The Rio Rancho Public Schools Board of Education approved the district’s 2025–26 preventive maintenance plan Monday, directing facilities staff to expand preventive HVAC maintenance, continue building automation integration and use new real‑time utility monitoring to detect water leaks.
Patrick Martinez, the district’s executive director of facilities, outlined the plan and highlighted three priorities: quarterly inspections of mechanical rooms to reduce storage and pest issues, an expanded preventive maintenance checklist for HVAC systems adopting ASHRAE and ACCA standards, and use of a software platform that ingests smart‑meter data to notify staff of water leaks in real time.
“...we're gonna be adopting the ASHRAE, the ACCA standards, which is a checklist of about a 180 tasks,” Martinez said, describing the HVAC checklist the district plans to follow. He also described the water monitoring system implemented with Mountain Vector Energy and the city’s smart meters that alerts staff automatically when a leak is detected.
The plan also added staff development and maintenance safety training and reorganized the district warehouse as a separate sub‑department to improve supply and curriculum support. Martinez said the district expects to hire three new grounds staff under a recent negotiated agreement to reduce reliance on contractors.
Board member Jessica Tyler moved to approve the preventive maintenance plan; board member Miller seconded. The motion passed 5‑0.
During board discussion, members pressed Martinez on HVAC vulnerabilities and recent progress at schools. Martinez said the district has invested heavily in air‑conditioning upgrades over several years and estimated total HVAC investment “over 30,000,000.” Board members and district staff said weekly monitoring and a stronger preventive schedule are top priorities going into the school year.