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Voting, Attendance Policies among Issues at Board of Education Meeting
Rebecca Bennett
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School board finances, school board elections and students skipping class were big topics at a meeting of the Las Cruces Public Schools Board of Education Tuesday, November 16 at the Las Cruces Public Schools Administration building.
In his presentation of the first quarter of the 2004-2005 fiscal year finance report for LCPS to the School Board and Superintendent Louis Martinez, Board member and Associate Superintendent of Finance Jack Jenkins said increases in utility rates paired with the recent trend of cold weather would result in a budget deficit.
“Significant increases in utilities will impact our finances negatively,” Jenkins told the audience.
Despite the projected deficit, higher utility costs had been foreseen. In terms of public school finances, “Our revenues are right on target with projection,” Jenkins said. “The district maintains a very solid financial position at this time.”
Voting locations for the February 2005 School Board elections were also an issue of discussion, as LCPS Communication Director Jo Galv·n outlined a poll conducted via email of projected voters. Most of the approximately 300 respondents felt “consistent voting locations is extremely important, but not necessarily more locations at an additional cost,” Galv·n said. Most respondents also felt “that increased efforts to inform the public about where to vote” is extremely important.
This led Board member Leonel F. BriseÒo to voice concern about School Board Election Precinct 18, covering Mesilla, and its history of voting locations. For each of the last three School Board elections, the polls were located in three different locations each time: Mesilla Elementary School, MacArthur Elementary School, and Zia Middle School. After some discussion, the School Board agreed to send Precinct 18’s polling place back to MacArthur for the 2005 election.
Other resolutions and proclamations passed by the School Board established Feb. 1, 2005 as School Board Election Day, amended certain precinct voting locations, detailed announcement of vacant positions, and approved certain candidacy and voting procedures. School Board Districts 1, 2 and 3, currently represented by Board members Chuck Davis, BriseÒo and School Board President Gene Gant, are all open seats in the upcoming election. Those who are elected to fill those positions will serve four-year terms beginning March 1, 2005.
Another issue discussed was Policy 300, the school district’s attendance policy. According to the policy, schools are required to take accurate and timely attendance for each student, and identify students who are truant or habitually truant and try to keep these students “in an educational setting.” In addition, schools are prohibited from punishing truant students through suspension or expulsion from school.
The policy, originally adopted in 2000 and revised for the meeting by Galv·n, included a comprehensive list of definitions pertaining to truancy. The list proved to be too comprehensive for several board members’ tastes; as School Board Vice President John H. Schwebke told Galv·n, “I commend you on this, but if we wrote down all our definitions, we’d have a book.” Board member Chuck Davis recommended eliminating the definitions but keeping the rest of the policy as it was, and the rest of the Board agreed.
Superintendent Martinez addressed the definition of an unexcused absence, or any absence deemed as not having “an allowable excuse pursuant to the Compulsory Attendance Law.” The Compulsory Attendance Law, Martinez said, states that no absence is excused. Mentioning the restriction on suspension or expulsion for truant students, Martinez said, “We may have to revisit this policy.”
The meeting also recognized the Las Cruces High School varsity boys’ soccer team and the Mayfield High School girls’ volleyball team for winning respective 5A State Championships.
“These student athletes are examples of what carries us across the state,” Gant said.
A proclamation was also issued to designate Nov. 14-20 as American Education Week throughout LCPS.
The next regular Las Cruces Public Schools Board of Education meeting is scheduled for Dec. 7 at 6:30 p.m. in the Board Room at the LCPS Administration building, located at 505 S. Main St.
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