It appears the Española School District may be on track to get its seventh superintendent in less than five years, after the Española School Board Monday night abruptly placed Superintendent Eric Martinez on paid administrative leave.
Martinez will be on leave until April 10, or until New Mexico Public Education Department officials decide if the troubled superintendent can keep his license.
The Monday night decision came two days before Martinez was scheduled to submit a corrective action plan, and just four days after the installation of the new Board and its officers (see story page A4).
The Department gave Martinez an ultimatum, on Feb. 6, to submit a viable corrective action plan or face disciplinary action, including being stripped of his license. The deadline should have been March 6, but since February has 28 days, the 30-day deadline expires March 8.
Board members approved Martinez’s paid administrative leave by a 4-1 vote, with former president Pablo Lujan casting the lone dissenting vote.
Cooperative Educational Services contractor Denise Johnston will assume responsibility for the District’s day-to-day operations, as the acting superintendent.
New Board President Ruben Archuleta said he believes Johnston is an excellent choice for the temporary assignment.
“She has the experience and she is one of the most respected administrators in the District,” he said.
Before her recent promotion, Johnston served as the District’s Special Projects facilitator.
Opposition
Lujan took to social media to complain about the Board’s decision to place Martinez on leave and name an ally of former superintendent Bobbie Gutierrez in the acting capacity.
“A very close person to the former Superintendent Bobbie Gutierrez, Denise Johnston was appointed as acting Super,” he wrote in a Facebook post after the meeting ended. “The sad thing, with this, is we have two qualified associate/assistant superintendents in the district that the 4 board members refused to consider.”
The post has since been deleted.
Facebook isn’t the only forum on which Lujan chose to voice his complaint. Before and after the Board voted, he complained that the measure violated the obligations the District has to the Department.
“Has this been presented to the Public Education Department to make them aware of this decision?” he asked. “Understanding that the finances of this District are under the direction of the Public Education Department, we are going to make a financial decision at this time without their approval?”
Archuleta attempted to silence Lujan’s outburst by reminding him the vote on Martinez’s employment status wasn’t up for discussion. But Lujan ignored him and continued on with his point, until the other four Board members got up and left.
Lujan said he kept talking because he wanted the record to show that he expressed concerns regarding the viability of paying two superintendents. Martinez will continue to earn his gross $5,000 bi-weekly salary.
The former Board president cites the lack of prior approval to place the superintendent on leave, as evidence that Archuleta and the Department are in cooperation to control the District.
“We don’t have money and we don’t have control of our finances,” Lujan said. “This shows that this was orchestrated by Ruben Archuleta and the Public Education Department,”
He said the District will probably have to come up with another funding source to pay Johnston because her current salary comes from the Title II account, which is reserved for federal programs, and that money can’t be used to pay a superintendent.
The Board went through a similar dilemma under Lujan’s watch. The District had to hire an interim superintendent to replace Gutierrez, who many believe was forced out after she fired former basketball coach Richard Martinez. The District paid Associate Superintendent Myra Martinez to serve as the interim superintendent.
Other Board business
Shortly before the meeting, an unidentified Rio Arriba County Sheriff’s deputy served District parent Rick Herrera with a letter notifying him he couldn’t attend the Board meetings. Eric Martinez signed the notice.
“The intent of this communication is to provide notification that you are prohibited from attending Española Public School Board of Education meetings,” the letter states. “Be advised that the Española School Board meetings may be held throughout the county. It is your responsibility to refrain from attending all Española Public School Board meetings.”
Rio Arriba County Undersheriff Martin Trujillo and Lt. Billy Merrifield, along with several other deputies, escorted Herrera out of Monday night’s meeting.
Eric Martinez penned the notification about six weeks after Herrera allegedly threatened Lujan with an act of violence during the June 25, 2016, Board meeting.
According to Eric Martinez’s letter, Herrera reportedly told Lujan that he’d handle him in the parking lot.
“I (sic) going to kick your ass, walk outside so I can take care of business, go outside so I can beat the shit out of you,” the letter states.
Herrera couldn’t be reached for comment.
He is one of the adult plaintiffs in the federal civil rights lawsuit brought against the District, Eric Martinez, Richard Martinez and his brother Fredrick Martinez. The suit claims Richard Martinez and his brother mistreated students and the District did nothing to stop them.