Those who were just getting used to Stan Rounds being the superintendent of the Las Cruces Public Schools might be a little worried by comments he made in an article published today in the Albuquerque Journal.
The current superintendent of the Albuquerque Public Schools is retiring next year. In an article examining the situation, the Journal noted that one of the names being circulated as a possible replacement is that of Rounds.
The Journal even asked Rounds about the idea.
“I’m tickled to death with my job here in
The comments come six weeks after the LCPS board stripped the “interim” from his title and made Rounds the permanent superintendent. The board originally hired Rounds earlier this year on an interim basis and with the intent of conducting a search for a permanent superintendent next year. Rounds was told then that he could not apply for the permanent job.
But that changed when two new board members were elected and the board and community were pleased with Rounds’ performance. When the board made him the permanent superintendent in June, President Bonnie Votaw said the board’s original intent was to stabilize the district. That has happened, she said, and if that continues, she doesn’t see the need to replace Rounds.
I realize it’s unwise for anyone in a position like that of Rounds to close doors, but his comments to the Journal seem to leave open the possibility that he could leave next year to take the APS job, if the situation presented itself. That would leave the board back where it started, conducting a superintendent search in 2008, but it would first have to find a new interim superintendent.
Keep in mind the context: Rounds was hired to stabilize the district after three recent superintendents quit amid scandal in the last five years. The district has been mired in controversy since Jesse Gonzales left in 2002. Five years ago, two board members were recalled. Those two and three former board members were convicted of violating the state’s Open Meetings Act for secret agreements they entered into with Gonzales.
Two drawn-out replacement attempts since then have ended in disaster, with Louis Martinez and Sonia Diaz both leaving amid scandal.
If the board believes Rounds has stabilized that mess in a few short months, it would be wise to do what it takes to keep him here. The last thing this district needs is more uncertainty.
The good news is that he’s “tickled to death” with the LCPS job. If that’s true, hopefully it won’t take much effort to convince him to stay.