Mesa Verde and Heights families, staff, and community, we officially began designing new, modern school buildings for both Mesa Verde Elementary and Heights Middle School this week. Here is the plan.
For Heights Middle School (3700 College Boulevard), the plan calls for a complete replacement of the school and outdoor facilities on the existing site. This will be carried out in two phases: first, constructing a new Heights Middle School while temporarily housing Mesa Verde students in the vacant middle school building; second, demolishing the old Mesa Verde facility and building a new school in its place.
Similarly, the plan for Mesa Verde Elementary (3801 College Boulevard) includes a full replacement of the school and outdoor facilities on its current site.
We’ve taken the first big step towards creating modern, safe, and inspiring learning environments for our Wildcats and Knights. We look forward to working together with staff, families, and the school communities to make these exciting projects a reality for our students. Your voices will play an important role in shaping these projects, so please stay tuned for more details.
Heights Middle School, originally built in 1969, currently serves 674 students. Mesa Verde Elementary, built in 1963 and home to 450 students, is proud to hold the distinction of being a National Blue Ribbon School. On average, the lifespan of a school building is approximately 50 years. While our facilities have been carefully maintained, they have reached the point where replacement is necessary to best serve our students and community.
How School Projects Are Funded?
Families sometimes ask how schools are chosen for new construction or repairs. This process is actually managed at the state level, not by Farmington Municipal Schools. The Public School Facilities Authority (PSFA) reviews all schools across New Mexico using a facilities assessment database. This tool helps the state decide which schools have the greatest needs and should receive funding first.
Each year, the PSFA creates a ranked list of all public schools, based on a score called the Weighted New Mexico Condition Index (wNMCI). Schools with higher needs receive higher scores and are prioritized for funding.
If you’d like to learn more, you can explore the PSFA’s database here: PSFA Facilities Assessment Database.