{"id":1177,"date":"2007-01-30T17:16:00","date_gmt":"2007-01-30T23:16:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/2007\/01\/lcps-district-4-candidates-discuss-finding-a-new-superintendent-and-healing-the-community\/"},"modified":"2007-01-30T17:16:00","modified_gmt":"2007-01-30T23:16:00","slug":"lcps-district-4-candidates-discuss-finding-a-new-superintendent-and-healing-the-community","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2007\/01\/lcps-district-4-candidates-discuss-finding-a-new-superintendent-and-healing-the-community\/","title":{"rendered":"LCPS District 4 candidates discuss finding a new superintendent and healing the community"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>The candidates seeking to replace John Schwebke on the Las Cruces Public Schools Board of Education both agree that a national search led by a headhunter isn\u2019t the way to find the district\u2019s next superintendent. <\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Larry Garcia and Bonnie Votaw are vying to replace Schwebke, who is not seeking re-election, as the board member representing District 4<\/a>. Early voting is underway for several seats on Do\u00f1a Ana County\u2019s three school boards, and polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Feb. 6.The new board members will take office at the beginning of March.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

In Las Cruces<\/st1:place><\/st1:city>, the focus of the election has been the district\u2019s inability to find a match for the superintendent job since former Superintendent Jesse Gonzales left amid scandal in 2001. Following national searches, the board has hired two superintendents since then, but both \u2013 Louis Martinez and Sonia Diaz \u2013 were chased out by controversy and, instead of healing, wounds from Gonzales\u2019 controversial tenure have grown.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Larry Garcia served on the school board for several months following the 2002 recall of board members Mary Tucker and Jeanette Dickerson. He represented District 5, but redistricting forced him from office. He was a member of the board when it began the search that ended with Martinez<\/st1:place><\/st1:city>\u2019s hiring, but left office before the final decision was made.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Garcia said he wants to search for a new superintendent in surrounding districts \u2013 Las Cruces<\/st1:city>, Alamogordo<\/st1:city>, Hatch, Gadsden<\/st1:city> and El Paso<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> \u2013 because he believes \u201cthere are plenty of people locally who can do this job.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Garcia said he wants to hire \u201csomebody who knows our culture,\u201d and who will \u201conly make the changes that need made.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Votaw said the new superintendent search needs to be \u201cvery different\u201d from past searches. Rather than hiring a headhunter to conduct a national search, she wants to conduct a sort of \u201ctalent search\u201d similar to \u201cscouting an athlete.\u201d She said the focus, at first, should be in New Mexico<\/st1:state>, Co<\/st1:state>lorado<\/st1:state>, Arizona<\/st1:state>, and maybe Texas<\/st1:state><\/st1:place>, and suspects that would turn up \u201cplenty of options.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

The problem with hiring a national headhunter, Votaw said, is that it \u201cautomatically puts you in a pool of sharks.\u201d Candidates recommended by such companies typically move around frequently to higher-paying jobs.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s happening in Las Cruces<\/st1:city><\/st1:place> is not atypical, unfortunately,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u2018A total cultural mismatch\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Diaz, Votaw said, was \u201ca total cultural mismatch.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cWe just didn\u2019t get it, and she didn\u2019t get it either,\u201d Votaw said, citing that as evidence that hiring a national headhunter didn\u2019t work well.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Garcia said the board must approach the current superintendent search differently than it has the previous two.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cWe are hiring overaggressive superintendents (who are) coming in and making changes to quick and stepping on too many toes,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Votaw said a network exists in the school district that can help those conducting a search find talent in surrounding states. She suggested that those conducting the search \u2013 be it board members themselves or a committee the board forms \u2013 find a match by visiting candidates\u2019 school districts and talking with locals in their towns.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Garcia said Charles White, a former associate superintendent in Las Cruces<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> who was passed up for the top job when Diaz was hired, would be \u201can excellent choice.\u201d White was also an applicant when the board hired Martinez<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> \u2013 a process that started when Garcia was on the board but concluded after he left \u2013 and he said he supported White\u2019s candidacy at that time.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

When asked for her thoughts on White, Votaw said she doesn\u2019t know whether he\u2019s willing to be a candidate, but said if he is, he should apply.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Votaw said all applicants will have flaws, and it\u2019s important to look for a realistic candidate who shares the board\u2019s vision and can carry it out, instead of having the goal of \u201cgetting some kind of exalted idealized superintendent.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a more pragmatic approach,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u2018They need to be better attuned\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

The two candidates also agree that the board hasn\u2019t done enough to genuinely involve the community in its superintendent searches. In the past, the board has sought input, but members of the community \u201cdon\u2019t think that\u2019s an authentic process,\u201d Votaw said.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

She said that has contributed \u201cquite a bit\u201d to the problems plaguing the school district.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cThe motive has probably been pure. I don\u2019t think that people are on the board because they want to mess things up,\u201d she said. \u201cBut the decision-making process has not played out.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Garcia said the board was also slow to react to problems with Diaz and Martinez<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> because its members weren\u2019t in touch with the community, which he said was well aware of the problems long before board members.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cThey should have taken better sound and timely action on the problems,\u201d he said. \u201cThey just let it go too far. They need to be better attuned to what\u2019s going on in their district.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Votaw said she questions why the last two superintendents \u201ccame out shooting\u201d and wonders if they were directed to make major staff changes by board members. Regardless, she said, that was not the way to lead the district forward and heal wounds.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cPeople have to be with you, not against you, so when you start making war right out of the block, you\u2019re not going to move the district,\u201d Votaw said.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

She called for the creation and fostering of a \u201cshared purpose\u201d and vision for the district \u2013 one created by the community.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u2018Somebody who relates to people\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Board members aren\u2019t the only ones to blame for the turmoil in the district, Garcia said. He believes there are people on all sides in the fight for control of the district who haven\u2019t been willing to communicate or compromise.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re so entrenched in their corners that they don\u2019t want to step out and find common ground,\u201d Garcia said. \u201cI think there are some issues on both sides.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Garcia has ideas for how board members can stabilize the situation. Noting that superintendents are much better educated about the system, he said board members need to guard against becoming too close to the superintendent.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cThey need to keep an arm\u2019s length away from the superintendent,\u201d Garcia said. \u201cThey can easily be influenced by the superintendent and the superintendent can end up running things.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cAt the same time, they need to keep a tight leash on the superintendent,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Garcia said board members can also reach out to the community through better communication and more visits to schools. He said it\u2019s important that the board form a \u201clogical strategic plan\u201d with the help of the community.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Garcia and Votaw said a new superintendent, once hired, will have to be instrumental in healing the district and moving it forward.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

The current board plans to put in a place an interim superintendent in the next few weeks who will serve until sometime in 2008, to allow time for a search for a permanent superintendent. Votaw said it will be hard for the district to move forward until it hires the right superintendent.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cYou tend to degenerate a little more into crisis management\u2026 even with the best interim superintendent,\u201d Votaw said. \u201cIt\u2019s sort of a housekeeping function.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

She wants the superintendent search to begin quickly after an interim is hired.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cWe just have to have somebody who relates to people and will go out to schools and shake hands with people and listen to them,\u201d Votaw said.<\/p>\n

\n

Visit Votaw\u2019s campaign Web site by clicking here<\/a>. Garcia does not have a Web site.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Look for additional articles on the school board candidates before the Feb. 6 election.<\/span> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The candidates seeking to replace John Schwebke on the Las Cruces Public Schools Board of Education both agree that a national search led by a headhunter isn\u2019t the way to find the district\u2019s next superintendent. Larry Garcia and Bonnie Votaw are vying to replace Schwebke, who is not seeking re-election, as the board member representing […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1177","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1177","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1177"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1177\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1177"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1177"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1177"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}