Española School District officials are faced with a high number of administrative and staff vacancies for School Year 2016-17 in the aftermath of former superintendent Bobbie Gutierrez’s resignation last month.
The District has listed on its website openings for two principals, an assistant principal for Española Valley High School, in addition to various openings for teachers, counselors and educational assistants.
Including substitutes, tutors, nurses and recreational therapists, there are 61 total jobs listed on the website.
Acting superintendent Myra Martinez’s own contract addendum was not approved at the School Board’s April 20 meeting.
She said District officials’ recent decisions to advertise for the positions of assistant principal at Española Valley High School and for a principal at Sombrillo Elementary had nothing to do with the budget and were not cost-effective decisions.
“Right now, letters of intent have gone out to all of the school sites,” she said.
Martinez said letters to year-round employees had also gone out. The only contracts that have been reviewed by District officials are those that have been signed up to this fiscal quarter, ending June 30.
“At this point, we have not approved any professional agreements or other contracts,” she said. “All of those have to come before the Board. We will follow our procurement process with those.”
Española Valley High School Assistant Principal Kelly Rinaldi was a mid-year hire. She became assistant principal at the school on Feb. 1 and her contract runs until June 10.
Rinaldi said she was disappointed to find out from Martinez that her contract would not be renewed for the upcoming school year.
“I was given a letter last Monday (May 9) stating that they were not going to renew it,” she said. “I was surprised because there has been so much turmoil in the District already, but they said they felt the new principal should be given the opportunity to select their assistant principal and that I was welcome to apply for the position.”
Rinaldi said she and her husband have purchased a home and are planning to stay in the area. She asked about having some consistency in the school for the students, but was told her contract would not be extended.
Prior to Gutierrez’s departure, the District’s Human Resources Department told Rinaldi she didn’t have to reapply for her position after her contract expired, but when Martinez took over as acting superintendent, she was told otherwise.
Sombrillo Elementary Principal Peter Engler said the District did not invite him back for the upcoming school year. He started as principal in November 2015 and his contract also runs until June 10.
Engler said, generally, employees are given a reason for their contracts not being extended, but in his case, no reason was given. He was also told May 9, his contract would not be renewed.
“I came in with Bobbie (Gutierrrez) so my assumption is they did it because I was one of Bobbie’s appointments,” he said. “I assumed it was out of some sort of political expediency, rather than anything I had done. I was not surprised, but I was disappointed because I had offered to return.”
Following Gutierrez’s resignation, San Juan Elementary Principal Jeorj Moralez announced he would not return for the new school year because of the high turnover in the District. He said he grew tired of a lack of leadership and supervision from District officials.
An approval for amending Martinez’s contract for the 2015-16 school year was on the agenda as an action item at the Board’s April 20 meeting, but was tabled at the request of Board member Ruben Archuleta, who said more time was needed in order to properly review the item.
At a special meeting Monday, the Board approved a contract addendum for Martinez. Under the terms of the restructured contract, she will be entitled to all compensation and benefits provided under her original contract.
According to salary information made public by the District, Martinez was paid an annual salary of $92,000 as associate superintendent.
In addition, retroactive to April 6, she will receive compensation calculated on a daily rate, to temporarily raise her pay to $120,000 per year as acting superintendent.
The Board called for a special meeting on May 10 and listed discussion of staffing updates for School Year 2016-17 in their agenda, under executive session.
Archuleta questioned the inclusion of staffing update discussions in executive session.
According to the state’s Open Meetings Act, an exception to the act “does not permit a public making body to retreat into executive session to discuss personnel policies, procedures, budget items, and other issues concerning the qualifications or performance of specific individuals.”
“I did, in fact, seek legal advice from our school attorney,” Martinez wrote in an email. “It was necessary for me to discuss limited personnel matters, which were in fact confidential in nature and not subject or appropriate for public discussion/meeting regarding staff.”