Two seats are up for grabs Feb. 3 on each of Rio Arriba County’s five public school boards.
In two of those districts, the stakes are high — the winners will get to pick a new superintendent in Española and decide the future of the current superintendent in Mesa Vista.
And if one initiative from the New Mexico School Boards Association makes it into the next legislative session, they will wield power school board members haven’t held since 2003.
Candidates must file paperwork Dec. 16 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Rio Arriba County Clerk’s Tierra Amarilla office, Deputy Clerk Maria Elena Rodela said. To run for a school board seat, candidates must live and be registered to vote within the boundaries of their respective school district and may not be a district employee.
The Races
Whoever takes the two contested seats on the Española School Board will have a hand in picking that school district’s next superintendent. When they take office March 1, the District will be six weeks into its search for a candidate to replace Superintendent David Cockerham, who plans to retire June 30, 2009 (see related story in the Education section of this web site under the story titled, “Superintendent Meeting Draws Little Response.”
Though the five-member Board has put together an elaborate hiring process that includes multiple community hearings, a nationwide search and several rounds of interviews, rumors abound the Board will choose a candidate who is both local and politically-connected.
Rio Arriba County Democratic Party Chairwoman Theresa Martinez did not deny she is being considered for the job.
“Well, my background is in education,” Martinez said. “It’s hard to say, it’s still some time away, but I’m keeping my options open. We’ll see what happens.”
Martinez is a former principal of Los Niños Kindergarten Center and a current member of Northern New Mexico College’s Board of Regents.
Vernon Jaramillo is the principal of Los Cariños Charter School. He is a former superintendent at both Mesa Vista and Española and has in the past been non-committal about his intentions to reclaim the superintendent’s seat in Española. He said Tuesday he is currently committed to Los Cariños, and is focusing his attention on his job there.
Jaramillo did not say outright whom he’s standing by in the February election, but suggested both incumbents on Española’s Board can count on his support.
Both those incumbents — President Joe Romero and Vice President Floyd Archuleta — have long confirmed their plans to seek re-election.
The February race would be Romero’s second and Archuleta’s first. Both men won their place on the Board by appointment, but Romero secured his seat by vote in the February 2007 election. Romero was appointed to the Board to replace Connie Valdez, who died in 2005. Archuleta was appointed in 2007 to replace Joe Guillen, who stepped down to become director of the New Mexico School Boards Association.
So far, only two other possible candidates have confirmed interest in the race, one to run against each candidate.
Jose “Coco” Archuleta, the husband of former District superintendent Patsy Archuleta, said when told Romero’s term runs out in February he might consider running against the current Board president.
“It’s a possibility, I think,” Archuleta said. “I’ve been wanting to get in to politics for a while. And I’m not genetically bred to be a politician — no one in my family comes from politics.”
Romero wants to see more people run against him — it will give him an edge, he said.
“I welcome competition. I prefer none or many, so the more the better,” Romero said. “It’s easier when there’s more than when there’s only one.”
He cited statistics suggesting he will enter the race with a 10 percent advantage as an incumbent, plus an additional 5 percent for being Board president.
“At this point in time, they’re welcome to try, but they’re wasting their time,” Romero said. “I’ve never lost before, and I don’t intend to start now.”
Dennis Galvan, a social worker for the District, did not rule out the possibility of running against Floyd Archuleta, saying “all options are open.”
Laurie Koontz, former City Councilor Chris Roybal and former city Housing Authority director Rick Vigil were also rumored to plan on running for the Board. Koontz and Roybal, both of whom applied for Archuleta’s seat last year, said they have no plans to run. Vigil could not be reached for comment.
Each Española School Board member represents a specific geographical slice of the school district and any schools located there. Romero, whose district includes San Pedro and La Mesilla, represents Sombrillo Elementary. Archuleta, whose district includes Santa Cruz, represents Fairview Elementary.
Candidates for all other Rio Arriba school boards will vie for at-large seats. At-large candidates can run for any available seat on the Board, regardless of where in their school district they live.
Whoever takes two at-large seats on the Mesa Vista School Board could help make or break Superintendent Robert Archuleta’s career with the District. The Board — and Board President Joe Gurulé specifically — has often been at odds with Archuleta since a faction from Ojo Caliente and surrounding towns wrested the majority from the El Rito-dominated Board that hired him in 2007.
Gurulé, whose term runs out in February, said he has not decided whether he will seek re-election.
He made clear his frustration with Archuleta’s leadership as superintendent, but denied rumors that he plans to abandon his seat so the Board can hire him to replace Archuleta. State law prohibits school districts from hiring Board members.
“If I wanted to be superintendent, I would have taken it already,” Gurulé said. “There are still certain things I would like to see happen, but it’s been kind of hard with the authority House Bill 212 gave to superintendents. It kind of tied our hands in that respect.”
The bill, which was signed into law in 2003, took from school boards the power to make hiring and firing decisions. Gurulé said given the authority, he would replace much of the District’s administrative staff.
A coalition of New Mexico school boards will decide next month whether to push for changes that law, restoring to school boards the power to fire and hire all administrators, according to New Mexico School Boards Association President Joe Guillen. He said the Association would likely ask Speaker of the House Ben Lujan (D-Nambé), who has previously expressed support for the changes, to sponsor the bill. Lujan did not return calls for comment.
The February election could sway the Board majority in Mesa Vista back toward El Rito.
Henry Lopez is one of two candidates who have confirmed plans to run. He lives in Vallecitos but is originally from El Rito. He plans to run for the seat currently held by his niece, Braen Alire Terrazas, also of El Rito, who confirmed Monday she will not seek re-election.
Edna Campos also confirmed she plans to run, though she hasn’t decided whether it will be for Terrazas’ seat or Gurulé’s.
Campos, of El Rito, is the partner of District technology director Edward Kedge and the mother of an El Rito Elementary fifth-grader.
Alfonso Chacon, a former Board member, said Tuesday he is considering a return to the Board. He and three other former Board members were targets of an unsuccessful petition to recall their election to the Board.
Of the two Chama School Board members whose seats are on the line, only one, Presidient Arthur Espinoza, confirmed plans to seek re-election. The other, member Gary Salazar, remains undecided.
“I’m leaning towards yes, but if someone else comes along who’s qualified, I might step aside,” Salazar said.
The same goes for the Jemez Mountain School Board, where member Mark Valdez confirmed he plans to run, but member Billy Cordova has yet to decide.
In Dulce, both incumbents remain undecided. Board President David Montoya and Vice President Steve Cata’s seats are both up for grabs. Both Cata and Montoya said they were undecided.