Leaves post nine days after being approved for it
Española School District Board of Education member Cory Lewis resigned Sept. 19, a week after acquiring the position.
Lewis, who was unanimously voted into the vacant seat after defeating prospective candidate Tracy Galligan in a public interview held at a special Board meeting on Sept. 10, tendered his resignation on the afternoon of Sept. 19 before a regular board meeting meant to celebrate his swearing in to the position.
The district 2 seat has been vacant since the resignation of former representative Patrick Herrera after it was discovered that he, according to the language of the newly passed New Mexico House Bill 98, no longer “physically” resided in his elected district.
In the weeks that followed Herrera’s official resignation at an Aug. 22 special Board meeting, where the Board voted that a vacancy did exist for the district 2 seat, the process to fill the seat began, and the clock for the Board’s autonomy from the New Mexico Public Education Department began to tick, in accordance with New Mexico Statute, Section 22-5-9, Local School Board Vacancies.
According to the statute, if a qualified person is not appointed to fill the vacancy within 45 days from the date the vacancy occurred, the Department shall appoint a qualified person to fill the vacancy until the next regular school district election.
Thus, the Board had 45 days from Herrera’s resignation to appoint a candidate to fill the vacancy. To this end, the Board decided to advertise for the vacant seat and accept applications from any member of the District 2 community that wished to apply. After the initial application process, and a deadline extension, only two candidates applied for the appointment, Lewis and Galligan.
President alerted
Board President Ruben Archuleta received Lewis’ resignation via phone two hours prior to the meeting, but understands the decision.
“Cory needed to make the best decision for himself and his family,” he said. “Serving on the School Board can be a difficult commitment. I got the phone call, and he had decided, after talking to his family, that it just wasn’t the time to be a Board member.”
The Sept. 19 regular Board meeting, aside from discussing a few other items, was meant to honor Lewis’ filling of the open seat with a reception and a public swearing in.
Originally, the meeting was meant to honor Lewis with a congratulatory cake bearing his name and new position, a mariachi band and refreshments made by district students. The only aspects missing from the agenda that night were the mariachi band and Lewis.
The Board’s quest to find a fitting replacement to fill the vacant open seat has begun again, but the Department’s 45-day clock has not. Initially, the Board tried to be as open and transparent as possible, leaving the process open to the public as well as any person interested in applying for the seat, a process that they legally did not have to go through, as Attorney Tony Ortiz pointed during an Aug. 25 interview.
“I think sometimes that the public misunderstands that issue,” he said. “They think the Board has to jump through those hoops, or go through a big process. They don’t. This (referring to the interview process) really is a good thing for this community that they have a Board that wants the community involved and has opened the process.”
The open interview process seemed like a solid move three weeks ago, but a lack of candidates, especially candidates that would remain committed, has forced the Board’s hand as the 45-day window, ending Oct. 8, to fill the vacancy draws to a close.
The board voted 2-1, Archuleta and Board Secretary Gilbert Serrano voting in favor with Board member Pablo Lujan voting against, to use their legal right to appoint a candidate to the vacant seat before the Department can step in and appoint without any input from the Board at a Sept. 24 special meeting.
Applicants sought
Archuleta said the goal is to appoint a new member to the open seat at an Oct. 3 special meeting.
“Unfortunately, our extensive public process didn’t produce candidates that were a good fit with the Board,” he said. “As a result, the Board will comply with the law and appoint a qualified candidate from District 2.”
Anyone interested in becoming the District 2 representative can email Archuleta, but they must prove that they are registered voters and physically reside in the district 2 according with the statutory language of the Bill.
Attorney Geno Zamora backed the Board’s decision to follow the letter of the law before the Department has an opportunity to appoint.
“Despite the Board’s efforts to go above and beyond to create a public participation process, they may need to resort to the basic legal requirements that they can appoint anyone they deem fit to serve the school district,” Zamora said.
While the Board has decided to move forward with the appointing process, the only thing that stands in its way is whether or not someone from district 2 is willing to apply.
However, if this process has taught any would-be candidate anything, it is that there will be cake.
If any potential candidate has learned anything from this process, it is that there will be cake.