The Board for the Questa Independent School District (QISD) held a meeting Dec. 21 during which local lobbyist Gabriel Cisneros shared his plans to represent the district at New Mexico’s upcoming legislative session.

Cisneros, working alongside NM Representative Kristina Ortez and NM Senator Roberto Gonzalez will have 90 days to secure funding for Questa’s schools.

“The things that the Superintendent [referring to QISD Superintendent John Maldonado] and I are working on arecritical priorities, emergencies, roofing, mechanical, electrical, whatever, then hit Governor Michelle Lujan-Grisham for the big project,” said Cisneros, hoping to secure general funding for the district.

The focus of the discussion centered on infrastructure improvements for the schools with a focus on Alta Vista Elementary & Intermediate.

“There’s a lot of money, let’s see what we can do,” Cisneros said.

The QISD Board hopes for funding in the range of $750,000 – $1.8 million to “get Alta Vista up to par” regarding infrastructure, according to Superintendent Maldonado and Questa High School Principal Kimber MacDonald. Board Member Juan Cisneros asserted that Alta Vista was the higher priority in terms of facility improvements and the Board tacitly agreed.

A recording of the Dec. 21 QISD Board meeting can be viewed at the following web address: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BtUKwmkb5rc.

If you are interested in contacting your state representative/senator, you can find them at http://www.nmlegis.gov. Legislation will be prefiled between January 3–13.