Silver City, NM — Silver Consolidated Schools is pleased to announce that the Public School Facilities Authority (PSFA) has approved the district's standards-based request for the complete replacement of Cliff Combined School. This long-awaited and anxiously anticipated decision addresses significant facility challenges while advancing our commitment to creating a safer, more efficient learning environment for students and staff.

The current Cliff Combined School campus consists of nine buildings. These aging structures have surpassed their functional lifespan. Due to prohibitive renovation costs, the campus layout — characterized by scattered buildings and excessive, underutilized space caused by declining enrollment — cannot be efficiently modernized. The spread-out design also creates unavoidable security risks.

Two-Phase Project Approach
The approved project will follow a two-phase approach:
• Phase 1: Planning and Design. (Approved December 16, 2024)
This phase will include programming, scope definition, and the development of construction documents. Funding for this phase has already been secured.
• Phase 2: Construction
Upon completing Phase 1, we will return to the Public School Capital Outlay Council (PSCOC) to request Out-of-Cycle funding for construction. Hopefully, we will be ready to do this next fall. We will have to work diligently and navigate through meeting the PSFA Requirements of Scope of Work for our planning and design project. Next up for us is to go out for Request for Procurement (RFP) for architectural design to lead the district in Phase 1.

The total estimated project cost is $54,108,200. Initially, the local match requirement was set at 63%, with the state covering 37%. However, due to the successful passage of the August 2024 $25 million General Obligation (GO) Bond and the district's eligibility for a local match reduction, the funding structure has been significantly improved for Phase 2.

Revised Local and State Funding Breakdown:

Phase 1 (Planning and Design):
• Local Match: $3,408,817
• State Match: $2,002,003

Phase 2 (Construction): (This would have been what we would have been facing if the community had not approved the GO Bond.)
• Original Local Match (63%): $30,679,349
• Original State Match (37%): $18,018,031

Approved Phase 2 Set Aside Reduced Local Match (24%): $2,591,183
Approved Phase 2 Set Aside Reduced State Match (76%): $46,106,197

This potential financial adjustment significantly eases the district's budgetary burden, ensuring that our local funds can be strategically allocated to address additional infrastructure needs throughout the district as recommended by our Facilities Master Plan. The final approval for the Set Aside will occur when we return with a completed Phase 1 project that meets the entirety of the Scope of Work recommended by the PSFA. The district will also need to maintain qualification of the reduction of the local match requirement.

District-Wide Facility Improvements
For the Cliff Combined School replacement, $6 million from the GO Bond will be directed toward the new school, while the remaining $19 million will support essential in-town facility projects, including in this first Bond dispersement:
• La Plata Middle School: Fire alarm upgrades
• Harrison Elementary: Roof replacement and fire alarm upgrades
• G.W. Stout Elementary: Completion of fire alarm upgrades in the library
The total cost of these in-town projects is $4,169,870, with the district contributing $2,627,018 and the state providing $1,542,852.

Silver Consolidated Schools will provide regular updates as planning and design progress. This project reflects a major milestone in the district's long-term facilities master plan and demonstrates our unwavering dedication to student safety, academic excellence, and fiscal responsibility.

William Hawkins
Silver Consolidated Schools Superintendent