated for community forums to discuss the data, and asked that Martinez join the forums so the public could hear the facts directly from her.

Faced with difficult options to confront the declining enrollment, Coriz emphasized that the closure of some schools would not come without its benefits.

“It’s not only going to benefit us financially, but it’s also going to benefit your kid educationally, because now we’re going to have enough teachers, principals and counselors,” he said.

He also noted that smaller schools miss out on programs like Moving Arts due to low enrollment, creating disparities in opportunities for students.

Board Secretary Dale Salazar said that having the district less spread out could also increase student safety across the district.

“You know, it’s like they say, having all your eggs in one basket,” he said. “If we can do that, our kids will be safer.”

The financial strain on the district, coupled with ever-decreasing enrollment is forcing action to be taken.

“It’s time to start plugging the holes on our ship and trying to get to the prize,” Coriz said. “You know, it’s getting these kids education in a healthy environment ... and we got to start thinking about that.”

Other business

Following Martinez’s presentation, the board approved entering into a contract negotiation with Dynamic Leadership Solutions to assist in selecting the district’s new superintendent, a process expected to conclude by July. Spencer’s final day will be June 30. He’s retiring one year earlier than originally contracted. The board is currently reviewing applications and aims to finalize a timeline for interviews and background checks, Spencer said.