$2.6 Million Football Stadium Completed in T.A.

    Construction crews recently put the final touches on the mult-imillion dollar football stadium paid for with proceeds from the General Obligation Bond sale voters approved, Feb.3.

    Crews worked to finish the $2.6 million Escalante High School athletic facility, complete with a red turf, ahead of the Sept. 4 home opener against the Dulce High School Hawks.

    School officials raised the $2.6 million to cover the stadium’s costs by selling $4.67 million in school building and improvement bonds to the New Mexico Finance Authority.

    The $4.67 million is a bit more than half of the $8 million in General Obligation Bonds Chama Independent School District Voters approved during the Feb. 3 School Board election. Voters approved the bonds so school officials could initiate some capital improvements.

    The money raised from the bond sale was designated for capital and technological improvements, as opposed to salaries and operations.   

    The Board signed a contract with Bosque Farm’s Lone Mountain Contracting to construct the facility.

    Chama Independent School District Superintendent Anthony Casados said instead of going through the time-consuming Request for Proposals or Invitation to Bid process, he and the Board decided to choose a Cooperative Education Services contractor from a list of pre-approved statewide vendors.

    Casados said the athletic facility is long overdue and will serve as a source of pride for the community for years.

    Casados said, as a lifelong resident of the area, he sees his work at enhancing the community as an obligation that goes much further than a paycheck.

    “I’ve been employed in the Chama Valley Schools for 29 years,” he said. “I attended school here, my kids went here and my grandkids are currently enrolled here. It is an investment, not just a job.”

    Additionally, District officials paid nearly $80,000 to upgrade the playgrounds at the elementary schools and $18,000 to remove the old bleachers.

    Board President Earl James Martinez said the elementary school playgrounds needed upgrading because they created an unsafe environment for the students.

    “The district’s insurance carrier recommended we not allow our students to utilize the playgrounds,” he said. “This was due to improper fall surfaces and antiquated equipment. These issues have been addressed and now the playgrounds are open for use.”

    Playgrounds and athletic fields aren’t the only areas to receive attention with the funding. District officials were able to upgrade the existing technology infrastructure by purchasing 350 new computers, 130 Kindles (electronic readers), and nine commercial printers.

    Of the 350 computers, District personnel bought 200 Hewlett-Packard desktop computers, which were distributed to elementary, middle and high school classrooms. Students in each unit will also have access to mobile computer carts that are used to store the 150 Apple MacBooks, also purchased with the money.

    In addition to making improvements students can benefit from, like the computers and athletic facility, the District made improvements that aren’t all that visible, including a fire suppression system for Chama Elementary School.

    Board members approved the resolution authorizing the $4.67 million bond sale, at an April 7 meeting. The measure passed by a 3-1 vote. Board member Tirzio Lopez voted against the resolution and member Monica Cordova was absent.

    Shortly after the vote, Martinez told the Rio Grande SUN it was easy to support the resolution, especially since the voters supported it.

    “The voters of the area approved the bond, the fixed interest rates were at the lowest in the last decade, at least, and the New Mexico Finance Authority is one of the highest-rated companies, so it was an easy vote for me,” Martinez said. “Supporting the bonds was the right thing to do, because the children in our District deserve the best.”

    Voters approved, Feb. 3, the issuance of $8 million in general obligations bonds to the District. Of the 771 people who voted in the election, 403 supported the bond measure and 368 opposed it.

    When officials first announced the project, Lopez criticized the priority his fellow colleagues and the District’s administration placed on the various projects.

    However, now that the project is nearing completion, Lopez said touring the new field and seeing children, as young as seven, using the field, filled him with pride.

    “I would like to say it is good to see our young athletes doing their activities on a new field, they could be proud of,” Lopez said. “I was able to walk around the field and I did see our YAFL (Young American Football League) youth practicing on the field.” 

    The bond sale also made it possible for District officials to receive a reprieve regarding a $2.7 million loan from the state. The Public School Capital Outlay Committee forgave the majority of the earlier loan, after District officials worked out an arrangement to pay $500,000 of the principal, using the bond proceeds.

    Once the District completes these projects, they can start discussing what it would take to build a new gym for the high school.

    “Before we even consider the design for a new gym, we must finalize the existing projects followed by an evaluation of our financial status as it relates to bond monies,” Casados said.

    Lopez said the Board has not discussed when they should attempt to sell the remaining $3.3 million in bonds voters approved.