After a four-year tenure filled with a mix of controversy and success, the athletic coordinator is the latest administrator to sever ties with the Española School District.
Eric Vigil decided to end his career with the District, rather than accept a demotion that would have translated to considerably less take-home pay during the upcoming school year.
He said he quit instead of accepting a job as a physical education teacher, which he sees as an insult. The teaching position would have translated to an approximate $30,000 salary reduction, compared to the $64,000 he currently earns. His resignation takes effect June 30, when his contract ends.
Since Vigil never sought a license upgrade from the starting Level I K-12 Specialty License, he could only be offered the $34,000 entry-level salary as an educator. He does not have the administrator’s license required to serve as the District’s athletic director.
Instead of hiring an athletic coordinator to replace Vigil, District Human Resources officials placed an ad looking for an athletic director. The most recognizable difference between the two positions is an athletic director position requires an administrator’s license, whereas a coordinator can get by with a basic teaching license.
Vigil said his demotion comes as a surprise, considering every performance evaluation he received as a District employee has been positive.
“There wasn’t any indication that a change needed to be made, but they felt they needed an athletic director,” he said. “I really felt we did some upgrades, like the basketball arena and the football field, that we could hang our hats on.”
Before the outgoing athletic coordinator started with the District, he served as a teacher, coach and athletic director for the former McCurdy School for six years, until 2013.
Vigil said he was able to hold the athletic director’s title at McCurdy because officials at the then-private school, weren’t held to the same stringent standards as their public school counterparts.
Controversy and success
Under his guidance, the District’s athletic program enjoyed a fair amount of success, which included post-season appearances for the girls and boys basketball teams, the volleyball team and the football team.
However, that success, which culminated in the 2016 Boy’s basketball team winning the Class 5A State Championship, was marred by controversy surrounding former basketball coach Richard Martinez.
Vigil’s pending separation comes less than a month after Martinez agreed to give up his coaching and teaching licenses for at least one year.
Former superintendent Bobbie Gutierrez suspended, and eventually fired, Martinez shortly after the championship victory, in response to allegations that he made false statements, abused students and engaged in financial misconduct.
School Board member Pablo Lujan said Vigil’s demotion reeks of politics and is further evidence that, as a whole, his colleagues are targeting District employees who supported their rivals.
Shortly after the Board was installed March 1, Lujan accused them of having a hit list of sorts, that targeted Vigil, Facilities Director Adán Cordova and outgoing Transportation Director Sennie Quintana.
“People are worried,” he said. “There has been a lot of micromanagement this past three months. Board members are overstepping their boundaries. They are forcing the superintendent to make decisions she should make on her own.”
Acting superintendent Denise Johnston couldn’t be reached for a comment on why the District decided to change course and seek an athletic director, or to respond to Lujan’s assertion that she is being micromanaged.
Prior to the March 1 installation of the current Board, Yolanda Salazar and Board President Ruben Archuleta, who were in the Board minority at the time, often called Lujan out for the control they believe he exercised over outgoing superintendent Eric Martinez.
Lujan said if Vigil had done such a poor job, someone should have had the wherewithal to document it for future use.
“If Eric did such a bad job why hasn’t he been written up?” Lujan asked. “They are telling him he was good enough to do the job for four years. But now he isn’t good enough.”
Once hired, the athletic director will be charged with overseeing the hiring of the assistant coaches and trimming the department’s budget.