Patrick Herrera and Gilbert Serrano will change the make up of the Española School Board, after each won the seats vacated by one-term members Lucas Fresquez and Annabelle Almager.
Herrera won by a small margin against opponent Leo Marquez, while Serrano won by a large margin over opponent Patrick Chavez.
According to preliminary voting results, 523 votes were cast in the District 2 race, between Marquez and Herrera, for Almager’s seat, while 1,109 votes were cast in Serrano and Chavez’s District 3 race for Fresquez’s seat.
Almager and Fresquez formed School Board President Pablo Lujan’s voting block on the School Board, leaving members Ruben Archuleta and Yolanda Salazar as the only two dissenting votes on many controversial issues.
With both of those members gone, Superintendent Eric Martinez could be ousted from his position. His evaluation has still not been approved.
Former basketball coach Richard Martinez could also lose his support within the District, after he was fired and then reinstated.
Board member Ruben Archuleta was at Serrano’s party at Anthony’s at the Delta and said he wants to work with Eric Martinez to move the District forward.
The new Board members will take their new positions March 1, during a special meeting called for that purpose.
Huge margin
in District 3
In the District 3 race, Serrano won with 800 votes, against Chavez’s 189.
Serrano received 375 votes on voting day, and 425 early votes. Chavez received 79 on election day and 110 early votes.
Serrano said he has a community team who worked hard to get him elected, including parents and teachers.
“This is a community victory,” Serrano said. “We had a team of 30 or 40 supporters who met every Thursday night, and over half of those volunteers were parents.”
Serrano told the crowd gathered at Anthony’s at the Delta, to keep him in his prayers, because he was going to need it.
He said once he is sworn in, he will meet with the other Board members to decide in which direction to go.
For Chavez, it is the second loss for the same seat. He ran in 2013 and lost to Fresquez.
Velarde parent Darrel Roybal, at Serrano’s victory party, said Fresquez and Almager did not run again because the Board wanted to close Velarde Elementary School.
The party was so crowded that it was hard to move, with standing room only.
“This all happened because they (expletive) with the parents of Velarde,” Roybal said.
Although Velarde parents couldn’t vote in this election, they campaigned for Serrano.
Former superintendent Patricia Archuleta said she was excited that Serrano won.
“The people have spoken and I hope the corruption ends and the District gets back to servicing students.
Sheila Fredericks and her husband James, of San Pedro, both supported Serrano. Having put three children through the Española school system, they were keen to vote. Sheila Fredericks is a retired special education teacher for the District.
James Fredericks put the blame for the shoddy school system squarely on the Board members’ shoulders, as well as that of the parents.
“Everybody wants to complain how bad Española schools are,” James Fredericks said. “It’s not the schools, OK? It’s the people that run the schools and it’s the parents, as far as I’m concerned.”
Voter Anita Esquibel, who sent her child to McCurdy Charter School, said she is tired of the Board making a mockery of the whole town.
“We need to make a change,” Esquibel said. “Although my kids have never been in the Española school system, I’m tired of being the running joke on television.”
Small margin wins District 2
Herrera won by a margin of 95 votes against Marquez, with 523 total votes cast.
Herrera and Marquez both ran on the idea that they would be an independent vote on the Board.
Herrera won 186 votes at the polls and 123 early votes, while Marquez won 74 early votes and 141 at the polls.
It was Herrera’s first time running for the Board, while it was Marquez’s second time. In 2013, he ran against Almager in a three-way race and lost.
Herrera said at his victory party at the Blue Heron, that he will get rid of the cronyism in the District and bring in a new element of accountability and transparency.
“That’s what I ran on and that’s what’s gonna happen,” Herrera said. “We’re gonna help those janitors, we’re gonna help those (teaching assistants), we’re gonna help the cooks and it’s gonna be a better place for our schools.”
At Fairview Elementary School, by 5 p.m., 99 voters had cast their ballots, Clerk Rebecca Duran said. The elementary is the voting precinct for District 2.
“It was slow this morning, then (the flow) picked up for the rest of the day,” she said.
Although there were no major problems, many voters came in thinking they could vote, but were turned away because they were in the wrong district.
Ruben Montoya, a bus assistant for the Española School District, said he voted for Marquez. He said he sent his children and grandchildren to school in Santa Fe because the administrators there are more respectful of students.
Montoya said whoever wins, he hopes the members of the School Board implement a more strict dress code policy.
“These guys that wear their baggy pants showing their butt, I think that’s inappropriate for school,” Montoya said.
Mesa Vista races
In the Mesa Vista race for the District 4 seat, Marvyn Jaramillo retained his seat against challenger Adam Archuleta.
Jaramillo will coast to his third term as Board member over the former Rio Arriba County Sheriff’s lieutenant.
Only 471 of voters cast votes in the race for the District 4 seat. Jaramillo garnered 250 total votes while Archuleta got 221.
District 5 incumbent Toby Martinez lost his spot on the Board to Rio Arriba County Sheriff’s Deputy Moises Peña.
Peña garnered 245 votes, compared to Toby Martinez’s 223.
Chama results
Chama Valley School Board Districts 4 and 5 had Board members running unopposed, but voters approved a Capital Improvement mill levy, or property tax, that could generate as much as $271,000 for the District per year, until 2022.
In a small majority, 212 voters approved the measure, while 156 voted against it.
The mill will generate $2 for every $1,000 of a property’s net taxable value.
For example, the net taxable value on a $120,000 home would be $40,000, which means the property owner would receive an $80 tax bill every year based on the mill levy.
In Dulce, School Board Districts 2 and 4 were both contested.
A total of 143 votes were cast for Position 2. LaVonna James won that seat with 102 votes, while Lorene Willis got 41.
Phillip Salazar and Lester Sandoval ran for Position 4. Salazar received 99 votes and Sandoval got 45.
For Position 5, Levi Pesata ran unopposed and garnered 124 votes.