The New Mexico Public Education Department has given Española School District Superintendent Eric Martinez about a month to address several points of concern the state outlined in a Nov. 17 letter, or have his licensed suspended.
State Education Secretary Hanna Skandera sent Martinez a letter, informing him that he has 30 days to deal with the student safety, human resources, fiscal, communication and open government issues that has attracted scrutiny of not only the Department, but other state agencies.
The “Notice of Failure to Meet Requirements of Laws, Rules or Standards dated Feb. 2, admonishes Martinez for failing to comply with the Nov. 17 letter.
Skandera contends that Martinez didn’t comply with the requirements her Deputy Secretary, Paul Aguilar, demanded.
Aguilar demanded Martinez spend 30 days drafting a corrective action plan to deal with the issues the letter addressed. For example, he mandated Martinez come up with a plan to deal with the staffing shortages and other personnel issues, as well as provide a detail for financial oversight. Instead of corrections, Martinez drafted a two-page letter refuting Aguilar’s claims.
“In a Letter of Concern dated November 17, 2016, the New Mexico Public Education Department (PED) informed Mr. Eric V. Martinez (superintendent) of a number of concerns regarding his conduct as Superintendent and directed him to develop a corrective action plan detailing how he intends to address each of the concerns raised,” the letter states. “Instead of submitting a corrective action plan, the Superintendent chose to submit a letter of rebuttal, which did not comply with the requirements set forth in the Letter of Concern.”
Martinez can mitigate or remove the threat to his license by complying with the requirements of the Nov. 17 letter.
If the superintendent chooses to ignore the ultimatum, or submit an unsatisfactory action plan, Department officials will present his case to state’s Public Education Commission, who will determine if a suspension is warranted.