Deming Public Schools trustees approved two resolutions to reconfigure alternative education services: converting Members Valley High School into a program housed within Deming High School and formally closing the district school site that had been located at the county juvenile detention center.

Nut graf: District staff told the board the changes are intended to improve student well-being and inclusion, reduce administrative duplication, and remove an unused school number for a facility that ceased operating as a juvenile education program in 2021.

Assistant Superintendent/Presenter G. Reinhart (identified in the meeting notes as Ms. Reinhart) and school leaders explained that students and families reported a sense of stigma being enrolled in a separate high school; integrating the program into DHS will give students greater access to extracurriculars, electives and athletics without changing staffing, transportation or facilities. Reinhart said operational efficiencies will come from removing duplicate administrative functions and consolidating shared resources such as counselors and assistant principals.

On the detention-center site, Reinhart told the board the Luna County detention center stopped housing minors after the 2019–20 school year and the instructional program closed in 2021; the Public Education Department requested the district formally close the school number since there are no juvenile residents or instructional activity. Reinhart said the closure has no operational, curricular, staffing or funding impacts. She added the district plans to return next month with a proposal for a hybrid academy to serve flexible online and in-person needs for at-risk and medically homebound students.

Board members asked whether the changes would alter student supports. Staff and trustees emphasized supports would continue; one board member said parents and students reported feelings of isolation when the program operated separately.

Ending: The board passed resolutions to authorize the program move into Deming High School and to close the detention-center school site; staff will bring follow-up proposals, including a hybrid academy, at a later date.