As a group, Las Cruces Public Schools principals watched quietly as three union-backed candidates were elected to the school board more than five years ago, and as the anti-union and controversial Superintendent Jesse Gonzales quit in frustration.
They watched as allegations of secret board payments to Gonzales surfaced, and as board members were recalled and convicted of violating the New Mexico Open Meetings Act in 2002.
A few spoke as individuals against the recall but, as a group, principals remained silent.
They watched again when the board hired Louis Martinez to take the helm in 2003. They watched as allegations surfaced against him and he was eventually chased out, but not before he ousted longtime Mayfield Principal Robert Ogas.
Again, a few spoke, but as a group, they remained silent.
The principals finally left the bleachers and stormed the field last night.
When the school board announced finalists for the district’s top job at last night’s meeting, four principals, including Las Cruces High School’s Nyeta Haines, told the board they were disappointed that they hadn’t been included in the process. When board members tried to explain that principals and others would be included from this point forward, about 25 principals – the vast majority in the district – walked out of the meeting, leaving in mid-sentence a board member who was addressing them.
The action revealed deep wounds that have never healed from the scandals of the past few years, and a group of administrators fed up because they believe they haven’t been heard.
Here’s the result: The principals think the board has already failed, before it’s picked the new superintendent.
The unspoken issue Tuesday night was the board’s decision to eliminate Charles White from the list of contenders. White, the district’s former deputy superintendent for operations, quit in frustration last year over the leadership of Martinez.
He had the backing of the Mayfield faction of the district, making his candidacy controversial since at least some board members supported the ousting of the notorious Ogas. Sources said some board members didn’t take White’s application seriously because they thought he had little support outside Mayfield.
They were very, very wrong, as the principals showed.
Many felt White was the man to stabilize the district, to provide solid leadership for a few years while allowing the district to heal from the wounds of the past. The support extended far beyond Mayfield and included parents, students, teachers and administrators.
It’s understandable that the board may not have agreed. Board members hired Foltz to stabilize the district and then made the wrong choice in Martinez. Why not try a different tactic this time?
It must have been frustrating to spend years trying to rebuild from the Gonzales mess only to have things fall apart again last year. Board members are probably anxious to get things going again.
Instead, they have another big mess on their hands. This district is becoming accustomed to dealing with turmoil. The next superintendent will face quite a task in trying to clean it up and unite the district.
Superintendent finalists are set to be interviewed June 1 and 2. The board must figure out how to truly include principals and everyone in the process.
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Where is J.R. Damron? When his party views his opponent as so vulnerable on so many issues, why aren’t we hearing from the Republican seeking the governor’s seat?
“Money – he ain’t got any,” said one Republican.
But there’s another factor, the party insider said.
“I’m for Damron and I like the guy,” he said. “But he’s the kind of guy you want as a dad or a grandpa. He isn’t going to attack anybody. He’s a nice guy.”
Of course, Matt Farrauto, spokesman for the Democratic Party of New Mexico, put it bluntly:
“He knows nothing about government and even less about campaigning,” Farrauto said. “He also has no money to pay someone who might know how to campaign.”
The Republicans couldn’t have come up with a nicer gift for a governor who wants to be president than the chance to get more than two-thirds of the vote this year.
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Sen. Jeff Bingaman’s re-election television commercials began airing statewide Tuesday, even in Las Cruces. Many candidates won’t buy airtime here because we’re in the El Paso/Las Cruces market, not the Albuquerque market.
Bingaman’s ad will run for several weeks on network and cable television, and cost the senator more than $200,000, his spokesman said.
The 60-second ad targets rural and Southern New Mexico voters by highlighting Bingaman’s Silver City roots.
If you care, you can view the ad by clicking here.
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