Capital outlay funding to the tune of $2.5 million has been approved for several facility upgrade projects on the historic campus of the New Mexico School for the Blind and Visually Impaired in Alamogordo.
Some $1.6 million will go for work on the Garrett Dormitory, which is located on the south end of the campus and is named in honor of educator Elizabeth Garrett, the daughter of legendary lawman Pat Garrett.
The school is also expected to receive exactly $940,000 for the renovation of the Paul and Lois Tapia Building on the far northeast corner of the campus. That structure was built in 1908 and is on the list of the National Register of Historic Places.
Funding has been approved for work on the Quimby Gymnasium and Natatorium on the east side of the campus, with school officials additionally hoping to see the construction of new residential cottages.
Located at 1900 White Sands Boulevard, the school is one of only 32 schools in the U.S. for the blind and has an enrollment of around 60 students on campus, aged 3 to 21. Through partnerships with other educational institutions across New Mexico, the school has a total enrollment of more than 3,500.
The capital outlay funding for the school’s projects is part of some $6 million in projects funded by state lawmakers for Alamogordo.
By Garry Boulard
