SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) - A New Mexico-chartered performing and fine arts high school is seeking to drop its charter status and become a “special statewide residential public school.”
A proposal to transform the status of New Mexico School for the Arts is moving through the Legislature and could create a new governing board and a new school district.
Under the proposal, the Santa Fe high school would transition to a nine-member public school board of education, with four members appointed by the governor. No more than two board members could come from any one county, a move that would increase the diversity of both the board and the student body, school officials said.
But the new school won’t have the ability to tax property owners like other school districts and must get its money directly from the state based on enrollment.
Officials say around 20 to 25 students currently live in dorms but the school hopes to expand student housing when its status changes.
The Senate Education Committee voted last week to send the bill to the Senate Finance Committee.
Democrats appeared to be strongly behind the measure but some Republicans questioned why the school needed to change from a charter to its own public school and own school district.
Sen. Craig W. Brandt, R-Rio Rancho, said he didn’t see the point and wondered how that would help with recruitment. “I mean, you wouldn’t have to get your charter renewed every five years,” Brandt said. “But that’s it.”
The school has seen success since it began in 2010, earning seven consecutive A’s in state’s evaluation system, the Santa Fe New Mexican reports . And in 2016, the U.S. Department of Education named it one of the national Blue Ribbon schools for its success in closing an achievement gap.
The Legislature in 2008 approved the creation of the tuition-free boarding charter school for students statewide in grades 9-12 who want to hone performing and visual arts skills. Rather than enrolling students by lottery, as most charter schools in New Mexico do, the arts school accepts students based on auditions and portfolios.
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