Amerika Rougemont, Reporter
GRANTS, N.M. The school board meeting taking place on July 15th lasted a little over two hours, in which it discussed a new athletic event software curriculum and video walls and the 2025-2026 staff handbook.
Notably, Grants FFA was donated $15,000 from the community foundation of southern New Mexico. This money will be used for food, registration, travel opportunities, competition and more.
Athletic Event Software
The GCCS board approved the ScoreVision Athletic Event software curriculum and video walls for LAHS, GHS, and LAMS from DSI for $693,080.
“It is a great tool for our career technical education students.” Superintendent Lane Widner explained “It is a curriculum. It is a good way to bring people into our community and to have sponsorships for our programs at our events and activities.”
This will allow for students to have opportunities in live production and marketing, be immersive and engaging for spectators, students, and athletes as well as provide a platform for school activities, clubs, and athletics to generate revenue for their programs. The revenue would come in through sales from ad creations, fundraising promotions, visual design, and more. Cooper Jones explained that there is a school that also did this and was able to make $170,000 worth of revenue in just one year of selling ad space to local businesses. The last bond issuance the schools received was a few months ago, which included that they may buy software and hardware for student usage, which this would fall under.
The video wall would be ten feet by seven feet and be used for scorekeeping and more.
“In my role I will get us the best value, the best quality for price that I can get.” Cooper Jones explained.
The bond, money that the tax payers put into, allows for electronic banners, smart boards, video walls, student devices and more. Jones said they issued $20,000,000 and got approval from the previous election voters for that amount to be issued. The focus of this will be to generate revenue.
Once the video walls are installed, they intend to get all parties involved and trained in production mode for the upcoming sports seasons.
“This is an opportunity that the district can make an investment so that our students can generate their own assets for their own activities.” Jones explained “It’s super unique. This is something that I have looked for because we have a lot of activities that don’t have adequate opportunities to fund outside of concession stands and asking for donations and those sorts of things... I was looking for something that when Skills USA needs to go to Atlanta like they just did or DECA needs to go to Orlando, that they have money to do so that is totally theirs.”
Staff Handbook
The Grants Cibola County Schools 2025-2026 staff handbook serves as a guide, outlining staff expectations, benefits, rights, and responsibilities.
The handbook’s mission us to ensure that every student, every day, is equipped to build a fulfilling life. The vision is to establish safe and inclusive schools that nurture responsible citizens. The core values stated in the guideline are collaboration, integrity, continuous improvement, opportunities, leadership, and accountability.
While the handbook is not a contract, it is aligned with the laws and the collective bargaining agreement (CBA). It upholds equal opportunity and non-discrimination, adhering to Title VII, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), and Title IV. The handbook prohibits harassment and discrimination and encourages employees to report any instances of such behavior.
Employee benefits highlighted in the handbook include paid leave for various reasons, such as sick leave, personal leave, bereavement leave, and civic duty leave. Additionally, employees have access to wellness and EAP talk spaces. The handbook also covers the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), emergency responder leave, and voluntary deductions for insurance and dues.
Regarding grievances and discipline, employees have the option to file grievances through a discussionto- arbitration process. The handbook also outlines the anti-retaliation policy and the disciplinary tiers, which distinguishes between minor and major offenses. Employees have the right to representations and the opportunity to appeal any disciplinary actions.
The handbook provides information about the organizational structure and governance of the school. It lists the superintendent and directors and explains that the school board policy manual governs the school’s policies and procedures. The organizational chart supports accountability and transparency within the school.
The handbook is available online and is updated annually. Employees can contact HR if they have any questions or concerns.
Upcoming
July 22-24 Charging the Storm Leadership Summit July 31 Possible work session August 7, 2025 First Day of School