New Food Services, Security Upgrades, and Mesa View Grand Opening
Amerika Rougemont, Reporter
GRANTS, N.M. -The Grants Cibola County Schools board meeting on July 21 highlighted several initiatives and updates for the upcoming 2026-2027 school year. District leaders announced changes to food services, including a new partnership with Elior School Dieting designed to enhance student nutrition and meal variety. Facility preparations are underway for the grand opening of Mesa View Elementary and security measures continue to be strengthened.
Additionally, Milan Elementary received a $1,000 donation from the “Run for the Wall” event, and standing reports confirmed that while most positions are filled, a few vacancies remain.
Regarding the 20262027 school meeting calendar, Superintendent Lane Widner announced, “We ended up revising our calendar to do one regular board meeting a month.”
New Food Services
“I’m very excited that we have a new food services contact,” Superintendent Lane Widner said. “We… as a board decided that we needed to make changes and provide our kids with good food.”
Edwina Gamboa, the coordinator in charge of transportation and food services, explained “Our partnership with Elior School Dieting marks an exciting new chapter for this coming school year for the district’s nutrition program by combining Elior’s culinary expertise and innovative menus with our commitment to student well-being. We are not just serving meals; we are fueling student success. This collaboration allows us to enhance the quality and variety of our daily operations, ensuring every student has access to healthy, delicious meals they look forward to eating. We’re thrilled to see our national school lunch program grow, thrive, and continue to support the health academic achievement of our entire community.”
In the boards’ packet, Gamboa provided information regarding Elior’s commitment to enhancing student nutrition by introducing a new service management company across all school, aiming to increase participation rates. Currently, some schools serve only 40% of students for lunch, and the goal is to raise this to at least 60% for elementary schools, aligning with the community eligibility program that provides free breakfast and lunch to all students. Proposed lunch menus for August and September are included, featuring three options at the high schools, with a fourth option expected later in the year.
Kitchen modifications have been made to accommodate these changes. Districts with low enrollment will have satellite sites, with Bluewater Elementary and San Rafael served from the Milan kitchen, and Seboyeta from Cubero. Equipment has been relocated to Grants High School to test the four option, including an increase in pot servers from three to six to offer more options and accelerate service.
Gamboa explained that they are currently exploring the possibility of establishing an Elior site at the Early College High School. A visit to the site revealed plans to purchase two hot plates, two hot steam tables, and a cold unit to serve hot lunch. A cook from Grants High School will be responsible for serving students at this location.
Edwina Gamboa said, “I invite you to visit our kitchens and make any recommendations for improvement. We want to ensure our students have access to food, especially since poverty is high in our area and many students are on staff.”
Mesa View Elementary Grand Opening
During the meeting, Gary Atencio announced that they are 19 days from the initial news/grand opening of Mesa View Elementary. The anticipated schedule is as follows.
First fire marshal inspection: July 23 at
9:30am
Furniture delivery and staging: July 23 (library furniture pending).
Playground installation expected to start the same week.
Final certificate of occupancy expected: July 27-28 Truck delivery and full building access: July 27-28
Custodians and staff have been emptying furniture from the old gym and cafeteria.
District Security and Safety Measures
Security has been centralized into a districtwide team that holds weekly operation meetings. The new framework includes three officers at Grants High School, responsible for gate duties, two officers each at Laguna- Acoma High School and Los Alamitos Middle School, one mobile “rove” officer for elementary schools, and one central dispatch/surveillance officer. All staff members are queried to wear uniforms and receive training in evidence collection, emergency drills, and potentially CPI and resource justice.
School Resource Officers (SROs) will be stationed at Grants and Laguna, funded only for school calendar hours. Security personnel will participate in drills to ensure their effectiveness, with a district-wide drill scheduled for August 6 at Mount Taylor Elementary. This drill will evaluate the stop-it app, panic button, and Ricotta systems, involving dispatch and the GPD to confirm everything functions correctly before the school year begins.
Throughout the school year, security staff will assist with fire drills at GHS, acting as safety officers to ensure student safety without actively directing them, while also guiding staff members if needed. The aim is for Security to be well-versed in all procedures, with every school site participating in safe school plans, emergency drills, and preparedness activities.
Continuous improvement in the professionalism of security staff is a priority, with standardized training and uniform expectations set for the year. At the end of the previous school year, security assessments were conducted at all school sites, and the findings will be shared with the staff. For the Back to School Summit, an external assessment will be conducted starting on August 24th, providing an outside perspective on the district’s security measures.
Additionally, blind sports have been identified, necessitating the addition of extra cameras to school sites to further enhance security.
Milan Elementary School Donation Milan Elementary School recently received a donation of $1,000 form the “Run for the Wall” event, which took place on May 14th. This annual cross-county motorcycle race aims to raise awareness for Prisoners of War (POWs) and Missing in Action (MIA) soldiers. The event stated on May 13th, with hundred of riders traveling all the way from Ontario, Canada. Principal Lisa Prendergast explained that Milan is one of their regular stops, and “it’s as impactful for students as it is for the riders. And both groups just light up at the sight of each other.”
Principal Prendergast explained that the donation will be used to purchase a large permanent flag for the gym, replacing the current paper version, which is difficult to manage.
Staffing Report for 2026-2027
Deputy superintendent and director of human resources, Jacqueline Jones, gave the 20262027 staffing report. Most elementary and secondary schools are fully staffed with licensed teachers, though some vacancies remain due to recent resignations. The vacancies include one teacher at Mesa View Elementary, 1 English Language Arts teacher at Los Alamitos Middle School, and one special education teacher at Laguna-Acoma High School.
Jones also explained that long-term subs are temporary until certified teachers arrive.
Upcoming
August 3, 2026: All 184-day employees return to work August 4, 2026: Strategic planning training and work sessions August 6, 2026: District- wide welcome back event at Grants High School, starting at 8 a.m.
August 7, 2026: Strategic planning training and work sessions August 8, 2026: Allday strategic session August 10, 2026: GCCS K-12 Fall Classes Begin August 17, 2026: GCCS Pre-K/DD Classes Begin