Cloudcroft Catch-Up: School, Village, and Amenities News
Four-day school weeks stand, Music department hire, Mayor King offers meet-ups, where to dump your brush while the slash pit burns, a recent NMDOH health advisory, and more.
This February in Cloudcroft holds unseasonably warm temperatures and a host of school, village, and other changes. Stay informed with the Reader’s updates below.
Four-day school week stands
Cloudcroft Schools and other districts are allowed to continue with their four-day school weeks after Chaves County District Judge Dustin K. Hunter ruled the proposed 180-day school calendar rule is unlawful.
The New Mexico School Superintendents Association sued the Public Education Department (PED) over the rule, with Judge Hunter issuing a Temporary Restraining Order last spring.
Requiring a 180-day calendar with five-day school weeks would have affected Cloudcroft’s school budget with increased costs. The proposed 30-day addition to the school year would have raised the price of teacher salaries, utilities, food, transportation and bussing. According to the Cloudcroft Schools Business Office, the change would have cost the district another $ 1.3 million annually, a 20% increase to the budget.
This week, Cloudcroft Schools Superintendent Jocelyne Driscoll-Gillespie told the Reader:
“We won. It's an official rule that we are going to maintain our 4-day school week, and I think all of us districts with a 4-day school week are very excited about it.”
“The state may have 30 days that they can appeal and we're not sure what they'll do. They might, and if they do, we'll continue making our stand so that we can ensure that we maintain the 4-day school week, which is best for our school district.”
“If they were to change it, where would the extra money come from? Will they be responsible for keeping the building open on a Monday, paying teachers for that extra time, or transportation for students? There are so many factors and so many things that are financially driven by a 5-day school week.”
Gillespie and her predecessor, Tana Daugherty, both told The Reader that a four-day school week not only aids a rural school budget and helps with teacher recruitment and retention rates but also helps with a rural bus schedule. Cloudcroft Schools bus routes serve areas up to an hour away (like Piñon and Timberon), meaning some students must be awake and ready around 6:00 a.m. This also implies bus drivers and staff would potentially have 30 extra days of work beginning at or before 5:00 a.m.
Allegro! Cloudcroft Schools welcome new music teacher
Cloudcroft Schools could not fill the K-12 Music teaching position this past year. Luckily, that has changed with the hiring of Kathy Draves.
During the interim before Drave’s hiring, long-term substitute Tara Pollard taught music for the Elementary and Middle schools (E/MS). Library aide and bus driver Debbie Carner taught the second and third graders Christmas songs, and parent volunteers like Samantha Odom, Judy Garcia, Rosa Brazeal, and school board member Cassandra Saffle even organized a Christmas program with the E/MS students.
Draves begins her beat on February 18th. She studied music education at the University of North Texas and has taught music at all levels from Kindergarten to college. Draves previously worked at Green Mountain and coordinated live music for Cloudcroft Brewing Company.
“We are beyond grateful to Mrs. Draves for coming to lead music in our building! Her positive energy is contagious, and she’s already been hard at work organizing and getting ready to start. Our students cannot wait to start playing instruments and singing soon,” E/MS Principal Nolene Adams says.
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CHS students win big at NM Governor’s STEM Challenge
Cloudcroft High School students Ayla Yarbrough, Gena Davis, Emma Yarbrough, Sophia Newton, Gunner Wolfe, Cyrus Lewis, Triston Tompkins, and Xander Newton recently competed in the New Mexico Governor's STEM Challenge. They won sponsorships of $500 each from Virgin Galactic and a behind-the-scenes tour of the Spaceport.
CHS Math teacher, student group sponsor, and challenge winners Sophia and Xander’s mom Danica Newton said on social media:
“So proud of these kids. Their project was a prototype of a dual-carriage monorail designed to provide safe, high-speed public transportation and EMS services to our local community. The monorail is powered through harnessing kinetic energy on the ride downhill and converting it to electrical energy to power the return trip home.”
H2Oh, no! and more Village updates
Last week, the village council voted to truck in water through Oasis Enterprises until perilously low water reserves are restored.
The village remains at level 3 water restrictions. At an emergency village water meeting on January 28th, Public Works Supervisor Joe John (JJ) Carrizal reminded the council that they had the power to determine precisely what water restriction levels dictate. For example, Carrizal said the council had the power to mandate a moratorium on new water taps. No action to change restrictions was taken at the meeting.
Mayor Tim King announced through the Village of Cloudcroft Facebook page that the proposed February 5th Village Water Workshop is postponed until more data is reviewed by the village and contracted consultants, High Water Mark LLC.
King recently attended the Library Advisory Board meeting and has since installed security cameras in the Old Red Brick Schoolhouse and the Village Office as a security measure. King plans to continue to add cameras to the wastewater plant and Burro Avenue.
King conducted several interviews to fill the Library’s Director, Aide, and Advisory Board openings and says he hopes to have the “positions filled by the February 18th, 2025” council meeting.
Techie King has implemented GIS in Cloudcroft’s operational reports, which the public can view here. The dashboard lists available job openings, water reports, and more.
In another move toward accessibility, King created a booking page on the village website “where citizens or anyone for that matter can set up a 15 or 30-minute meeting with the Mayor on any topic.”
Of note: the James Sewell Ice Rink at Zenith Park will be closed through next week due to warm temperatures.
Fresh haul
Cloudcroft’s grocery access is limited to Family Dollar and Allsup’s Market—that is, until last week. According to folks on the Cloudcroft Community Facebook page, Walmart in Alamogordo now delivers to Cloudcroft for an $11.99 delivery fee. The ordering app also gives options to tip your driver.
For seasonal fresh veggies every quarter, you can join Club Veg through Instant Karma or check out the Farmer’s Market at the Ice Rink, which starts mid-summer. For seasonal fruits, Cadwallader Mountain Farms in High Rolls Mountain Park offers a roadside stand and seasonal “U-Pick” options.
Let’s get physical
Formerly known as Cloudcroft Cycling, Cloudcroft Fitness is rebranding to encompass all its class offerings, like pilates, HIIT training, barbell workouts, cycling, and more.
Classes are held in the basement of the Old Red Brick Schoolhouse across from the High Valley Weaving School. Instructors include locals Audrey Menzel, Amy Coor, and Village Trustee Gail McCoy.
Cloudcroft Fitness is dropping new merch, offers $60 monthly unlimited memberships and two-month punchcards, and updates weekly class schedules each Sunday evening.
Slash and burn
The Forest Service is burning the Otero County Slash Pit located just off Highways 244 and 82—so where can mountain folks bring their brush when cleaning up their properties? The Otero County Convenience Center in La Luz.
Depending on the conditions, you can also apply for a burn permit through the Cloudcroft VFD online.
Learn more about safeguarding your property—as well as fire mitigation funding available for private citizens—in our Fire Forum Recap.
In other fire-related news, the Tularosa Regional Dispatch Authority conducted an IPAWS test Thursday around noon. Sirens blared in the village at the same time. If you didn’t receive a cell phone alert, you may try enabling alert notifications on your phone. You can also sign up for Genasys alerts online.
Health Department issues PFAS advisory
News from the New Mexico Department of Health involving Holloman Lake, a once-popular hunting area only 31 miles away:
“The New Mexico Department of Health (NMDOH) issued a health advisory to hunters or anyone who consumed or captured wildlife from Holloman Lake between 2010 and 2024. This follows a new environmental report revealing record-breaking levels of contamination of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) concentrations in plants and wildlife.”
”According to the New Mexico Environmental Department report released Monday, samples show the highest PFAS levels ever recorded in any wild animal and plant worldwide.”“Hollomon Lake, located near Alamogordo, serves as the wastewater reservoir for Holloman Air Force Base. While hunting at the lake has been prohibited since 2024, it remains open for camping and birding.”
The NMDOH press release states that for additional info, contact Robert Nott.
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