Carlsbad approves $90M school bond. Funds will be used to build and remodel schools

Mike Smith
Carlsbad Current-Argus

Carlsbad residents approved a $90 million bond issue Tuesday to build a new middle school and expand Sunset Elementary School.

Eddy County Clerk Cara Cooke said 21,297 ballots were mailed to residents within the Carlsbad Municipal Schools (CMS) district for the mail in election.

Around 10 percent of the ballots were returned as 2,054 supported the bond issue and 1,313 voted against it, according to Cooke.

More:This bond won't raise taxes, but it will help us build new schools

She said the deadline to turn in ballots was Tuesday at 7 p.m. Eddy County’s Board of County Commissioners certified the results Wednesday morning.

Carlsbad Municipal Schools (CMS) Superintendent Dr. Gerry Washburn said approval of the bonds will not change the tax rate for Carlsbad residents.

New middle school retires Alta Vista

Washburn said the bulk of the money, around $65 million, would build a new school south of Carlsbad.

Enrollment data from CMS indicated 1,600 students were enrolled at Alta Vista and PR Leyva middle schools in Carlsbad during the current school year.

Washburn said projections show middle school enrollment could increase to 1,800 in the 2023-2024 school year and enrollment could top 2,000 in 2024-2025.

Dr. Gerry Washburn, superintendent of Carlsbad Municipal Schools, speaks Sept. 15, 2022 at the dedication of a new education building for the Carlsbad Early College High School.

Alta Vista Middle School was built more than 70 years ago and was added on to over the decades, according to Washburn.

“It’s been added onto show much, it’s kind of like of those houses you’ve seen where they’ve added a piece here and a piece there. You take all those pieces, and it doesn’t really serve (a purpose) and for us to tear a piece of that down and rebuild it there we wouldn’t have any place for those kids to go,” he said.

Washburn said CMS would look at other ways to repurpose Alta Vista once the new school opens.

“One of the ideas that has been brought forward is we’ve got a lot of support staff for the district scattered everywhere. We can at a place like Alta Vista do a remodel of that existing building and bring a lot of those people under one roof,” he said.

More:Bond will help schools grow with student population

Washburn said design and engineering of the new school could take 8 to 12 months and ground could be broken in June 2024 after classes dismiss for summer break.

He said CMS has not decided a name for the new school.

“It will need to have a new name as the school names are tied to buildings in State records,” he said.

Sunset expansion brings changes to elementary schools

Washburn the remainder of the bond issue, around $25 million, allows CMS to remodel Sunset to house kindergarten through fifth grade students.

He said the Early Childhood Education Center would be used for preschool in the district.

“Because that takes away a transition so to add kindergarten classrooms at those schools it made more sense for us to do a complete remodel and renovation of them and so we’ve done that with Monterrey and we just finished Riverside, we’re housing Monterrey students in there,” Washburn said.

Sunset Elementary School in Carlsbad will get remodeled after a $90M bond issue passed March 28, 2023 in the Carlsbad Municipal Schools.

Elected officials thank community for bond issue support

“I’m very thankful that the community has spoken in support of the bond for the new middle school and the remodel of Sunset Elementary, as they are greatly needed,” said Tiffany Shirley, vice president of the CMS School Board.

“There are so many fantastic improvements happening in our district right now that the whole community will get to enjoy and be proud for years to come,” she added.

District 5 CMS School Board member Trent Cornum said a new middle school was needed on Carlsbad’s growing southside.

More:Please consider voting for the school bond in March

“A school isn’t built overnight. This puts us ahead of the curve. The district can be proactive instead of reactive,” he said.

Carlsbad Mayor Dale Janway said advocates for the bond issue provided information on how the $90 million would be spent in the coming years.

“We’re especially pleased to hear about the plans to build a new middle school, as we know this is an age group that often requires additional support,” he said.

Mike Smith can be reached at 575-628-5546 or by email at MSmith@currentargus.com or @ArgusMichae on Twitter.