School districts to get update on Impact Aid

By Jim Tiffin
Cibola County Bureau

GRANTS — A hearing in 11th Judicial District Court in Gallup on March 20 will provide the Zuni, McKinley and Grants-Cibola County school districts an update on the status of the Impact Aid lawsuit.

Kilino Marquez, superintendent of the Grants-Cibola County School District said the request was made by the Zuni School District and the Grants-Cibola District will be there.

The suit was filed against the state because it takes about 75 percent of funding for the school districts from the federal government for the state's purposes.

Marquez said the old Laguna-Acoma Middle/High School is now on a lease to the tribe until attorneys get the kinks worked out of who would own equipment and what kind of liability there is, especially for the underground gasoline tanks that have been there since late 1980s or early 1990s. Grants attorney Bruce Boynton made a brief presentation to the school board Tuesday night on this issue, Marquez said.

"We have to make sure, with the state's environmental department, that there is no contamination from the gasoline tanks that used to be there," Marquez said.

Marquez said he told the board he recently met with tribal councils of the Pueblos of Acoma and Laguna to update them on how the Native American students are faring, especially at the new Laguna-Acoma Middle/High School in Casa Blanca, one mile south of Interstate 40 at exit 108.

"Jim Reed, the principal there, is making the problematical changes needed for staff and the day-to-day operations," Marquez said.

The tribal councils were concerned about the lack of continuity with principals, for leadership at the school, Marquez said.

He said he thinks that situation has been solved with Reed.

In other board business, a special master plan for all school district facilities has been completed and forwarded to the state's Public Education Department, Marquez said.

"We went to every school site and met with the staff and looked at the facilities and identified what condition the schools and buildings were in, to complete this report," Marquez said.

The report was required by the education department in order to list priorities for funding for schools statewide.

An item, Training and Experience audit for staff was tabled due to Personnel Director Duane Toivanen being ill and not able to attend the meeting, Marquez said.

— To contact reporter Jim Tiffin, call (505) 287-2197, or e-mail: tiffin.independent@yahoo.com.