Esequiel Romero, Jason Rael, Michael Cordova, and Jose Lovato were sworn in by Judge Michael Rael as members of Questa Independent School District’s Board of Education on the evening of January 11. The meeting’s discussions lasted five hours, covering recurring maintenance issues, coronavirus liabilities, new athletic integrations for students, and a presentation. Board Member Michael Cordova participated digitally through a Zoom call.
The first agenda item was a reorganization of the school board positions. Board Member/Secretary Juan Cisneros recommended delaying this reorganization so as not to thrust the newest members into new positions at the start of their tenure, and the rest of the board agreed. Esequiel Romero was voted in as Vice-Chair, and Jose Lovato remains the President, while Juan Cisneros remains the Secretary.
The Board then moved to invoke an executive session in which guests and spectators at the meeting left the board room. On the agenda was “possible legal action discussion with attorney on QISD school property.” The executive session lasted about 45 minutes and then the doors were again opened to the public.
Facilities Supervisor Robert Martinez spoke up from the audience about recurring maintenance issues at both the elementary and high school, particularly with the Alta Vista Gym, which has been out of commission since the start of the school year. Martinez said there has been a “lack of progress” on the gym and it cannot reopen until air quality is improved.
Recurring issues at both schools include leaky pipes, malfunctioning bathrooms, and heating issues, as well as technical problems. Apparently, school staff have been relying on their cell phones because the school’s phone system is not functioning. A new phone company for the school was part of the discussion. There seems to be extensive maintenance issues at Questa schools. “We’ll work on this and have an update by the next meeting, at least a dollar amount, so we can get moving on this,” commented Superintendent John Maldonado on the Alta Vista Gym issues.
The QISD Board of Education meetings are held every second and fourth Tuesday of the month at 6:00 pm in the QISD Administration Building Boardroom. The meetings are live streamed to the “Board Live QISD” YouTube channel but are not archived there.
