By Marty Mayfield
KRTN Multi-Media
The Raton Public Schools received word Thursday afternoon, April 2 that the New Mexico Public Education Department has approved the closing of two schools in the district and to consolidate students into the three remaining school buildings.
According to the request waiver Longfellow will house pre-kindergarten through second grade with an estimated student count of 292 students. The capacity of Longfellow is rated at 319 students.
Raton Middle School will now be called Raton Intermediate School and house third through sixth grade. Based on current enrollment RIS will see a total of 298 students with a max capacity of 319 students.
Raton High School will see the seventh and eighth grades added for a total of 382 students. The maximum capacity at Raton High is rated at 643. According to the plan that was revealed early this year the seventh students will be located in what is now known as the freshman academy located on the upper level of the school. This will keep those students segregated from the upper grades.
The requested reorganization will have an impact on the State Equalization Guarantee (SEG) funding formula of a decrease of approximately $386,082.59 since the district will lose 96.33 size units. Raton is proposing this reorganization to address the current decrease in enrollment which is expected to continue its decline.
Stay tuned to KRTNradio.com and KRTN 93.9 FM for updates as this story unfolds and schedules for the consolidation are developed.
Click the link below to see the complete Waiver Request for the Raton Schools Consolidation.
RPS Consolidation Waiver Request
Raton Public Schools Superintendent Dr Neil Terhune spoke to Billy D and Marty Mayfield on This, That and the Other program Friday morning. Here is the video of that conversation/interview concerning the Raton Schools consolidation.
This is an explanation of the SEG funding
New Mexico’s Public School Funding Formula
New Mexico Statutes 22-8-25
A.The state equalization guarantee distribution is that amount of money distributed to each school district to ensure that the school district’s operating revenue, including its local and federal revenues as defined in this section, is at least equal to the school district’s program cost.
B. “Local revenue”, as used in this section, means seventy-five percent of receipts to the school district derived from that amount produced by a school district property tax applied at the rate of fifty cents ($.50) to each one thousand dollars($1,000) of net taxable value of property allocated to the school district and to the assessed value of products severed and sold in the school district as determined under the Oil and Gas Ad Valorem Production Tax Act [Chapter 7, Article 32 NMSA 1978] and upon the assessed value of equipment in the school district as determined under the Oil and Gas Production Equipment Ad Valorem Tax Act [Chapter 7, Article 34 NMSA 1978]. The school district shall budget and expend twenty percent of the total revenue receipts for capital outlay as defined in the manual of accounting and budgeting provided in Section 22-8-5 NMSA 1978.
C. “Federal revenue”, as used in this section, means receipts to the school district, excluding amounts which, if taken into account in the computation of the state equalization guarantee distribution, result, under federal law or regulations, in a reduction in or elimination of federal school funding otherwise receivable by the school district, derived from the following:
(1) seventy-five percent of the school district’s share of forest reserve funds distributed in accordance with Section 22-8-33 NMSA 1978. The school district shall budget and expend twenty percent of the total forest reserve receipts for capital outlay as defined in the manual of accounting and budgeting provided in Section 22-8-5 NMSA 1978; and
(2) seventy-five percent of grants from the federal government as assistance to those areas affected by federal activity authorized in accordance with Title 20 of the United States Code, commonly known as “PL 874 funds” or “impact aid”. The school district shall budget and expend twenty percent of the grant receipts for capital outlay as defined in the manual of accounting and budgeting provided in Section 22-8-5 NMSA 1978.
D. To determine the amount of the state equalization guarantee distribution, the state superintendent shall:
(1) effective July 1, 1999 calculate the number of program units to which each school district is entitled using the basic program membership of the fortieth day of the prior year for all programs; provided that special education program units shall be calculated using the membership in special education programs on December 1 of the prior year; effective July 1, 2000, calculate the number of program units to which each school district is entitled using an average of the membership on the fortieth, eightieth and one hundred twentieth days of the prior year; or
(2) calculate the number of program units to which a school district operating under an approved year-round school calendar is entitled using the basic program membership on an appropriate date established by the state board; or
(3) calculate the number of program units to which a school district with a basic program MEM of two hundred or less is entitled by using the basic program membership on the fortieth day of either the prior or the current year, whichever is greater; provided that special education program units shall be calculated using the membership in special education programs on December 1 of either the prior or the current year; and
(4) using the results of the calculations in Paragraph (1), (2) or (3) of this subsection and the instructional staff training and experience index from the October report of the prior school year, establish a total program cost of the school district;
(5) calculate the local and federal revenues as defined in this section;
(6) deduct the sum of the calculations made in Paragraph (5) of this subsection from the program cost established in Paragraph (4) of this subsection; and
(7)deduct the total amount of guaranteed energy savings contract payments that the state superintendent determines will be made to the school district from the public school utility conservation fund during the fiscal year for which the state equalization guarantee distribution is being computed.
E. The amount of the state equalization guarantee distribution to which a school district is entitled is the balance remaining after the deductions made in Paragraphs (6) and (7) of Subsection D of this section.
F.The state equalization guarantee distribution shall be distributed prior to June 30 of each fiscal year. The calculation shall be based on the local and federal revenues specified in this section received from June 1 of the previous fiscal year through May 31 of the fiscal year for which the state equalization guarantee distribution is being computed. In the event that a district has received more state equalization guarantee funds than its entitlement, a refund shall be made by the district to the state general fund.
What is the school distrct netting after closing two schools and losing 386,000 in funding?
I thought the whole point of the consolidation was to say money but yet now we are going to lose funding as well as space for our children to learn!! I am not seeing the benefit to these proposals!!
Marty,
This plan never had 7th and 8th grade isolated on the third floor of the High School. There are only 5 classrooms on the third floor. The 8th graders will be on the main floor, isolated as much as possible in the west wing. This plan has us losing one of the high school’s computer labs in order to make room for the 8th graders. This lab is in the south wing of the high school. There was never a specific plan on where the 8th grade classrooms would end up being.
Thank you Mary for the clarification. I am sure this will be a fluid situation for a while and we hope to stay on top of it as things change.
Marty