middle school in '09

By GARY HERRON/OBSERVER STAFF REPORTER

With the nod of a head - five to be precise - the Rio Rancho Public Schools Board of Education added a middle school to the district Monday afternoon. That "new" middle school will hold classes at the Mid-High, where the district's eighth- and ninth-graders have been lodged since the 2002-03 school year.

With the 2007-08 school year underway, Superintendent Dr. Sue Cleveland said there are 2,400 students at the Mid-High, a campus built for 1,850 students.

In the fall of 2009, Cleveland High School will open its doors and the district's freshmen will return to the high school campuses of CHS and Rio Rancho High School.

"When we open that new high school, we're going to be full," Cleveland said. The district already is looking for land for a fourth high school.

A transition committee has been meeting since March to discuss what turned out to be six options for the Mid-High, which, relieved of its ninth-graders, could possibly serve as the soon-to-be-needed fourth high school.

Another option would have been to house seventh- and eighth-graders at the Mid-High and have fifth- and sixth-graders at the three middle schools, relieving elementary school congestion. But two elementary schools will be opened next fall, which will help with overcrowding at a number of elementary schools.

Using the Mid-High to serve only eighth-graders was decidedly a poor option: Moving kids from their middle schools to an eighth-grade campus for one year, then sending them to high school campuses, isn't a good idea for adolescents at that stage of their lives, officials said.

Instead, the board decided the best way to postpone the need for a brand-new middle school (Cleveland said all three middle schools are overcrowded) would be to use the Mid-High's eighth-grade wing to house sixth- through eighth-grade students beginning in the fall of 2009.

The Mid-High's ninth-grade wing will be used in several ways, including as a career enrichment facility. As an example of how that would work, Cleveland said a Film I and Film II class could be offered at CHS and RRHS, with enhanced film classes offered at the enrichment/resource center.

"Programs by choice," is the way Cleveland put it. "Both high schools will share highly technical, special instructors."

Another possibility for the enrichment/resource center would be using some of the classrooms for childcare: Students can learn about caring for children, getting both a view from a parent's aspect as well as a daycare provider, another career choice.

With the $105 million bond issue coming before voters on Oct. 9, along with the behind-the-scenes paperwork and necessities to get ready for it, Cleveland told the board, "We can't wait two weeks to get the information out to the community." She wanted to be sure voters knew everything the district was doing to delay the need for another high school.

"I think (the proposed Mid-High changes) has huge potential to meet specific needs of our young people and line up with (programs at) the University of New Mexico and CNM (Central New Mexico Community College)."

"I don't have any reason to go against that (recommendation)," board member Don Schlichte said, expressing the sentiments of the other four board members.

The board voted 5-0 to approve the plan.

The board will meet in special session Monday to discuss the upcoming bond issue. There is a regular meeting slated for the following Monday, Aug. 27.

The special meeting time will be 3:30, to accommodate new board member Divyesh Patel, who said he would be unavailable for the regular meeting time of 5:30.