The new Española School Board, which isn’t all that new, needs to start working today, if it wants to pass a two-mil levy and a bond any time this year.
We suggested in this same space two years ago the Board do that and it hasn’t budged from its apathetic stance of waiting for a superintendent, intent on taking care of himself, do some work toward selling the Board as a fiscally responsible group active in the community, working toward better schools.
Instead we have:
• multiple raises for administrators;
• a maintenance department forced into reorganization by the state after we almost lost hundreds of thousands of dollars because the department was ill-equipped, trained and managed;
• secret meetings in violation of state law;
• multiple trips to vacation destinations;
• minimal progress on some sort of new school in Alcalde—seven years and not even a shovel in the ground;
• increased violence, vandalism and truancy at the middle and high schools;
• sliding test scores at most schools, improvement at others;
• a resurfacing of probelms in the speical education department evidenced by a recent law suit against the department;
The District degraded to a point it spawned two charter schools. While the quality of education at these schools is also in question, the mere fact they were started speaks volumes to the failure of the District. The Board’s reaction? Take a trip, give some raises.
It’s unfortunate but understandable why no one chose to challenge any of the open seats last election cycle. Who wants in the middle of this unorchestrated abattoir where knowledge goes to die? A new superintendent coming into the melee will only make matters worse, unless that person can herd the Board in a positive direction and get some emphasis placed on improving the learning atmosphere.
Española School Board, if you want to pass a two-mil levy and bond issue, you must start acting like leaders and give voters something positive, responsible and dare we say it—altruistic—upon which they may hang their vote. Voters need a hint of responsibility from the Board to coerce themselves into giving it money in these hard times.