
The commission’s meetings here are part of a statewide swing August
20th through the 24th. Other stops include Taos, Santa Fe, Albuquerque, Las Cruces, Gadsden, Alamogordo and Carlsbad.
There are applications pending before the commission to establish 14 new
charter schools.
The commission meets in September in Santa Fe to vote on whether to approve the schools.
Charter schools are public schools freed from some traditional educational requirements to help them offer innovative programs.
Deming has one charter high school – Cesar Chavez – which met for a period in the former City Drug building off Spruce Street and now meets in the former Martin Elementary School building off East First Street.
A group of parents and community activists petitioned last year to have a charter school created in Columbus to ease the transportation issues for some Columbus students who preferred not to come to Deming for middle school and high school. That application was not accepted by the state Public Education Commission.