Central schools, ed czar meet on Nataani Nez

A meeting between the Central Consolidated School Board and Navajo Nation Superintendent of Education Andrew Tah is scheduled to begin today, Thursday, at 10 a.m. at the Department of Diné Education in Window Rock, according to a CCSD press release.

The two parties plan to discuss the recent closure of Nataani Nez Elementary in Shiprock, a school that has been in the community for 45 years.

"These steps will be taken to move forward, bring clarity, address issues and ultimately bring closure to this issue," said CCSD Superintendent Gregg Epperson.

Tah was unavailable for comment.

The meeting is part of a three-step resolution the CCSD board agreed to in last week's board meeting. The other two steps were to issue a press release and to seek clarification about a letter the district received from the New Mexico Public School Facilities Authority ordering the district to demolish Nataani Nez.

The lease between the school district and the Navajo Nation expired in 2009. The lease covers nearly 47 acres of land that included the newly opened Heritage Center, the district's Shiprock offices, and Nataani Nez.

The district opted to close the school after a steering committee recommended that Shiprock consolidate its elementary students from four schools to three.

"It'll be brought up to see if we can get a separate lease for the Shiprock Administration Complex," said James Preminger, CCSD spokesperson.

The school's closure provoked anger among some residents of Shiprock and surrounding communities, who are trying to reverse the action.

They have won the ear of the Navajo Nation Board of Education, which passed a resolution in support of their position and another asking Navajo leaders to explore options to prevent the school from being demolished.

Navajo Nation DODE officials could not be reached for comment this week.

In addition to Nataani Nez, Preminger said the district will also discuss renewing other expired leases.

According to documents, two schools - Newcomb Junior High and Elementary School and Naschitti Elementary School - are operating under expired leases. Both schools had 25-year leases that expired May 6, 2004.

CCSD Finance Director Byron Manning said there are currently five expired leases between the Navajo Nation and CCSD.

Besides the aforementioned two and Nataani Nez, Old Valley in Shiprock and Shiprock High also have expired leases, he said.

Manning said the Newcomb leases look good for renewal and he doesn't know why they haven't been approved since the district filed for renewal in 2005.

However, with Naschitti and Old Valley, where CCSD houses buses, about a half an acre was returned to the tribe and when CCSD filed for renewal, they didn't take into account the returned land.

Manning said he has recently looked into the status of CCSD leases.

"I would've thought somebody would've done a spreadsheet so somebody would know (about the lease status)," he said, adding that since the leases don't require payment from either party, they receive less attention. In addition, the long duration of the leases - 25 or 50 years - adds to the lack of attention they receive.

The lease for Newcomb's schools includes nearly 46 acres of land set aside for a new school and teacher housing, according to the terms. It also states that the land shall be rent-free so long as Navajo children and adults were admitted to the school without discrimination.

The parcel of land in Naschitti includes nearly 11 acres for an elementary school and other education facilities. The rent provision is the same as Newcomb's.

Manning said expired leases between the tribe and CCSD have gone as long as seven years without being renewed, and he doesn't recall the process receiving as much attention before.

Preminger added that CCSD has also asked for clarification regarding a letter from Ted Lasiewicz, regional manager of the New Mexico Public Schools Facility Authority.

The letter ordered that "Nataani Nez Elementary be demolished for life, safety and health reasons." However the letter also stated there could be exceptions to demolition should sufficient explanation be given to keep the buildings.

That could include stipulating an entity to maintain the building, and a resolution from CCSD stating that the building "will never be used at any time in the future for student activities."

Calls to Lasiewicz for comment went unreturned by press time.

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