LCPS to hold public meeting to discuss future of Columbia Elementary

Las Cruces Public School board members will hold a meeting with members of the community Thursday at Jornanda Elementary to discuss the future of Columbia Elementary.

In September 2018, at least six classrooms tested positive for mold, forcing all students and staff to relocate to Centennial High School.

School board member Ray Jaramillo told ABC-7 that the public’s input at the meeting is vital for making a decision.

“Anytime you have children’s health at risk, anytime you have staff’s health at risk and you’re dealing with tax payer dollars, you want people and you want the public to give you as much input. You want to make a decision based on that input,” Jaramillo said.”We were elected to have the best interest of the public. We are in a tough situation right now”

Board members and members of the community will discuss the options for Columbia’s future:

1. Remodel the school- this would include reconstruction of exterior walls and a new roof, 12-14 months of construction and $5 million.

2. Demolishing the existing school for $1 million and constructing a new school for $30 million, which would require 24 months.

3. Purchasing new land to build the school at another location.

Claudia Trujillo, a parent who has two children who attend Columbia, said her children’s health and safety is her main concern.

“Well for me, the location is ideal. I work close bye, I live close by; However, as a parent, It would be ideal for them to just build at a whole new location just to make 100 percent sure that not the same issue coming up in 2, 10 years down the road,” Trujillo said.

A $50 million school bond was passed by voters in 2018. It includes $5 million designated for improvements at Columbia.

The ABC-7 I-team sifted through dozens of emails and text messaged between school board members, staff and teachers we obtained through an open records request.

Documents show August 30, 2018, a teacher at Columbia Elementary sent the principal an email stating there might be mold in her classroom.The email said in part, “I was wondering if they checked for mold in the walls over the sumer again. My class is sneezing, caughing, and have runny noses. Same thing with me. This is what happened to me and my class 4 years ago when there was mold in the walls.”

Sun City Analytical Inc. was sent out to test the class room and found, “Aspergillus, Chaetonmium and Stachybotrys mold spores”, according to documents.

The emails said, “These mold spores are problemmatic and are affecting the indoor air qulity inside the calssroom.”

An email was sent out to parents September 5 alerting parents to the mold found inside the school.

The school has had other issues before costing the district $263,000 in renovations over the past 15 years.

The meeting is open to the public. It is at Jornada Elementary from 6-8 p.m.