In the ongoing battle against COVID-19, Hobbs Municipal Schools has added another layer in its armor with 2,261 MERV 13 air filters. The filters will replace the current air filters in each H-VAC system in each HMS school building. “Those filters are more dense so they trap the particles of the COVID-19 virus,” HMS Superintendent TJ Parks told the News-Sun. …

New Mexico schools have been ranked as last of all 50 states. With the closure of in-person learning the state is now worse. Public Education Department Secretary Ryan Stewart recently announced the state has no idea where 12,000 students who were enrolled in New Mexico schools just last year have gone. But while the state may not know, or doesn’t …

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Lawyers representing New Mexico students say the state’s attempts to provide internet access and learning devices to children is “woefully insufficient.” With in-person learning banned by state officials until mid-January and plans for hybrid learning scrapped for the vast majority of students earlier this year, the inability to access remote classes has been a challenge …

It’s ironic that computer gaming – an activity that many view as solitary – is the one thing keeping some Hobbs High School students in school during the COVID lockdown. While HHS hallways and classrooms are largely empty, several times each week a converted office in the 100 wing comes to socially-distanced life in groups of less than five students. …

Hobbs Municipal Schools elementary school students will return to 100% remote learning after Thanksgiving Break, according to an announcement made Thursday by HMS Superintendent TJ Parks. The move comes ahead of Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s press conference today, where she is expected to enact further restrictions on the state. Citing an increasing number of COVID-19 cases in Lea County and …

When it was announced public schools in New Mexico would not be allowed to start with children in the classroom for fourth grade and up, many wondered what effect it would have on students who were basically left to fend for themselves in a new environment. As the school year now enters the fourth month of complete online learning, with …

In contrast to the bad news often inspired by the COVID-19 pandemic, University of the Southwest has some things to celebrate. First, the university has more students enrolled in its undergraduate and graduate programs than ever before, according to Ryan Tipton, provost of the university. “In this crisis, we’ve really battened down the hatches,” Tipton said. “We’ve been preparing for …

CARLSBAD, N.M. (AP) — This city has assembled a task force to consider the future of its New Mexico State University Carlsbad campus, including the possibility of operating as an independent university. The university system removed the president position in August from its Carlsbad and other branch campuses, leaving one executive with authority over all three, Mayor Dale Janway said, …

In a 167 page opinion released Wednesday afternoon, U.S. District Court Judge James Browning gave a partial victory to those seeking to allow children back in the classroom for in-person learning via a temporary restraining order against the state. A class action lawsuit filed by attorney A. Blair Dunn, on Sept. 21, with a hearing on Sept. 30, argued Gov. …

I believe parents should be given choices regarding the education of their children. As an example, Hobbs Schools lets parents complete out-of-zone applications which allow their children to attend schools in a different part of town than where they reside when space is available. I’ve also been asked my thoughts about parents living in one community and sending their children …