By Marty Mayfield
KRTN Multi-Media
KRTN sat down with Dr. Christopher Bonn, Raton Public Schools Superintendent, to discuss the reopening of the Raton schools after the State of the State address Tuesday afternoon by Governor Lujan-Grisholm who announced that New Mexico could go back to school February 8, 2021, But!
The BUT, and it’s a big, But, comes from the New Mexico Public Education Department who told school superintendents that you can reopen if you meet all these conditions. As with many schools in New Mexico the age of the buildings is a factor and they will have to meet the new air quality standards. In order to meet those standards, they will have to have filtering in place to filter the air in classrooms and office spaces.
Schools, government buildings and others will have to have these devices in place in order to reopen. Yes, Dr. Bonn knew about the air quality issue late last year but, and here is the catch, the state hasn’t released the funding to get the devices and since the state is paying the bill the devices have to come from one manufacture. Can you imagine what that will be like when all the schools and others, place their orders all at once, to only one company?
Then, teachers have to be willing to return to the classroom. Several Raton teachers have told Dr. Bonn we will not return until we have been vaccinated with both doses. If they can get teachers on the list and start the shots next week, they are still three more weeks out in getting back into the classroom. Then comes the question how many teachers will even receive the vaccine? These and other questions are yet to be answered.
Dr. Bonn noted that several students will likely want to stay on a remote learning platform instead of returning to the classroom while others will need that face-to-face interaction of the regular classroom. He said I really wish I had the numbers so we could plan on what to do.
In order for Raton to return to the court or the field the school has to be in the hybrid model. The hybrid model is 50% of the enrollment will attend in person classes for two days then the other 50% will attend classes on different days which is supposed to allow for social distancing in the classroom. How many other schools in the district will make it back and when? That too is a big question that only time will be able to answer before sports schedules can be made.
Its January and graduation is not that far away, when asked how will graduation look this year Dr. Bonn simply said he wants it to be great. He added these seniors have missed so much under these trying times.
So, when will Raton go back to in person classes? It depends on when air filtrations devices arrive after the state finally releases funding and when teachers can get vaccinated. Is anybody taking bets that it will be this school year that ends in June?
