The proposed consolidation of Acequia Madre and Atalaya elementary schools will be postponed at least another year, Santa Fe Public Schools Superintendent Bobbie Gutierrez announced Thursday night.

Noting that the timeline to consolidate the two schools in the 2011/2012 school year was "not realistic," and that questions about potential cost-savings remain, she said she has withdrawn the district's consolidation request to the state's Public Education Department, which has to approve all such proposals.

But, as Gutierrez told a crowd of about 60 citizens at a public meeting held at Acequia Madre to discuss the matter, "the schools will consolidate," probably in the 2012/2013 school year.

The school board, in looking to balance the budget, voted last spring to close Acequia Madre and consolidate its students into Atalaya as a new K-8 next year. The board maintains that the district can save somewhere between $200,000 and $250,000 a year in operating costs while also leasing or selling the Acequia Madre property for additional revenue.

But some school board members have been rethinking the move upon hearing the estimated cost of the consolidation, which would also address Atalaya's serious structural problems: somewhere between $10 and $28 million just to make it a functional K-6 or K-8.

The district hosted the public forum — chaired by Gutierrez, Bill Beacham (principal of both schools), and school board president Richard Polese — to inform concerned parents about the plan and to listen to feedback.

And there was plenty of feedback. "There is no buy-in from this community," one parent said. "This is not a done deal."

Stephanie Garcia, the mother of an Atalaya kindergartner who just transferred from Kaune Elementary School — which, along with Alvord and Larragoite elementary schools, was closed and consolidated into Aspen Community Magnet School this year — spoke passionately of the strength of small schools, telling the assemblage that as a child she herself was lost in a consolidated school and eventually dropped out.

"What about the kids who get lost in the shuffle?" she asked to enthusiastic applause. "You sure don't know how consolidation works at the schools you already consolidated. Maybe you should find out how it works at one before you start doing the others."

Polese — the one board member to vote against the consolidation — said he found Garcia's comments "poignant," adding that he believes that "one size does not fit all" when it comes to schools.

Acequia Madre parent Marion Carter asked attendees to demonstrate their support of consolidation by raising their hands. Only one woman — Christine Lehman, an Atalaya parent — responded in the affirmative, saying she is in favor if it would address the serious structural needs of Atalaya.

Acequia Madre proponents have long argued that their school — with a population of about 160 students — is one of the most academically successful schools in the district, thanks in part to parents taking an active hand in financing extracurricular and in-class activities including art, music and physical education.

Acequia Madre was one of the few elementary schools in the district to make Adequate Yearly Progress last year.

But while Acequia Madre supporters fight to save their school, Atalaya's needs are not being as seriously considered by either the district or Acequia Madre, some Atalaya parents said.

"I can't speak for all the Atalaya parents, but that meeting did not reflect Atalaya's point of view," Atalaya mom Carla Sanders said after the event. "Acequia Madre has a very specific agenda, which is totally valid, but I don't think our voice is being heard."

She said she thought Atalaya was being treated as an "ugly step child" in the debate.

Atalaya parent Gretchen Johnson agreed. "None of these meetings have been focusing on what we need. It's more about 'Save Acequia,' " she said.

Johnson thinks the consolidation is inevitable: "I feel like I'm bound on a railroad track and the train's coming, and whether I get pushed further down the line or not, it's gonna happen whether I like it or not."

Polese was one of only two board members — the other being Barbara Gudwin, who did vote for the consolidation — to attend the forum.

"I was really here to listen," Gudwin said afterward. "These are very concerned parents and it's incumbent upon board members to hear their concerns."

Gutierrez and Beacham urged concerned citizens to sign up for a task force that would examine the pros and cons of the move and come up with possible solutions. Gutierrez also hinted that a K-6 consolidation may make more sense financially and academically.

"There's not much more clarity to these questions than there was before," Beacham said in his closing remarks.

Contact Robert Nott at 986-3021 or rnott@sfnewmexican.com.