The two new members of the Las Cruces Public Schools Board of Education will be its president and vice president, board members decided at Tuesday’s meeting.
The 3-2 vote to make Bonnie Votaw president and Connie Phillips vice president bucks tradition and further emphasizes the resounding message of voters in the February election that they want change. The women were joined in the vote by Board Member Gene Gant.
Chuck Davis and Leonel Briseño voted against the motion, which came after a separate motion to make
Historically, the presidency has rotated between board members based on their district numbers. Following that tradition, it would have been
But Votaw and Phillips argued that voters wanted change. They said they intend to follow the tradition in the future, but needed to buck it this year.
Davis, who was the board’s vice president last year, was made the board’s secretary. If the board does hold to tradition in the future, Phillips will be president next year and
Votaw and Phillips each received more than 82 percent of the vote in the February election, and Phillips knocked out the board’s previous president, Sharon Wooden. Many have expressed dismay at the turmoil that has existed in the district since former Superintendent Jesse Gonzales left in 2002 amid scandal. Since then, the board has hired and chased out two additional superintendents, and is currently searching for a new leader.
The board president presides over meetings and, working with the superintendent, sets meeting agendas.