Rio Rancho board hears mid‑process pre‑K review as committee weighs center vs. school‑site options

Jan Chenault, the district's elementary school improvement officer, and committee co‑chair Jerry Reeder gave the Rio Rancho Public Schools Board of Education a mid‑process review of the district’s pre‑K planning on Oct. 28. The committee, which Chenault said includes about 30 parents, teachers and department leaders, has surveyed families, toured facilities and developed a list of options for expanding access.

The committee reported that current half‑day programming at Shining Stars serves "a little over 400 children" but that converting to full‑day at that single site would, in the district’s estimate, reduce service to about 210 students unless additional space is provided. "If the state forces us to go full day, we will go down to 210 students served," Superintendent Dr. B. C. Cleveland told the board.

Committee members summarized the tradeoffs. A center model (the committee’s most common preference) would centralize staffing, ancillary services and specialized support in one or two facilities, enabling the district to scale and keep specialized staff in one place. A distributed school‑site approach could allow more students to remain at neighborhood schools and ease transitions to kindergarten, but, the presenters warned, it would limit placement of students with higher special‑education needs and could strain related‑arts scheduling and staffing.

The committee shared survey numbers and preferences: the presenter reported parents of 3‑ and 4‑year‑olds preferred full‑day options at about 51.2 percent, with 26.2 percent preferring half day and the remainder selecting either option. The committee also reported its internal ‘plus/delta’ exercise: 17 committee members prioritized a second center as the top possibility while seven favored distributing pre‑K across elementary sites.

Facility and staffing constraints were central in the discussion. Patrick Martinez presented site‑capacity reviews and told the board that a repurposed school would require restroom and access upgrades to meet pre‑K standards; presenters also highlighted state licensure rules (coaching cycles, early‑childhood certification) and a limited pool of early‑childhood‑certified staff. Jan Chenault said the grant referenced in committee materials funds 410 half‑day seats under current rules and that expanding to full day alters both seat counts and budget calculations.

Board members asked for comparative research and best practices from other districts and states; Vice President Morgan and Board Member Tripp requested evidence about center‑based versus school‑site outcomes. The committee said it plans executive‑director briefings on transportation, food services and budget implications before returning to the board with a recommendation targeted for January.

Next steps: the committee will host additional briefings for transportation, special services and budget staff; committee members said they will also meet with the Early Childhood Education and Care Department (ECECD) to clarify state expectations. The board did not take a final vote and awaits the committee’s January recommendation.