Turquoise Trail Charter wants to work with school district
School board member says elementary official must drop legal threat
After threatening legal action if the school district tries to force Turquoise Trail Charter Elementary School to move, the head of the school’s governing board told Santa Fe school board members Tuesday that he wants to work with them to find a solution that will please both sides.
But at least one school board member said Floyd Trujillo has to drop any threat of legal action against Santa Fe Public Schools for not renewing the lease for the district-owned campus used by the state charter school when the lease expires in the summer of 2021.
“Put the legal piece [threat] to bed,” said school board member Steven Carrillo. “That is the only thing that is going to allow us to move forward. That is the obstacle. Once that obstacle is removed, the whole world opens up as a possibility.”
Some 500 students attend the Turquoise Trail school, located south of Santa Fe off N.M. 14. District officials say they don’t want to renew the lease because they want the facility for their own students.
In response, Turquoise Trail leaders previously have said they had no intention of moving and would resort to court action if necessary. But on Tuesday, Trujillo struck a conciliatory tone, saying he is sure the two sides can find a solution.
But that may be difficult. For example, one possible compromise — a proposal that Turquoise Trail, which can accept students from anywhere in New Mexico through a lottery system, give preference to students living near the school — seems impossible, given state law prohibits charters from setting attendance boundaries.
And that’s a problem when it comes to district students who live within walking and biking range of the school do not get chosen in the lottery, board member Maureen Cashmon told Trujillo. As a result, they bus into any one of the city’s south-side schools, often driving right by the school nearest to them — Turquoise Trail.
“Turquoise Trail is not a choice for them,” she said. “That property is very important to us so we can relieve some of the overcrowding on the south side of town.”
Trujillo said he did not know how many of the school’s current students actually live in the area and would fall in the attendance zone for Turquoise Trail if it were a traditional public school. But he said the school serves the same type of children as most of the district’s roughly 30 schools.
More than 65 percent are on the federal free-or-reduced lunch program, an indicator of poverty, and 17 percent are English-language learners, he said.
“I believe Turquoise Trail and Santa Fe Public Schools are very much in line with what we want to do and what we want to accomplish with our students,” Trujillo said. “I believe our goals are the same.”
The district has pledged to find another site for Turquoise Trail’s staff and students. Chaparral, E.J. Martinez and Nava elementary schools, all aging facilities dealing with stagnant enrollment, have been discussed as possible sites.
When Carrillo wondered aloud why no Turquoise Trail parents, students or staff members showed up to voice their opinion, Trujillo said he asked the school community to stay home. “Rather than have 200 parents here speaking at public forum and distracting … this is my effort to collaborate before we move forward,” he said.
After Tuesday’s meeting, Trujillo said the school’s leadership would continue to consider all options for resolving the matter.