La Tierra Parents: Send your children to represent you and the school to the revocation hearing.There will be a hearing on the appeal with the Public Education Commission on Tuesday, July 7 from 1 to 3 pm at the Jerry Apodaca Education building in Santa Fe.According to the New Mexico Public Commission, the entity that voted to revoke the schools charter, the governing council should approve a budget and have a public meeting in case they are successful with the appeal.The governing council approved the budget during the June 19 council meeting. They are also set to discuss the appeal during another meeting on June 20. Several weeks ago, the Sun had the opportunity to meet with three parents and four former La Tierra Montessori students, their children. One was the parent of a former student.The parents were highly critical of the schools’ governing council (school board) and the head learner (principal).It’s easy to understand why. This group appears to have ruined a wonderful school and an opportunity for some of our children to excel and have a better chance- at… well, a better chance at life.
Our view is that both the governing council and the parents should step aside and turn over the school to the four students we met, the youngest of whom is eight-years-old.If those children are evidence of what La Tierra can accomplish with education in a somewhat free-wheeling environment this makes the loss of the school’s charter almost criminal.The children were unfailingly polite and most of all articulate. They demonstrated they can pierce the veil of school board politics and that of egos run wild to understand how to fix this school. Understand, though, and make no mistake. It’s too late. La Tierra had its charter revoked by the Public Education Commission on April 20,. 2023. In total folly and with financial irresponsibility the governing council is considering appealing the revocation. The public hearing discussing the potential appeal will be a waste of time unless the children are present and allowed to speak. Even then it is more than a longshot because the PEC knows that the school governance is a sham and in shambles. There are estimates the corrective action plan will cost up to $90,000 of taxpayer money for a tilt at windmills.Knowledgeable local leaders with a history with the school have told us the appeal is worthless. They say the charter is gone, gone, gone. Not coming back.And yet the school has announced it is taking applications for the coming school year. It says the PEC has advised it to do this. Parents, your money has a better chance of a return at one of many casinos.We must as a community ask ourselves how something so noble in its beginnings could have turned out so bad?Even though there are still people working at the school and spending taxpayers’ money, the school has lost its charter and is not going to get it back.The controversial board Chairman Isaac Casados resigned, but the school is still under the control of those who have ruined it and bungled every aspect of its operation for years. That means more taxpayer money will be wasted on a losing effort.The best hope for a Montessori school here will be efforts to get a new charter. Parents of current and former students at the school rave about the value of a Montessori education. Taking this school from the Espanola Valley hurts the chances of children, particularly non-white students, to learn and grow. If allowed these opportunities for our children, ultimately, the community benefits when they enter the everyday world as well-educated adults.Ultimately, Espanola can only develop and improve the poor image it has throughout the state though education and public education here is sub-standard.There needs to be a forensic audit of the finances of La Tierra, and the practices of the school need to be investigated. Adults have ruined this school and negatively impacted our children.Those responsible need to be called on the carpet to the principal’s office and disciplined.Meanwhile, efforts to establish a new Montessori need to be supported so we can get back to the basics of teaching and nurturing our young people so they can become productive citizens of our city and county.