Superintendent Bisou Cleveland told the Rio Rancho Public Schools Board of Education on Oct. 13 that the district is asking voters on Nov. 4 to approve an $80 million bond to fund school infrastructure, safety upgrades and facility expansions.

The bond, Cleveland said, would fund a new full-day pre-K facility the district values at about $41 million, with the district’s share about $17 million and a potential matching contribution from the Public School Facilities Authority (PSFA) of roughly $24 million. “So a really good deal for the community,” Cleveland said, noting that PSFA matching would cover the largest share if approved by voters.

The nut graf: The bond is framed by district leaders as a way to expand early-childhood capacity, finish incomplete 2023 bond projects and address inflation-driven construction cost increases that have raised per-square-foot prices for recent projects, including a cited increase for the new Independence High School.

Cleveland and board members described specific projects that would be covered if the bond passes. They include completion of the Independence High School project, roof replacements, drainage repairs, electrical infrastructure upgrades, improvements to athletic and marching-band practice surfaces and a proposed STEAM magnet program at Rio Rancho Elementary School. Cleveland said the district is considering transforming the 50-year-old Rio Rancho Elementary into a science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics magnet while allowing neighborhood students to remain at the school.

On early childhood services, Cleveland said Rio Rancho has a high percentage of underserved pre-K–age children in New Mexico and currently offers pre-K to only a fraction of eligible students because other districts have had unused space while Rio Rancho did not. The proposed new full-day pre-K facility, she said, would address full-day needs expressed by working families. Cleveland warned that if the state forced the district to a full-day program without additional funding, the district might have to reduce current service capacity by about 50 percent.

Cleveland also outlined a set of needs and projects: intercom upgrades cited as a basic safety issue; bus-loop rework to separate buses from parent vehicles; roofing and HVAC maintenance described as “pay now or pay a whole lot more later;” land acquisition on the south end of Rio Rancho to reserve a middle-school site near recent residential growth; and a replacement site for the district’s Chatham Mesa daycare, which serves staff and student parents and is self-supporting through parent fees.

The superintendent said inflation has dramatically increased construction costs, noting an example in which projected construction costs for the new Independence High School exceeded $800 per square foot — “four times the cost of construction for Joe Harris Elementary in 2020,” she said — and that uncompleted 2023 bond items are now more expensive to finish.

Cleveland encouraged the community to vote on Nov. 4 for both the bond and board seats, and the district said it is conducting presentations to community groups and businesses in advance of the election.

Ending: The board took no binding action on the bond at the Oct. 13 meeting; Cleveland closed her presentation by asking the community to participate in the election process and pointing to upcoming community and parent meetings related to the district’s superintendent search and outreach on Oct. 15–16 and a public comment/survey deadline of Oct. 19.