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Eyes on the Board

15 December 2003

All Members Present

Board Retreat on 12/12 from 5:30-8:00 PM in the GMCS Board Room.

Sunday, December 21 at 4 PM, John Samford, Assist,. Supt. For Business Services, and GMCS Attorney George Kozeleski will be on KGLP.

Ethel Manuelito, Assist. To the Supt., reported that there is significant opposition to the proposed liquor license for the Mustang convenience store at meeting at Tohlakai:

The Navajo Nation President and Gallup Mayor have written letters in opposition
Schools and students have written letters to Santa Fe
Monday, January 5 at 6 PM District 14 at the Tohatchi Chapter and issue a joint resolution from 5 chapters in opposition
Supt. White and Assist. Supt. Manuelito will draft a similar resolution for the GMCS Board
Board member Bill Bright added that the corporation has the liquor license issue on its agenda.

Under NCLB, Theresa Mariano, Assist. Supt. For Human Resources, said that districts must report to the public teachers that are unqualified, have no teaching experience, or are teaching out of their field.
GHS Coach Martinez presented the GHS Cross Country Team to the Board from whom each received a certificate. Boys and girls were district and state champions. Included were 3 All-Americans:

Sheyenne Lewis
Terra Brown
Philbert Brown

Assist. Supt. For Curriculum and Instruction Chantal Irvin reported on the school calendar for 2004-05. The board unanimously approved this.

School will start on August 30.
Delayed Mondays for Professional Development on the second Monday of each month
Parent/Teacher Conferences to be on different days for different levels from 1-8i PM.
Holidays: Traditional
175 students days
183 teacher days
Feb. 21: President’s Day is professional development day
January 14: Staff development and International Reading Conference at UNM.

Chantal Irvin reports that all graduation dates have been set with the exception of Gallup High. Graduation at GHS depends on the availability of Red Rock State Park.

Bill Bright moved to approve the position of Interim Director of Safety and Teacherages. The interim director would train staff in claims and safety concerns, represent the district at monthly board meetings ion Albuquerque to review claims, work proactively as coordinator between the fire marshal and county schools, and update the teacherage booklet. After discussion regarding the need on justification on this position and the availability of funds, the board unanimously approved the motion. Board President Thompson insisted that the individual filling the position have a schedule, have a timeline for completion of duties, and report on the status of the district to the board.

Dr. Monaghan informed the board that according to the Criterion Referenced Test (Language Arts and Math) given in grades 4 and 8, 65%-75% of students are not meeting standards. The board approved the adoption of Lightspan “Edutest” Assesment. This assessment will be used this year in corrective action schools and in all schools next year. The district will look at Title VIII funds for this.

Student Transfer Policy: The board unanimously tabled decision on intra-school transfers until the next meeting in order to settle the language. The new policy would prohibit students from advancing to the next grade level during the school year due to problems this causes for testing.

GMCS Resolution regarding board member participation in the procurment of services was tabled for further study. This would allow for further \outside businesses to be contacted by the district even though the business has an employee that happens to be related to a board member.

Meeting adjourned at 8:02 PM

Public Forum

Cosy Balok and community parents, with support form Sen. Lidio Rainaldi, presented concerns about the lack of athletic facilities (i.e. soccer and football fields) in the district, particularly at Gallup High School.

Skeeter Caretto addressed the board about the truancy policy. Students from Gallup Junior High that were ditching home burglarized the Caretto recently.

“Listening is the shortest distance between two people.”

“Recognize achievement every day. Reward responsibility every hour.”

“A man is known by the company he keeps, and also by the company from which he is kept out.”

Grover Cleveland

“Stand with anybody that stands rights; stand with him while he is right and part with him when he goes wrong.”

Abraham Lincoln

Eyes on the Board

1 December 2003

Central Office

All members present.

Students on the Student Task Force were introduced to the Board. The 3 students are from Ramah High, Tohatchi High, and Crownpoint High.
Dr. Elvira Largie was introduced as the interim NEC Director.
Mr. Jeff Frye, Technical Marketer from Loss Prevention Management, Inc. of Albuquerque, gave a presentation on security cameras. The Board, administration, and audience viewed, in real-time, Tohatchi High School. The technology is digital, no video tapes are needed.
Chantal Irvin gave a brief summary of National Board Certification. Certification cost is $2300; the District pays $200 for 5 candidates per year. Ms. Irvin also introduced Verna Escudero as the district’s latest Board Certified Educator.
NAFIS Resolution draft was read and passed. The district will pay NAFIS dues with stipulations detailed in the November 17 board meeting. Additionally, the resolution will be sent with the requisition of dues and also to other members of the coalition.
The GMCS Board unanimously passed the Resolution and Proclamation of Public School Capital Improvements Mill Levy Election after a presentation by Mr. Samford. It was emphasized that these are not additional taxes, but a continuation of existing monies currently received. The state also matches funds dollar for dollar. Election Day will be Tuesday, February 3, 20004.
Meeting adjourned at 7:10 PM.
Items of Note:

Eyes on the Board

17 November 2003

Central Office (Very Short Meeting)

Adrienne Sloan – Absent

Thoreau High School will receive $75,000. Thoreau HS was one of eighteen schools to apply for a Title 1 grant. Of this, $52,000 is already earmarked for books. Congratulations.
GMCS Board unanimously passed a resolution initiated by MCFUSE stating the displeasure at the FCC decision to allow the “F” word on television. MCFUSE will ensure the delivery of the resolution to local, state, and federal representatives.
GMCS passed a resolution to pay dues to NAFIS out of Title 8 money. Administration will petition NAFIS to lower dues, establish a legal defense fund, and monitor NAFIS progress/achievement to determine practicality of future dues payment.
GMCS Vocal Music Program will look at state standards regarding music and align them for Jr. High and Middle Schools.

Eyes on the Board

3 November 2003

Central Office

All Board Members Present

WNM Mental Health Partnership report postponed due to illness of presenter.
Mavis Price and Bill Bright questioned the following budget adjustment requests:

$2000 to general supplies for Thoreau High for program activities. Ms. Price asked “What are the activities?”
Title 1 Admin. Additional funding for office furniture. One secretary was added.
$50,000 to contract services for stipend payments to parents who participate in trainings and scheduled home visits. Ms. Price asked for a list of participating parents.
Title 1 asked for $500 for other textbooks. Ms. Price wanted to know “What textbooks?”
$1038; additional amount needed to hire Technology Support Specialist. The district is hiring 3 to make a total of 5.
Ms. Price suggested that past graduates of Thoreau High donate caps and gowns. JOM budgets $250 for needy students.

Ms. Price reiterated that travel dates be submitted one month beforehand.
Mr. Samford reported that all bids for teacherage construction of October 20, 2003 were rejected. The lowest bid was still over the GMCS budget.
Under NCLB the military enjoys the same access to student records as colleges and universities unless opted out by parents.
Dr. Tempest states that there are excessive demands on employees under Extensive Leave of Absence.
Graduation dates discussed. Ms. Price wants to attend both graduations in her district, Ramah and Thoreau.
Mr. Stanley, Tohatchi Mid Principal, and Ms. White are to meet with Gov. Richardson in Albuquerque. Tohatchi Mid was one of the New Mexico schools selected to receive laptop computers for students and teachers.
Board Scholars at Gallup High, 6 PM on November 24.
GMCS Board to hold a retreat on November 18 at 5:30 PM at Central Office. There will be an additional retreat on the Facilities Master Plan on December 16 at 5:30 PM at Central Office.
68 of 89 superintendents attended the State Supt. Retreat in Albuquerque.

There was a consensus that education decisions are made without input from districts and superintendents.
Superintendents to “tag team” that legislature. Two superintendents to be present at all times to lobby.

Dr. Monaghan reported on the National Science Foundation Math and Science Partnership Program, specifically building units of prior knowledge of students.
GMCS Board was invited by the UNM Board to attend a planning meeting of common issues on November 20 at 6 PM.
International Education Week: November 17-21.
Dr. Monaghan reported on the Universal Design of Assessments, Univ. of Minn. Report by Christopher Johnstone. The report deals with designing assessments to promote student achievement.
Mr. Bright and Joan to update the Board Policy Manual.
Mr. Bright suggested that Board packets be received before meeting so that members have more opportunity to make calls, research, etc.
SFC Woody and 2 Gallup High students reported on their trip to College Station, TX to visit Texas A&M. The two cadets selected for the Junior Cadet Achievement Program were among 200 selected from 1500 candidates.
Mr. John Forkenbrock, Executive Director of NAFSIS, explained the dues formula and benefits of NAFIS membership. GMCS dues are in excess of $9000 per year.
Mr. Forkenbrock mentioned that NAFIS is bipartisan and able to get into offices that AFT and NEA can’t. He added that AFT and NEA are envious of this. (Note: While federally impacted schools continue to pay excessive dues to NAFIS to lobby to gain impact aid monies, MCFUSE members pay full due of $40 per month, have the CB Law, and are currently working to strengthen the local and assist GMCS with challenges confronting it. Which is the better deal? Who should be envious of whom?)
A Steering Committee that includes former Governor Caruthers and Lt. Governor Diane Denish will restructure SDE to ensure permanent fund money gets to classrooms.
SDE will now be called the Public Education Department (PED).
On October 20 Ms. Price was presented the True Hero: Native American Substance Abuse and Tobacco Prevention Award. Conroy Chino presented the awards. (Congratulations.)
Ms. Price was nominated by Governor Richardson and confirmed as Vice President of the New Mexico Children’s Trust Fund from 2003-2007 (IT CHICK)

Eyes on the Board

20 October 2003

Central Office

Absent: Mavis Price (In Albuquerque to accept an award. Congratulations.)

Board unanimously approved Ms. White’s motion to allow MCFUSE access to GMCS Internal Distribution Boxes (mailboxes) as a temporary waiver to Board policy. Trial period ends on 31 January 2004 with the following stipulations:

· Access to be at individual sites only not through Central Office boxes.

· An employee of that worksite will put information in the boxes.

· No information will be distributed unless initialed by Supt. White.

· Fair share dues component of collective bargaining law will be distributed with other information during this trial period.

Annie Tsosie reported on a trip to Washington D.C.
Supt. White reported on the National Summit of High School Reform. Also attending from New Mexico were AFL-CIO President and NMFEE President Christine Trujillo, Virginia Trujillo, Steve Sanchez, as well as the Superintendents of the Rio Rancho and Hobbs schools.

· Ms. White and Ms. V. Trujillo met with Senators Bingaman and Domenici and Rep. Wilson, attended a Business Roundtable, and visited the US Dept. of Education.

· Supt. White was questioned on teacher retention, EA’s under NCLB, and the NCLB in practice.

In accordance with HB 212, NMSBA members need 5 hours by 12/1. Mark Mitchell and SDE must approve credits.
GMCS and the city of Gallup are currently talking about an Aquatic Center. The city wants to build it and GMCS wants it close to schools to be accessible to students. Possible locations include the GMCS school bus parking lot.
Council of Governments is looking for grants to get an office. A possible location would be Chee Dodge Elementary. Patti Lundstrom is willing to work with GMCS on sewage at Chee Dodge.
Supt. White briefed the GMCS Board on a proposal to develop a regional education center t Smith Lake Elementary. The proposal must be submitted to and approved by Dr. Alan Morgan, Interim Secretary of Education.

· Other revenue sources for this include UNM-Gallup Center for Career and Technical Education, Rural Utilities Service Program, CYFD Project Success, Diné II, and UNM-Gallup Diabetes Resource Center.

· Benefits include:

· Access for EA’s to obtain required hours for licensure to comply with NCLB

· Student access to career and technical training through concurrent enrollment

· Student access to a Bachelor’s Degree program without excessive travel

· Access for local residents to advanced training in early childhood development

· Distance learning options to enhance educational opportunities for residents of the area

· Students attending the center will qualify for childcare and be exposed to quality child development practices.

Candyce Head-Dylla and Louise Benally were selected as presenters at the NABE conference in Albuquerque. Congratulations.
Sunny Dooley and Tianna gave a parents perspective on pre-schools and advocated for pre-schools at every school. She mentioned that pre-schools get parents involved in early childhood education. She suggested that requirements be translated in to Navajo and Spanish and that more protein and complex carbohydrates be incorporated into breakfast.
Ms. Irvin discussed NCLB. C&I meetings have been restructured to include NCLB. Mr. Linford added that every grant written should be directed towards NCLB.
Personnel Handbooks have been modified to comply with NCLB and HB 212.
Bill Bright mentioned the need to inform parents of military options or the Board will be required to do so.
Board Resolutions

· 10/20-10/24 National School Lunch week and National School Bus Week

Assistant Superintendents gave updates on “Range” assignments

· John Samford: Purple Range

· Leonard Haskie: Pink Range

· Chantel Irvin: White Shell Range

· Theresa Mariano: Obsidian Range

· Ed Monaghan: Turquoise Range

· Ethel Manuelito: Gold Range

· District schools fall into each range.

· Assignments serve to improve communications in the district and are discussed every 2^nd and 4^th Monday.

GMCS visitor’s policy amended due to SB46.
Chantel Irvin and Candyce Head-Dylla were invited to the Vocabulary Conference in Dallas, TX. This is put on by the PREL (Pacific Resources for Learning).
Reading First Start Grant Process discussed. RFG meeting attended by Chantel Irvin, Candyce Head-Dylla, Larry Linford, and Ray Macias.
Volunteer Policy discussed due to a concern to have a mechanism in place for background checks.
Leonard Haskie reported on Highway Project 491. This highway will be constructed from Navajo to the Mexican Springs turnoff. The project is in the study phase currently and is due to begin construction in January 2005.
The GMCS Board institutes an Open Public Forum. Open Public Forum will be during the second board meeting of each month and scheduled through Central Office. No personnel issues or issues under litigation will be heard. Additionally, each forum will be limited to three speakers.

Eyes on the Board

22 September 2003

Tohatchi Elementary School

All Members Present

Ms. Sloan Tardy

Item added to agenda

Bill Bright moved to have the following items placed on the consent agenda

GMCS Volunteer Policy Approval
Public School Stadium Notice Approval
Athletic Trip Beyond 200 Miles
Approval of SDE Corrective Action Recommendation

Approval was unanimous

NAFIS Conference

The Board had discussion about sending Dolly Begay, Jackson Gibson, and Annie Tsosie to the Fall NAFIS conference in Washington DC from September 18-24.
Ms. Price objected to sending personnel without Board approval.
Ms. White explained that the travel requests were late due to discussion of NAFIS dues at the last Board meeting. Ms. White added that as per GMCS policy, the Superintendent could approve such requests. Begay, Gibson, and Tsosie will make reports, both oral and written, to the board at the next meeting in October.
Ms. Price would like the Board in the future to receive all travel requests before departures.

Seventh Grade Computer Program

The Governor’s 7^th Grade Computer Program will provide 5 New Mexico schools with laptop computers for every 7^th grader and every 7^th grade teacher.
Tohatchi Mid School has been selected as one of the 5 schools to receive computers. (Congratulations TMS!)
Computer will follow the student throughout the schools but will remain the property of the district.

Legislative Education Meeting

The Legislative Education meeting was held in Rio Rancho.
Discussion included:

Closing the warehouse and giving 100% of the money for books to schools. Schools would then have to deal with textbook publishers.
Library and cafeteria size being tied to 200 students and making 2 lunch periods mandatory.
APS Superintendent wants to look at funding sources to assist Educational Assistants with college courses. EA’s are low-paid employees and many are single parents. The item will be placed on the legislative agenda.

Learning 24/7 Superintendent’s Leadership Conference

Chantal Irvin gave the presentation.
Keynote speaker was Douglas Reeves who spoke on Writing in Focus Across the Curriculum and how it raised standardized test scores.
Rubrics on Principal Evaluation

Pre-evaluation Conference scheduled
Rubric Review
Collaboratively set goals by November 1.
School visits 3 times between November and January.
Final evaluation the first week of March.
Review progress and data file.
Recommendation made to the Superintendent.
Four Assistant Superintendents with Principal/Academic experience will conduct the evaluations:

Theresa Mariano
Ed Monaghan
Chantal Irvin
Ethel Manuelito

The principle focus of the 5-year plan will be the Leadership Pillar.

Emergent, developing, proficient, or advanced
Classroom walkthroughs
Professional development
Having a district perspective
Advisory Council
Shared Vision
Management: ability to work with personnel, facilities, safety
Recommendation page
Page for notes and observations

Ms. Irvin stated that GMCS is moving in the right direction. The district has excellent leaders and excellent teachers.

Bill Bright stated that the Board needs to look at Principals with regard to teacher retention and making the district a place to stay.
GMCS Board was invited to attend the Effective Schools Conference on March 11-14 in Scottsdale, AZ. The $565 per person will be waived.
Impact Aid Hearing Date

September 29 at 1:30 PM, Room 310 on the State Capital Building.
The public is allowed to speak.

The Athletic Policy Manual draft was distributed. A vote will be held at the next board meeting.
The district received $5.4 million on September 16 in Santa Fe for the construction of Tse Yi Gai High School.
Mr. Gintowt of the Hearing Authority will represent GMCS at a meeting on truancy in Albuquerque on September 25 and 26. Governor Richardson will be in attendance.
The Crownpoint Clinic agreement is in its final draft. The district is trying to get the clinic back.
One member of each school advisory group is needed to form the Calendar Committee.
Proposals for topics of breakout sessions for the New Mexico School Board Association Convention include the following:

Impact Aid, History, Concept, Lawsuit
Model Corrective Action Plans for Exemplary Schools
Baldrige History
Title Programs
State Curriculum Standards

Special Olympics Presentation

Chris Livingston gave a presentation on the Special Olympics New Mexico-Gallup. This includes community and school-based activates.
Ms. Livingston asked for the district’s support for the Track and Field portion of the program.
Community members wishing to volunteer their time and talents are needed as coaches, assistant coaches, chaperones, etc.
Contact Ms. Livingston of Mary Havlick at 722-4101
Sarah Wilson received 2 gold medals in the Aquatics portion of the program. (Good job!)

Membership Dues

Dr. Monaghan presented information regarding dues to NAFIS
Dues are based on impact aid received by the state and not the amount actually received by GMCS.
Mr. Thompson and Dr. Tempest gave suggestions of other options that might be more productive in lobbying for impact aid.
A representative of NAFIS will be invited to make a presentation on why GMCS should maintain its membership.

Student Enrollment

Projected enrollment for 2003-04 was 13,421.
Actual enrollment is 13,439 or 18 more students.

Pathways for All Students to Succeed Act

Information presented by Ms. Irvin.
Provisions include:

Title 1

Funding for Success
One literature coach per 20 teachers at the high school level
$1 Billion in 2005 for 5 years

Title 2

One coach per 150 students with the purpose of building personal graduation plans.

Fostering Secondary Schools

Personalization of instruction
Professional development
Alignment of instruction with curriculum
High expectations

Ms. Irvin stated that the only area of concern is that additional staff members are provided for facilities, such as an offices or classroom space.
Ms. White asked the board to adopt this resolution with the additional funding for facilities. The board voted unanimously in favor.

Advisory School Councils

The Board discussed the composition of Advisory School Councils.
Discussion will continue, although ASC’s were adopted in principle.

No Child Left Behind Policy Guidelines

Bill Bright stated that administrators need to review NCLB policy to see what has been accomplished and what has not. This discussion will be on going.

Eyes on the Board

8 September 2003

Central Office Boardroom

All Members Present

Advisory School Councils Policy Distributed

Each public school within the district will have a school council to assist the principal in an advisory capacity with school based decision making and to provide parents with the opportunity for greater involvement in their children’s education.

Regional indigenous Bilingual Education

The conference will be held in Gallup on November 21 and 22 at the Gallup Graduate Studies Center of WNMU.

Chee Dodge Construction

Leonard Haskie gave a summary of the archaeological findings at Chee Dodge and their cultural significance.

Healthy Beverage Sales

Coca-Cola Bottling Company of Gallup discussed healthy beverage sales in GMCS and distributed samples of their products. In addition to Minute Maid, the company has a new beverage called SWERVE. Ingredients include skim milk and it comes in various flavors.

GMCS Membership Dues

Ms. White discussed payment of membership dues to organizations, such as NAFIS. Ms. White said the dues needed to be scrutinized to ensure the district get the most “bang for the buck.” Board member Mavis Price requested a list of all district membership dues for the next meeting.

MCFUSE Presentation

MCFUSE President Brian Bernard received a warm welcome from the board after and introduction by Ms. White. Bernard explained the new focus of MCFUSE was on members and membership, as well as students. Bernard said it is time we work together for the good of the district as a whole. The board was very receptive. Board member Bill Bright said he appreciated MCFUSE distributing voter information on Amendment 1 and 2 at New Teacher Orientation.
Bernard also took the opportunity to make two requests of the board.

Limited access to mailboxes. All of the materials for dissemination by MCFUSE in school mailboxes would be approved by Ms. White.
Normalization of access to district school by MCFUSE. Increased access would be for special activities for MCFUSE members and professional development opportunities coordinated with Central Office for all interested employees. Board member Mavis Price had questions concerning types pf professional development topics.

All Board Members were presented with AFT mementos recognizing the renewal of cooperation and the goodwill of all parties.

FYI: The Gadsden AFT local received payroll deduction of dues on a 3 to 2 vote by the local school board.

Date: 3 September 2003

Location: JFK Auditorium

Time: 3-5 PM

Special Show Cause Hearing

The Special Show Cause Hearing was held at JFK on September 3. GMCS presented the corrective action plans to the State Superintendent of Schools who has 10 days to make a written recommendation. Recommendations include:

Suspension
Non-suspension
Recommendation for local implementation with additional mandates or state monitoring.

MCFUSE has copies of the corrective action plan for each school. Any person who wants a copy of the plan for their school can email MCFUSE or call 722-6980 and will will provide copies.

Date: 28 August 2003

Location: Central Office Board Room

Absent: None (Ms. Sloan Tardy)

Purpose of this special meeting was for principals of corrective action schools to present their corrective action plans to the Board for approval. All plans were approved and principals will report at midterm on their progress. Eleven corrective action schools were represented: Navajo Elementary, Crownpoint Elementary, Tohatchi Elementary, Tohatchi Mid School, Tohatchi High, Twin Lakes Elementary, Chee Dodge Elementary, Washington Elementary, Stagecoach Elementary, Turpen Elementary, and Rocky View Elementary.

18 August 2003

MCFUSE was unable to make this meeting. Mrs. White has graciously agreed to provide us with the minutes. As soon as these are available, I will provide an update.

Between Meetings

GHS Senior Picinic: 8/27/03 at Ford Canyon Park

This is a potluck for GHS seniors, faculty, and staff.

GJHS Student Orientation: 8/28/03 6:30-8:00 PM

4 August 2003

6:00-9:15 pm

absent: none

Report on Rocky View: Ed Haskie reported an architect has inspected the north side of the building and found there is serious structural damage. The kitchen will be closed. If the structural damage in the kitchen area cannot be repaired by the time the school year begins students will likely be transported to JFK for lunch.
Report on Red Rock: Mr. Samford reported that portables are coming in for the south side. Portables will be used to start school and perhaps for the entire school year. Some portables will be doublewide to accommodate two classrooms. A hotline for teachers and students has been set up using the existing district phone with prompts for information concerning Red Rock. Mr. Thompson asked Mr. Samford about the cost for the portables and other costs incurred by the damage. Mr. Samford replied that the districts insurance was paying for all costs.
No Child Left Behind Act: Ms. Manuelito reported that on August 12 and 13 there will be a community planning meeting to get input from the community on the No Child Left Behind Act. She stated that this fits in the Districts five year strategic plan. During this presentation she was also heard to refer to parents as “customers”.
Internal Distribution Boxes: Ms. Manuelito reported that after consulting with their attorney the district has decided to rename teacher mail boxes “Gallup McKinley County Schools Internal Distribution Boxes”. She claimed that there has been much confusion about teacher mail boxes, and that the term itself “mail boxes” was somehow misleading to many, carrying with it the implication that “mail boxes” denoted public access. After her presentation the board voted unanimously to approve the renaming.
HB 212 Advisory Committee: Mr. Bright made several brief presentations. The first of which concerned adding categories to the district advisory committee which will be set up in compliance with HB 212. Mr. Bright wants to add categories including students and faith based representatives. Sandy Webb spoke on the faith based issue and among other things stated that while she believed faith based organizations can be a positive influence in the schools she firmly believes in the separation of church and state. It was stated that any representatives on the committee would have to be elected.
UNM Gallup “Gear-Up” : Mr. Bright proposed adopting a program called “Gear Up”. This program would be used in the middle schools to help students develop a positive attitude about continuing their education. A grant would be applied for and the program would not begin until the 04-05 school year.
Teacher Navigation guide: Mr. Bright presented the idea of a health resource guide for teachers that could given out at teacher orientation. The guide would help familiarize teachers with local resources for health related needs.
Personnel Handbook changes: Ms. Manuelito went through a barrage of changes which will be forthcoming in a new edition of the handbook. As those present other than the board did not have immediate access to a copy of the present handbook to view pages where changes were made it is difficult to accurately spell all of them out at this point. More information on the changes will be forthcoming. However some highlights include the fact that there will now be only a 15 day turn around on submitting your signed contract to the district office, the implication being that if you don’t get it done in that time you do not have a contract. Ms. Manuelito also addressed the issue of district slip ups on salary that many teachers find on the contracts every year. She said it is only the personnel offices duty to correct these salary mistakes and that complaints should not be made to others offices in the administration office.
Ms. Manuelito said more than once that HB 212 prohibits a duty free lunch. Concerning the grievance policy Ms. Manuelito said that those with collective bargaining would not be included in the districts grievance policy. In regards to work related environmental health issues Ms. Manuelito said that after consulting with the district’s attorney they will not take responsibility for any health concerns in the work place since they have no written policy on the subject.

7 July 2003

6:00PM to 9:20PM

Central Office

Absent: Mr. Thompson

CONSENT AGENDA:

Closed for public discussion.

REGULAR AGENDA:

Admin hires. Dr. Monaghan as Assistant Superintendent of Research, Tammy Hall as Early Childhood Coordinator, Patricia Castleberry at Crownpoint MS, Jackie Gillman (sp?) at Crownpoint ES, and Jodie Tidgen (sp?) at Church Rock ES. Still open: Director Professional Development, Pueblo Pintado and Twin Lakes principals, Counseling Specialist, and Assistant Superintendent of Personnel.
Red Rock ES fire. School will be reopened by September although parts will remain closed. Portables and a toilet trailer are being moved in. Furniture and textbooks will be in place. The district has no money to reimburse teachers for lost personal items; teachers will have to use their personal homeowners policies for this. The district donated money to help catch the arson. First Financial is raising money to reimburse personal effects for the teachers. All board and administration discussions were about money, library books saved, computers okay, how wonderful Business Services did, etc. Nobody asked about how the children were doing. MCFUSE learned that many were distraught, and no counseling services were provided to help them deal with their loss. Note: $1.5M damage and arson suspected according to Fire Chief Louie Chavez.
Crownpoint HS clinic. Liability issues still need to be resolved. Note: On a McBreen Liveline radio interview following last board meeting Dr. Tempest revealed that family planning clinics would not be part of the planned clinics. This negates a 2001 campaign promise made by both Dr. Tempest and Mr. Bright to the Health Alliance Committee. Their opponents had voted to shut down the clinics at Thoreau HS and Crownpoint HS when the medical community and every chapter house in the district voted to add family planning programs. At the school board meeting this was kept secret from the public when Dr. Tempest presented the plan for clinics to the board. MCFUSE found out that Navajo Nation President Joe Shirley supports family planning programs. MCFUSE contacted the Health Alliance’s project officer and let him know our board was not supporting family planning efforts. MCFUSE’s position is that the district should respect the democratic process of the chapter house positions and do what is best for the kids. City board members should not “play politics” with the health education of county children based on what the board members perceive to be the opinion of some city voters.
Corrective action update. In a 17Jun03 press release Superintendent Davis added eight more “modifications” to the fourteen New Mexico corrective action schools. The SDE modifications added professional development, bilingual, and literacy programs. They also called for less teacher time off with the exception of personal and sick leave days. Middle schools were cited for taking coaches out of classrooms during the instructional day. Teacher absences at the four GMCS schools must be reported to parents, the school board, and SDE. The four GMCS schools must also work better with the Navajo Nation in the areas of language and culture. For more information, you may link to SDE’s website elsewhere on the MCFUSE website. Ms. Irvin briefed the board on most of these modifications. The district’s suspense to SDE was 30Jun03.
Churchrock corrective action fight. State Superintendent Michael J. Davis had one specific recommendation for Churchrock Academy: “Continue the extended school year and inter-sessions for at-risk students.” CRA’s former principal was in the paper 10Jun03 criticizing central office’s plan to end the extended school year. A 7May03 letter from Ms. White to all staff stated, “Church Rock Academy instructional staff contracts will match the length of other district schools.” In the paper Ms. Irvin stated the district misunderstood HB212, Education Reform Act, signed this past legislative session. At the board meeting the board voted 4-0 to not do the extended school year and do the summer school jumpstart program instead. They will also modify the inter-session programs so fewer teachers are available to help the students most in need. Dr. Monaghan had previously praised all the accomplishments this past year at Churchrock, but now he is saying that it is impossible to tell why they did so well. MCFUSE’s position is that if the teachers and principals agree that they found something that works, the board should support it, not break it.
Skeet cans extended day. Parents did not like it, so it will not be done next year. No mention was made what teachers thought. School will start at 8:00AM and breakfast will be in the classroom. The administration said this would not extend teacher classroom time as classes already started at 8:00AM.
Federal money misspent. “Smart boards,” i.e., computerized chalkboards, were not provided in all Churchrock classrooms as stated in the school’s corrective action plan because a previous Central Office administrator spent the Title 9 money elsewhere. Smart boards are currently placed one per school throughout the district.
More schools in corrective action. The administration predicts five to ten schools will be added to the four already in corrective action. The final list will come out on 1Aug03. Note: At state and national levels the union has been lobbying for a fairer criterion-based test. This was a success with NCLB and also at state level, and these tests are now being phased in. Also, at local level MCFUSE worked with SDE to prevent administrators from harassing local teachers. Last year some local principals panicked and passed their personal fears on to teachers.
Master teacher training. Instructional support teachers will be trained by Learning 24/7. The union is concerned because Learning 24/7 is the same consultant that advocated for reconstituting Churchrock and dismissing all teachers based on a walk-thru of the school that many teachers said was brief, inaccurate, and unfair. Learning 24/7 is also the consultant that did last year’s in-service at GHS on Fred Jones classroom management. The union heard many complaints on the quality of this presentation. The union’s position is that in-services that local teachers put together are generally better than any done by outside management consultants.
Smith Lake update. Per Ms. White, two liaisons worked all of June to recruit students. Parents in the Mariano Lake area want to keep their kids at the BIA school.
Board officers elected. No changes. President, Mr. Thompson; Vice-president, Dr. Tempest; Secretary, Mr. Bright.
Tohatchi HS modified block. Teachers and staff voted 100% to support a modified block schedule next year that will result in smaller class sizes, more classes, both a staff and an individual prep for teachers, and classroom breakfasts. Parents and students voted over 90% to support to accept the schedule. The teachers will work from 8:00 to 1:50, then have “family time” for various staff meetings until 2:40, then individual prep until 3:45.
Board’s Reno trip. Four board members canceled, and only Mr. Thompson and Ms. White went. Ms. White said that since she doesn’t gamble she got to visit with a lot of people. MCFUSE had requested an accounting of all expenses claimed in the school board’s scheduled trip to Reno, Nevada. MCFUSE requested these figures before the board made the trip.
Middle-College High School update. Next board meeting MCHS will provide test scores on the NMHSCE all tenth graders must take to receive a diploma. Last meeting board members Mr. Bright and Dr. Tempest disagreed about whether these scores had been requested by the board. Dr. Tempest has been requesting these scores at past board meetings. Ms. White pointed out it was part of MCHS’s charter. MCFUSE’s position has consistently been that MCHS should be held accountable, especially since they receive $10,000 per student versus the $3,000 GMCS receives. The approved minutes of last board meeting’s MCHS presentation incorrectly reported that last year’s dropout rate was four. MCHS actually had eight dropouts for the year. The board did not discuss this error.
Top performing Title 8 preschools. All did well, but Skeet was tops in both 3- and 4-year-olds for language development. Crownpoint tied with Skeet for 3-year-olds. For cognitive development Chee Dodge and Navajo had the highest gains. About 15% of eligible children attend preschool. Note: At state and national levels the union has been fighting for funds so more children have the choice to attend preschool. As education’s largest lobbyist and primary “vote-getter,” union efforts made federal preschool funds available.

WORK STUDY SESSION:

Service learning. Mr. Bright wants the district to do this. A thick package was given to board members and administrators only. MCFUSE’s concern is that UNM-G has a service-learning administrator, and that this could be another UNM-G push to tap K-12 funding the way they did for the Middle-College High School.
P-16 concept. Another thick package from Mr. Bright not provided to the public. He said this was an “every kid is college prep” program. Dr. Tempest said he read the secret package and that it didn’t make any sense and that is was “utopian.” Dr. Tempest also expressed concern that it could jeopardize local vocational schools. Ms. White said she got a call from both UNM-G and WNMU urging her to support the program. Again, MCFUSE is concerned this will be a way for the local universities to drain district operational funds.
Home visits. Mr. Bright again, this time pushing an optional state program to encourage home visits. Ms. Irvin pointed out that this conflicts with SDE corrective action mandates to keep teachers in the classroom. She suggested using the program for extra parent-teacher conferences, and patterning these conferences after Red Rock’s program of structured meetings with specific learning goals. These meetings would define responsibilities for parents and students as well as teachers. For two years parents and students at Red Rock liked the program. No mention was made what teachers thought. MCFUSE’s position is that teachers at Red Rock should be allowed to freely express their opinions, and if supportive the board should accept Ms. Irvin’s recommendation for schools that volunteer to try this idea. Issuing another top-down mandate, however, may be unsuccessful.

`BETWEEN BOARD MEETINGS:`

District budget declared secret. Last board meeting Acting Board President Dr. Tempest refused to make public the draft budget for 2003/04 that the board unanimously approved. This was based on the advice of Mr. Samford who claimed that draft budgets are not public information until the state approves them. MCFUSE called Gallup’s budget analyst at the State Department of Education and learned that copies of the approved draft budget were public documents and copies should have been provided to the public at the school board meeting. SDE also stated that a series of public meetings should have been held so the public could make input. SDE sent a copy of the budget to MCFUSE.
State AG office agrees district broke the law. In a 21Jun03 Independent article the State’s Attorney General’s office and the Director of the New Mexico Foundation for Open Government both stated that the district was wrong for keeping the budget secret from the public. According to the article, state statute states it is the local school board’s duty to “give notice to parents explaining the budget process and inviting parental involvement and input in that process prior to the date for the public hearing” at which the board is obliged to listen to that input. The article also quoted state statute stating that SDE shall not approve and certify an operating budget of any school district that fails to solicit parental approval. The article also pointed out that Board President J.R. Thompson, who was absent when the budget presentation was made, agreed that the budget should be public information.
MCFUSE questions budget. After a cursory review of the draft budget received from SDE, MCFUSE has many questions as to why the district’s operating budget figures do not match the estimated amounts. For example, why was Library and Audio-Visual estimated at $364,329, then budgeted for 0? Why was Athletic Student Travel increased from $94,476 estimated to $164,356 budgeted? Why is state grant money for the mentorship program zeroed out? Why is “Unrestricted Cash” being increased by $20M? Now that the district successfully closed off public input in violation of state statute, these and many other questions may never be answered. MCFUSE sent a 19Jun03 letter to the superintendent and school board members asking that in the future public documents be shared with the public at public meetings. The letter also pointed out that historically it is Business Services that is most secretive. To date no reply has been received. A follow-up letter was mailed 8Jul03.
MCFUSE questions “master teacher” standards. MCFUSE went on KYVA/KTHR to protest the district’s lowering of standards for master teachers at each school. Favoritism is already being reported to the union in the form of a principal hiring a level two teacher with minimal experience and education over more educated and more experienced teachers. MCFUSE’s position is that level three teachers, i.e., teachers with a masters degree and more years of experience, should be given priority hire rights over lesser-qualified teachers. Current policy allows for a teacher with zero years of extra education and four years experience to be hired to teach more qualified teachers how to teach. When MCFUSE discussed this with the administration, the union was told that a masters degree in education does not have much value in the classroom.
Board fights Governor Richardson -- again. MCFUSE previously reported how the district undermined Governor Richardson’s mandated 6% teacher salary increase for next year by cutting contract and increment pay for bilingual teachers, special education teachers, coaches, counselors, and numerous others. Now the board has refused to endorse Constitutional Amendment 1 that will create a Secretary of Education. The New Mexico School Board Association that the board is a part of endorses this amendment. Amendment 1 is also endorsed by the New Mexico Coalition of School Administrators, the Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce, both teacher unions, and numerous other organizations. GMCS is almost alone among educational organizations refusing to support Governor Richardson on this issue. MCFUSE sent a 9Jun03 letter to the superintendent with info copies to the board members requesting a one-time waiver to the mailbox censorship policy so the union can better support both amendments. To date no reply has been received. When Governor Richardson visited Gallup last May no board members showed up for his public town hall meeting on education.
Teacher loses job – gets better one. A union teacher was involuntarily transferred to a position she did not want and her job was given to someone else. The principal told the teacher if she did not like it, to go find a job somewhere else. The union protested to Central Office. Central Office did not support the involuntary transfer and gave the teacher her first choice of open jobs in the district.
Tenured classified employee loses job – gets better one. An assistant principal recommended that a union classified employee be fired without just cause. The union protested to Central Office. Central Office arranged for the employee to be transferred to a better position.
Central Office salaries. All the recent personnel changes at central office have led some teachers to ask about administrator salaries. Since these figures were not part of the 2Jun03 board meeting’s discussion of district salaries, MCFUSE requested an accounting of administrator salaries. Watch www.mcfuse.com to learn the salaries of directors and above….coming soon.

16 June 2003

Central Office

Absent: Ms. White, Mr. Thompson, and Ms. Price

CONSENT AGENDA: Closed for public discussion

Note: Last meeting the board voted 4-0 to make students brief the board on student travel. Four student trips were completed this month and no presentations were made. Two more are scheduled to be completed before the next board meeting.

REGULAR AGENDA:

Administrator interviews: Ms. Irvin invited the board to sit in on upcoming administrator interviews. HB212 Education Reform Act directs that school boards not be involved in approving district hiring decisions except for the superintendent position.
Two-hour delay for Thoreau: All Thoreau teachers will work an extra uncompensated 50 minutes per week to accommodate two-hour student delays every Monday. The delay time will be used for professional development. The other 70 minutes of unpaid overtime will be compensated to teachers by giving them longer lunches and allowing them to come in later and leave earlier. Dr. Tempest wanted to know how the bells would be adjusted. Approved 3-0.
Middle College High School problems: The board voted 2-0-1 to approve the MCHS’s budget. The union objected that this budget was not available for the public, and that copies should be provided to the audience. UNM-G had given the district eleven copies, but the district said they had no extras. (Note: last year the union reported this same problem to the State Attorney General as a violation of the Open Meetings Act. At that time Dr. Tempest called a UNM-G official forward and went into a quiet huddle to discuss the MCHS budget. Copies of that budget were also not provided to the public. The AG ruled that this was illegal and directed the board to let the public know what is being discussed.) The high dropout rate for MCHS was discussed. The UNM-G principal claimed it was normal as these students were dropouts to begin with. First semester had 4 dropouts out of 30 students; second semester had 8 of 33. Also, MCHS has failed to recruit home scholars as promised, having only one all year. Dr. Tempest asked for data concerning student achievement and parent surveys. He said he has been asking for this for some time and still has not received anything. Mr. Bright said nobody has been asking for this information. UNM-G’s principal said Ms. White has been going to MCHS meetings and has not asked for this information, but that he would be glad to brief the board on 10th grade test scores. Dr. Tempest abstained pending information on test scores and parent surveys.
GMCS budget declared secret: The board went into a modified closed session as Mr. Samford went through the draft budget page by page. The union objected that this was a public meeting discussing public funds, and that a copy of the budget should be shared with the public. Mr. Samford said the budget is secret until the state approves it. Mr. Samford also complained that the district lost 300 students, the biggest drop ever, and this left the district short of money. (Note: a few months ago Ms. White promised the board she would study why this happened. To date this study has not been done.) Mr. Samford claimed the 6% mandated teacher pay raise averaged 6.4% in our district. The union reminded the board that because they reduced the teacher salary schedule 2.5% last year, Mr. Samford’s 6.4% figure was really 3.9%. Note: last year’s pay cut was done when the budget was actually increased.
Alaska trip: Ms. White, Ms. Irvin, Ms. Jackson, two principals, two instructional support teachers, the unnamed Assistant Superintendent of Research, and a to-be-determined number of Navajo Nation personnel will attend a five-day Baldridge conference in Alaska. The district will pay all expenses for tribe officials. Approved 3-0.

BETWEEN BOARD MEETINGS:

Reno trip: Ms. White and the board are scheduled to travel to Reno, NV, from June 28 through July 1.
Teacher attacked: On June 7 a Navajo Elementary teacher was physically attacked when a drunk broke into his teacherage. The union is calling for security measures in county teacherages. Friends of the Federation were surveyed for comments on the need for more security in teacherages. These comments were e-mailed to the board and superintendent. (See letter to School Board below.)
New spin doctor: Superintendent secretary Coreen Smith was chosen for the community relations position. She’ll start in August. This position was created about two years ago when the school board directed that operational funds used to support classrooms be diverted into administration costs to create “good news” about the district.
New teacherages: Thoreau, Crownpoint, Tohatchi is the building sequence for replacement teacherages. Teachers will not be displaced during construction. A contractor from Albuquerque was selected.
Retaliation: One principal recently threatened to retaliate against teachers who gave the principal a bad evaluation on the end-of-year survey form. This was reported to MCFUSE by a number of concerned teachers.
Elementary Arts: Thoreau, Red Rock, and Stagecoach may receive about $48 per student to fund music, drama, dance, and fine art programs next year. The state grant calls for students to receive at least a half hour per week of instruction/activity. Teachers and administrators are meeting to discuss how to best spend the money.

OPEN LETTER

June 14, 2003

Dear School Board Members and Superintendent:

Early Saturday morning, June 7, a drunken male broke into a Navajo Elementary School teacher’s teacherage. The teacher was physically battered. It is the opinion of MCFUSE's Executive Council that teachers should be safe in their teacherages. We also asked our Friends of the Federation to share their ideas with us. The comments listed below are how they responded.

Tom Payton

MCFUSE President

Our new superintendent is a former police officer. She is currently increasing security at central office to protect district administrators. t is my hope that she will also support protecting our teachers.
Doesn't the district address this in its vaunted "emergency plan?"
Most of the in town schools have security. Shouldn't the county schools also have it? This issue needs to be raised, especially at the teacherages.
Have the district issue them a pistol.
This just helps illustrate the extent of the problem for teachers living in the outlying areas. It makes me wonder how many things go on that do not get reported for one reason or another.
The complex at Tohatchi for the high school, mid school and elementary teachers is fraught with problems from vicious dogs on the loose, to break-ins and other problems. It seems to be a dangerous place, especially for residents who have children.
Teachers should have no more protection than anyone else in the county. If there are dangerous gangs, it does not matter. Everyone should have the same protection.
I want you to know that if the district does not do something about the safety issue I may consider a lawsuit. This situation is just plain wrong.
I think EXTRA is a little misleading. The only protection I have is whatever I can do for myself or the help of fellow teachers who may be around. I think the union should write an open letter to the Independent (if they will publish it) let the public read about the crap that is going on out here. Also what about getting on the radio?
Self-defense classes on in-service days. Unlike the programs we usually get, at least it would be useful and the exercise would benefit a lot.
This just helps illustrate the extent of the problem for teachers living in the outlying areas. It makes me wonder how many things go on that do not get reported for one reason or another.
The BIA provides a dedicated, live-in security guard for each of its teacherages, why can’t GMCS?
A teacher at Navajo Elementary was raped in her teacherage some years ago. Another teacher in Navajo was attacked a few years ago. A teacherage in Navajo was set on fire over Christmas break a few years ago.
The union concerns are: A decent work environment including job safety, decent wages, and quality product. You can't teach a quality program if you're not safe. Period. That's my position. There are political concerns regarding our rights as non-Native Americans on the reservation. It appears that NO ONE takes responsibility for our safety, including reservation police, county sheriff, or FBI. Maybe this is an issue to take up with our legislators and the Department of Education. You know that our administration won't do anything unless it comes from the top, then they will still find a way to punish us. As to what action we should take, I think that first of all that a clear plan of action needs to be developed for the outlying school communities. For example, we are all so used to calling 911 in an emergency, but that is next to useless out here because you immediately routed to ABQ and then Shiprock. The Window Rock Police are our nearest help. I know for a fact many teachers are not clear on what to do when faced with a crisis involving the safety and well being of themselves or others. Perhaps a support team should be formed for each outlying school or all schools for that matter. Issues such as who to call, an escape route.... Also I think that the teachers should receive training in how to deal with a potential assailant-that could even be part of orientation or do at each school individually. I can see how the admin may not like this as it looks like negative PR- but look what happened in ABQ and other schools-teachers have been killed, this is something the district had better get its act together on or they may well mind themselves neck high in some big legal suits.
I would also like to see a 24-hour security patrol out here. Mr. Stus had someone doing that when the new school was being built and I don't why he could not do it again. Summer is a time when teachers who stay in their teacherage can be especially vulnerable due to the fact that many of their neighbors depart for the summer.
I have lived in two separate school teacherages in the district and have visited a third. Though many buildings are basically the same, the outside appearance, maintenance and principals as ‘landlords’ are different for all three. In the past I, like others, have forgotten their keys and locked myself out. It is very easy for anyone break into the apartments as I have had to do. The principals have either traditionally or by district accord have taken care of ordering maintenance, established procedures and corrected problems. The safety for each of the schools is also quite different. Some have local police or sheriff officers to patrol or live on site. Tall, chain link fencing adding to the security are in place, while others had an open area which horses, sheep and cattle grazed through unless the teachers themselves put up fencing. Since there is the proposal for replacing the old buildings with new ones, new safety procedures and protocols should be put into place and standardized for all new and existing teacherages and accompanying areas. For example, dead bolt locks should be in place as well as door handle locks and smoke detectors installed for existing buildings and the new ones. Insurance companies will not always insure renters unless dead bolt locks and detectors are in place.
Being a single woman, I was warned (and told examples) about the lack of safety at the teacherages when I moved to the areas. Many of the dogs, including teacher owned, have been a safety or health issue. It had been proposed that one person at the district level be in charge of the many teacherages.
Standardized buildings, safety procedures and conflict resolution among teachers living in the individual areas may be solved with one office to maintain standardization for the separate areas. Also the principals would have ‘landlord’ burdens removed and would need to follow newer protocols as well. Although all teachers may not be in agreement, new or additions to the current lease agreements should be made with everyone’s input at individual sites. Group meetings with truly elected representatives, not appointed, for the entire district’s lease ‘agreement’ meetings should be made at variable times for everyone’s convenience. These are my personal concerns; those with young children or older ones have other pertinent issues, which I am unable to address in this forum. Thank you for your reading my opinions.

Dear Friends of the Federation,

Early Saturday morning, June 7, a Navajo Elementary School teacher's teacherage was broken into by a drunken male. The teacher was physically battered. It is the opinion of MCFUSE's Executive Council that teachers should be safe in their teacherages, and we are currently discussing the best way to make that happen. We want your opinion on this issue.

Do you know of any current or past security issues at county teacherages? If you can share these with MCFUSE, we will consolidate these anonymously for district input via our website. This will strengthen our effort to make our teacherages more secure. Any other comments and ideas on this issue will also be included. Also, any other ideas you may have for protecting our teachers will be appreciated.

Our new superintendent is a former police officer. She is currently increasing security at central office to protect district administrators. It is my hope that she will also support protecting our teachers.

Tom Payton

MCFUSE President

2 June 2003

Central Office

Absent: Ms. Sloan

CONSENT AGENDA

Student travel. Ms. Price moved to have student travelers provide a 5-10 minute briefing to the board following their travel. Passed 4-0.
On the road again… Ms. White and board members to Reno, NV, June 28 to July1, to attend NIISA Conference. Operational funds.

REGULAR AGENDA

New supe…again. Ms. White in, 4-0, $113,300 effective July 1. That’s a 3% raise over what she’s getting now. Plus a two-year contract. This is several thousand less and one year shorter than what Mr. Walz was asking for.
New “Number Two.” Ms. White asked for and received permission to select an assistant to the superintendent without advertising the position. She did not say whom she planned to ask. Approved 4-0.
Smith Lake support. Off to a good start, six former students returning, children’s festivals planned, and a full-time liaison assigned for summer.
Central Office lockdown. Ms. White said that due to the high number of angry people coming to Central Office, tighter security procedures are needed. Security badges, a check-in control point, and other security actions will be put into place.
Release time proposal. Ms. Crowe presented a policy to allow employees up to 2.5 hours release time to take educational courses. Money for tuition may also be available. Ms. Crowe stated that educational assistants and middle schools teachers were hit hardest by NCLB. Tabled 4-0 pending legal review.
Highly qualified teachers. Ms. Crowe reported that 74% of elementary and 67.5% of secondary teachers currently meet NCLB standards for being highly qualified.
District claims low teacher turnover. Ms. Crowe reported that of the district’s 951 teachers in 2001-02, 19 retired and 156 resigned. That would put teacher turnover at 18%. In the past the district claimed turnover was 33%.
Mentoring program report card. Ms. Crowe reported that 126 mentors and 178 protégés were in the program for 2002-03. When asked if the program was worthwhile, 63% of protégés and 76% of mentors said yes. The union has been telling the administration for several months that the program forced too much paperwork on the protégés. New teachers have plenty of work-related stress the first two years of teaching without adding more.

BETWEEN BOARD MEETINGS

Grievance lost. A disabled veteran was ordered to seek medical care when one day his disability interfered with his job. The district ordered a second opinion from a district-chosen doctor before the veteran met with his personal doctor. This caused the vet to use an extra week’s sick leave while he waited to see the district’s doctor. School board policy V.16.1 states, “Should the Superintendent have reason to doubt the employee’s health or ability to continue performing duties, the employee may be required to furnish a doctor’s statement certifying that the employee may safely continue.” V.16.2 states, “In the event an employee and the district fail to agree on the status of the health of an employee, the district may select a doctor to examine the employee.” Both doctors cleared the employee to return to work. The union’s position was that the employee had a right to see his own doctor before the district assigned a doctor. The union asked that the lost week of sick leave be reinstated. The district maintained that the employee had no right to choose his own doctor.
Governor hears local teacher complaints. On May 20 Governor Bill Richardson held a public meeting at city hall. MCFUSE Officers Brian Bernard and Tom Payton thanked Governor Richardson for the 6% pay raise, then told the Governor how in Gallup the district cut salaries for some certified employees up to 10%. Cuts of $2,000 and $1,500 in bilingual and special education stipends were also discussed. The union also told the governor it would strongly support both constitutional amendments on September 23, but that the local school board is fighting this effort by restricting access to employees in violation of the Public Employee Bargaining Act. Governor Richardson said this is one reason why it is important that the public support his request for a Secretary of Education. This will give the Governor a direct line of authority over school districts. No board members were present at the public meeting. Ms. White was present but had no comments.
Board breaks law -- again. MCFUSE recently learned that the school board was found guilty of violating the Open Meetings Act on September 2, 2002, when they closed the board meeting to the public to rehearse the September 4 Show Cause Hearing for SDE. At the time MCFUSE protested their going into closed session, but the board ignored the protest. Another citizen lodged a protest with the State Attorney General who recently ruled the meeting should have been open. For the past two years MCFUSE has been protesting the frequent closed meetings this board has been having. Earlier this school year the AG also found them guilty of shutting off the microphone to keep information from the public, and is currently investigating their closed-session handling of the $350,000 Astroturf purchase with the city.
Smith Lake witch hunt. Ms. White defended teachers and told community members they were an advisory board only, and would not have a say in teacher hiring and firing decisions.

19 May 2003

Navajo Pine Elementary

Absent: None.

REGULAR AGENDA

New supe? Contract negotiations for William Walz ended, and negotiations began to hire Karen White for the superintendent position. No reason for ending the negotiations with Mr. Walz was given. Ms. White has been filling the superintendent position along with the assistant-to-the-superintendent position for the past school year.
C&I realignment. The realignment was approved. After the position is advertised, Dr. Monaghan is expected to be hired as the Assistant Superintendent of Research, Evaluation, and Assessment. Director positions will require principal experience. Ms. Irvin said the Baldridge process was used to reach this decision. Four yes votes, Mr. Thompson abstained.
Permanent school fund resolution. The board voted to support the September 23 constitution change that will bring an extra $78 million into New Mexico schools per year and significantly raise teacher salaries. However, when the union asked to have access to mailboxes to help urge school employees to support this issue, access remained closed. Teacher unions throughout New Mexico are gearing up to support the amendment. Restricting access to GMCS employees will sabotage this effort.
Smith Lake takeover delayed. Parents, children, a teacher, a Navajo Nation Council Delegate, a Crownpoint Hospital representative, and a representatives from the Navajo Nation’s President’s Office spoke against the Smith Lake closure. The board voted 5-0 to give the school a one-year reprieve on closure. The board had been discussing turning the school over to UNM-G. Ms. White stated she needed enrollment up to 160 to assign a principal and keep it open past next year. The school will operate with a head teacher unless this enrollment goal is met by August. Ms. White said it cost about $7,000 a student to operate Smith Lake with the current low enrollment. MCFUSE Vice-President Jeannine Russell pointed out that the board was willing to support UNM-G’s Middle College High School which costs $10,000 per student, so why should the Smith Lake children have a lesser value? MCHS serves up to fifty students, and was funded for 29 its first year. Smith Lake Elementary has about 90 students enrolled. The hospital representative spoke of the dangerous pass the school bus would have to drive through, especially treacherous in the winter. She also discussed the drunk driver problem on this road, and the expectation it will increase with the opening of a new package store. Teacher representative Judy Bolick said test scores on the CAT-6 were way up, at least 10 percentile points for every subject in every grade. However, Dr. Monaghan criticized the students, saying their English proficiency was low. Ms. White stated she would work with parents to develop a plan to recruit and retain students this summer.

BETWEEN BOARD MEETINGS

6% pay raise. Teachers will receive the union’s 6% pay raise for the full year next school year. When the administration rolled back the teacher salary schedule 2.5% last year, funds were available to supplement this year’s increase to the unit value.
10% pay cut. Some teachers and other licensed professionals will take a pay cut up to 10% to go along with the 6% pay raise. This was done by cutting coaches, band directors, counselors, and others from a ten-month to a nine-month contract. Bilingual teachers got a stipend cut from $3,000 to $1,000; special education teachers got cut from $2,500 to $1,000. The reason given by Ms. White was a decrease of 300 students, a reduction of “at risk” funding, and the need to improve academic performance.
Instructional support teachers. The union has received complaints that the district is allowing principals to hire instructional support teachers with lesser qualifications to “teach” more experienced and more educated teachers how to teach. Originally these teachers were to be level three, but the district has lowered standards to level two. Also, these positions are not being advertised to encourage a more qualified pool of applicants to select from, but rather are being assigned within schools. These positions were traded for classroom reduction teachers. The administration claims that reducing class size has not improved test scores. The administration has offered no evidence to support this claim. The union is concerned that by lowering qualifications for instructional support teachers, some principals will select less qualified teachers based on personal relationships. This is already a concern at one school known for practicing favoritism.

5 May 2003

Central Office

Absent: None

CONSENT AGENDA (closed to public discussion)

On the road again…Rehoboth Christian School teacher to Orlando, FL, May 3-8. Three more Rehoboth teachers to Seattle, WA, June 29-July 2. Another Rehoboth teacher to Orlando, FL, July 23-26.

REGULAR AGENDA

Medical costs up. As part of a budget review Mr. Samford reported that medical costs would be going up 23.3%. (Note: the legislature is compensating the district for their share of the increase.)
Early teacher pay hike? Mr. Samford said it would be hard to comply with the board’s request to give the union’s 6% pay hike to teachers earlier than the mandated December date. At no board meeting was this board request for an early pay increase previously mentioned.
C&I realignment. Ms. Irvin said the district is advertising for an early childhood coordinator and a second C&I Assistant to the Superintendent, this one for Research, Evaluation, and Assessment. (Dr. Monaghan is currently Director of Research, Evaluation, and Assessment.) Mr. Samford said the realignment resulted in “virtually no expense” to the district. District concerns about low student achievement was a main reason previously given for adding another assistant superintendent.
Dr. Monaghan recognized. Dr. Monaghan was presented a state award for increasing student achievement.
Gallup Mid changes. Next year they will do teaming and use flexible schedules. There will be more cross-curriculum activities, more inclusion, and more professional development via a double prep idea, i.e., one prep for prep, one for team planning. There will also be eight periods instead of the present seven.
Principal rehires. Next year principals will find out if they are rehired in March instead of May. Ms. White said this was for the benefit of teachers. She also said this was the way it was before Mr. Gomez was superintendent.

WORK STUDY SESSION

Smith Lake closure—community input. The PTO President spoke of “one bad apple” that has chased the children away. He called for a new principal as the solution to declining enrollment. Other community members spoke of how the land was donated for an elementary school, and the person who donated the land was against giving the school to UNM-G. Parents were upset the decision had been made without their input. A petition was presented, and more will follow. Local political leaders are being contacted. To date the district has only contacted one of the three affected chapter houses.
Smith Lake closure—union input. The union pointed out that for several years they have been notifying the administration of problems at Smith Lake ES, and these problems resulted in the decline in enrollment. It is unfair to close the school because central office failed to address the problem.
Smith Lake closure—UNM-Gallup input. Dr. Beth Miller, UNM-G Acting Director, explained what courses UNM-G would like to offer. When the union asked who from the district approached her about taking over the school, she said she did not know.
Smith Lake closure—board input. Mr. Thompson asked that the board members travel to Smith Lake and listen to the community. He asked that they make no decision until they hear what the community has to say.
Smith Lake closure—administration input. Ms. White spoke of declining enrollment and cost effectiveness. She said there were as few as five students in a class and that research said that was too small. A teacher pointed out that the smallest class size is sixteen.
Health and fitness committee. This was presented in a muted voice and the audience was unable to hear most of what was discussed. Packets of information were given to the board but not the audience. Based on what little was heard, it means no more soda and candy machines in schools. This committee has been meeting for about a year, according to what was said at the last board meeting.
HB68 merits. Teachers of grades 1-5 will have up to 22 hours for home visits and parent conferences; full-day kindergarten teachers up to 33 hours. This is optional for schools. Ms White saw transportation as a big issue.
Proactive teacher recruitment. Mr. Walz said he wants to start getting letters of intent signed while at job fairs. This will make the district more competitive. He said it worked well in Farmington. He also said it must be balanced with the principals’ right to select their own teachers.

BETWEEN BOARD MEETINGS

Union protests foreign teacher hires. KYVA/KTHR aired a local teacher union interview that protested the board’s decision to start hiring foreign teachers from various third world countries. The union objected to school board pressure to force principals to hire foreign teachers. The union also sent letters to local politicians informing them of the school board’s negative comments about American teachers. These letters went to local New Mexico legislators, New Mexico chapter house presidents, and city and county elected representatives.
Tempest pushes for more unlicensed teachers. In an April 23 Liveline interview with John McBreen, Dr. Tempest said he favored hiring short-term, unlicensed teachers from Teach For America because, “I think it’s a way of dealing with the vacancies.”
Smith Lake ES closure. The union mailed letters to all GMCS-area chapter house presidents informing them of a city board member’s efforts to close Smith Lake and give it to UNM-G. The union’s position is for the district to make all the facts public, respect the wishes of the community, and do not rush the decision.
Board soft on expulsions. At a special March 20 board meeting students #742769 and #722601 had their expulsion appeals upheld. Absent: Mr. Bright and Ms. Sloan.
Gallup’s in-service rip-off. State Superintendent Michael J. Davis’s April 28, 2003 letter clearing up the nine-and-one-half-month contract scare raised some other questions for local teachers. It stated that state statutes require “180 full instructional days or the equivalent thereof” and “at least two full days of in-service training.” The current GMCS 2002/03 teacher salary contract calls for 173 instructional days and 10 in-service days. What GMCS does is make the workdays longer to reach 180 in 173 days, then loads teachers up on in-service days. Because the annual salary appears to cover 183 days, most teachers are unaware they are actually working unpaid overtime in the form of longer days. The district started loading up in-service days when collective bargaining was voted down by the school board.

21 April 2003

Tohatchi Mid

Absent: None

Consent agenda: Closed to the public.
2002/03 calendar. Last day for students will be May 20, for teachers May 22 for checkout. An in-service will be held May 21.
2003/04 calendar. Ms. White said teachers might have to work an extra half month next year due to HB212. (This rumor is also going around some schools. MCFUSE and NMFEE both looked into it and agree that the administration is reading something into the law that is not there. The student calendar is still 180 days in HB212. Also, no mention of extending the school year came up in the legislature. NMFEE is double-checking with SDE just to be sure. MCFUSE will send out an e-mail notice once SDE replies.)
New superintendent. William Walz from Bloomfield was chosen after a 90-minute deliberation. Salary is still to be negotiated. He will replace Ms. White who was hired last August as the assistant superintendent, then immediately assigned as acting superintendent. Ms. White has been filling two of the district’s top positions during the challenges of the first year of corrective action, a busy education year in the legislature, new leadership in Personnel and C&I, and the election of a new school board. Ms. White will serve as assistant superintendent once Mr. Walz starts no later than July 1.
Smith Lake takeover. The takeover of Smith Lake ES by UNM-G was well received by the Smith Lake Chapter House, according to Leonard Haskie. Vocational classes will be offered. Casamero and Mariano Lake Chapter Houses will also be asked to approve the takeover.
Realignment of C&I. Ms. White and Ms. Irvin asked that C&I add another assistant superintendent to C&I. They said as part of the Baldridge process, teachers, principals, central office personnel, and SDE requested this. Mr. Thompson said he was concerned that it would tap into money meant for teacher salaries. When he asked about the cost of the realignment, Mr. Samford said it was “within the framework.” Corrective action and special education concerns were cited as reasons for the realignment, and that personal considerations were not part of the decision. Mr. Bright said wait for the new superintendent to decide. Tabled until the retreat on Saturday.
State accountability changes. Data points will not be figured by grade levels but by ELL status, ethnicity, content areas, etc. Dr. Monaghan stated this should be fairer and more useful.
County school board meetings. Next year county school board meetings will not be held in winter months to avoid hazardous travel. Next month’s May 5 board meeting will be broadcast to Tohatchi HS via distance learning.
Teach for America. Ms. White recommended that TFA not be allowed to increase from 30 to 70, that they not be given hiring priority over other teachers, and that no extra money be paid for TFA teachers. Mr. Bright moved to table this until data analyzing TFA teachers comes in. Motion passed 4-1 with Dr. Tempest voting no. Increasing the number of TFA teachers will increase teacher turnover and the unlicensed teacher rate.

Between Board Meetings

Board attacks local teachers. In an April 16 radio interview on KYVA/KTHR, board member Ms. Price told reporter John McBreen that foreign teachers from the Philippines, Russia, Baltic States, and South America would be more committed to our students than the American teachers currently in the district. She said they would not quit the profession like Americans do, and that they would stay for up to six years. Mr. Bright also criticized local teachers. Justifying the hiring of foreign teachers, he said, “We shouldn’t be begging for and getting leftovers.” MCFUSE went on the air two days later and pointed out how parents annually rate local teachers highly on the Quality of Education Survey. The union also stated that SDE’s Special Master Dr. Toni Nolan Trujillo told the board our teachers were by and large as good as the teachers at the state’s highest performing schools. Teachers have been complaining to the union mostly about the “leftovers” remark.

17 April 2003

Central Office

Absent: None.

Consent agenda:

· Ms. White took all personnel hire and fire actions off the agenda because HB212 moved this responsibility to the superintendent. The board will no longer be able to officially disapprove superintendent personnel recommendations.

· One area of concern closed for public knowledge is the Director of Construction position realignment. Is this another increase of administration costs?

· Another concern is the Johnson O’Malley 2003/04 proposal. Why is this a secret?

On the road again… Trips discussed by board members: Ms. Price to DC, Ms. Sloan to San Francisco, and Mr. Bright to Albuquerque. Operational funds.
School board retreat. Saturday, April 26, 9-3, Sacred Heart Retreat.
Sky City Casino. Zuni, Grants, and Gallup Boards will meet at Sky City Casino to discuss the impact aid lawsuit. Thursday, April 24, 6:00 PM. Operational funds.
Outstanding Secondary Principal of New Mexico. This year it went to GHS’s Mike Butkovich. Mike thanked school’s staff, parents, and students.
Teach For America. TFA representatives spoke on their plan to go from 30 to 70 teachers this fall, and eventually up to 120, or over 10% of the district’s teacher force. They called this “critical mass,” and claimed it was necessary to make the program work. Ms. White questioned the $4,500 Americorps stipend each teacher receives, and explained how many of the TFA teachers in their second year do not take the state-mandated education courses their waivers require because they know they are not coming back. Ms. Irvine clarified that TFA’s claim that SDE considered them “highly qualified” as defined by NCLB was not true. She stated that SDE was “shocked” that TFA made this claim based on a TFA five-week crash course in teaching. Ms. Irvine stated concerns that TFA teachers do not participate in the district’s mentoring program, did not participate in professional development, don’t “become part of the staff,” and are “not part of our system.” The union asked TFA’s national Vice-President for Membership if she would consider extending the program to four years. The answer was no. As the TFA representative kept insisting TFA teachers were excellent teachers and producing great results, the union challenged them to “put your STAR scores on the table.” Tom pointed out that at last Saturday’s union meeting many of the same concerns principals expressed were also brought up among union teachers.
Foreign teachers. Mr. Bright said he was responsible for bringing in two overseas recruiters to brief the board. One recruiter brought 68 applications from Filipino teachers ready to start work in the fall. They were filled out on the district’s form, and each came with a CD showing the teacher teaching. He stated that our area was not a desirable place for American teachers to live, but that it is similar to the Philippines so there would be very little culture shock. The teachers would come for a three-year tour. The other recruiter gets teachers from Russia, Scandinavia, the Baltic, and South America. He brought two young female teachers and an administrator from Borrego Pass to speak to the board. The administrator said it was better than having no teachers at all, and that half the community was in favor of the program. SDE classifies these teachers at Level I even though they have five or more years of experience.
Board to shun public contact? Ms. White said she wanted central office personnel to stop going to monthly board meetings at county schools because it was easier for the staff to have the meetings at central office. Mr. Bright agreed, and said the board was too busy to travel to these meetings. He also wants to spend time doing classroom observations of every classroom in his district. Mr. Thompson stated that the community voted for them, and they have a duty to be visible in the community, and the monthly board meetings were a good way to do this. Ms. Price and Ms. Sloan agreed on the need to be visible in the community. Dr. Tempest wants to use distance learning technology so county residents can watch the meeting on interactive TV.
E-rate funding flop. FCC disapproved e-rate funding throughout New Mexico for a contracting glitch on seeking competitive bids. Mr. Oakes helped win Senator Bingaman’s support to fight this denial of funds. Without an approval of funds, the whole network will be impacted.
District report card. Loaded on district’s website along with school board policy.
Lunch prices jump. Staff will soon pay $3 for a school lunch.
School day care. Chee Dodge is working a proposal to offer teachers day care for their children in the school. Classroom operational funds may be diverted to fund a director, a nurse, a copier, subs, and liability insurance.
Smith Lake closure. Enrollment declined over four years from 165 to 90. Ms. White recommended it “change status” for UNM-G programs and other uses. The community is against the closure, and Mr. Thompson vowed to let the community make the decision, not central office. The kids would be sent to Thoreau and Crownpoint. The union asked the district to not repeat last year’s Church Rock mistake of mass dismissing teachers. Tom asked that all Smith Lake teachers be given priority placement rights to Crownpoint ES and Thoreau ES. Ms. White said the Smith Lake teachers were good teachers, not like the Church Rock teachers, and would transfer easily. She said it was like comparing apples and oranges. Mr. Bright asked that UNM-G try to sell the closure to the community. (Mr. Bright sits on the UNM-G board.) Ms. Price said the community needed to have an input. A community representative said there were problems with the principal and that parents and teachers were often complaining to the chapter house. He said a change in principal might bring the kids back to the school. The union said Smith Lake generates more teacher complaints over the last few years than any other school, and that closer management of the school could prevent many problems. The SDE deadline for a local decision is July 1.

Between Board Meetings

District “vetoes” Governor. The district discarded Governor Richardson’s February 4 letter requesting all state agencies grant access to unions. MCFUSE gave the district a copy of the letter and requested to get on the school board agenda to present access requirements. The district disapproved the request. District policy currently keeps unions locked out of school mailboxes. Gallup is the only district in New Mexico that closes school mailboxes to unions. This has been school board policy since December 13, 1999. Some schools have been allowing union flyers to be placed in teacher lounges.
District fights collective bargaining. The superintendent and the school board met with New Mexico Federation of Educational Employees President Christine Trujillo during the recent legislative session. They gave Christine a package on meet-and-confer, an alternative to collective bargaining that would put MCFUSE 100% under school board control. Christine said she did not support that proposal. In an April 5 article in the Independent the district denied advocating meet-and-confer in place of collective bargaining. Christine pointed out in the same article that Gallup is the district that is being the most difficult in cooperating with its teachers union.
District picks new union. The superintendent and the board went across the street from the Roundhouse to NEA-NM and asked if they would represent Gallup teachers. They were told no.
Superintendent interviews screwed up. At the March 17 board meeting the board agreed to interview the five candidates on April 2. The five candidates were in Gallup April 1 for a tour of the district and a public icebreaker that evening. The candidates were not interviewed due to the district’s failure to comply with the Open Meetings Act.
Baldridge surveys. Watch for another survey from Central Office, this one to satisfy the public input requirement mandated by SDE. MCFUSE was told teachers would be allowed to participate in this one. The survey will come out of the Baldridge training administrators are currently undergoing. GMCS is the only district the state superintendent mandated leadership training for as a condition of corrective action.
Teach For America locations. MCFUSE was unable to get a breakout of how many TFA teachers were in county schools and how many were in city schools. At the March 17 board meeting the two city board members wanted to vote on accepting TFA as soon as possible while the three county board members voted to get more information first after MCFUSE, Ms. White, Mr. Thompson, and Ms. Price expressed concern about high teacher turnover and TFA’s contribution to that problem.
Turpen “free leave” issue. Some Turpen employees called upon the union’s whistleblower protection to investigate an allegation that the administration was granting free days of leave to an employee based on a personal relationship. The allegation was creating a morale problem at the school. MCFUSE gathered the evidence and reported it to Central Office. Personnel then made sure most of the uncharged days were then accounted for and properly charged. MCFUSE mailed a copy of the investigation and evidence – minus the name of the affected employee – to Turpen employees. Copies of the report were also available at the union’s recent members meeting.

17 March 2003

Washington ES

Absent: None.

· Consent agenda:

· New Board Member Mavis Price attending NAFIS conference March 23-26 in D.C. Operational funds.

· Anna Zwiers, Rehoboth Christian School, to Minneapolis March 13-16 for music conference. Federal funds.

Note: the school board forbids public discussions of consent agenda items. They even denied one of the new board members from asking a question because she asked at the wrong time.

· Principal shuffle. Stagecoach acting principal Tim Nelson replaced by Eddie Bortot from Central. Assistant principal job at Central deleted, “balancing” the extra position added at Crownpoint Mid the union complained about last school board meeting. (The district remains top heavy on administrators, according to SDE data.)

· SDE’s GMCS SpEd report. Ms. Irvine briefed that SpEd paperwork may need to be streamlined. Also, CTBS test results were poor and the results were not being used for goals and objectives. More parent involvement in IEPs is needed. The problem for parents is finding time to meet during the day, according to Ms. Irvine. “Creative scheduling” may be needed to accommodate parent work schedules so they may attend IEPs. Also, Ms. Irvine said the SAT and IEP process needs to be better aligned.

· Superintendent search committee. Five candidates were selected and sent to the board, all from New Mexico: Thomas A. Jackson, Grants; R. Michael Kakuska, Roswell; William R. Walz, Bloomfield; Karen S. White, Gallup; and Angelo DiPaolo, Gallup. Of 34 applicants, only 17 packets were complete. The school board will interview the five candidates on April 2. The integrity of the process may have been compromised when one board member participated in part of the search committee selection process.

· Student enrollment down. Mr. Oakes briefed that enrollment is down 279 students averaged over the 40, 80, and 120-day counts. At $3,000 per student, the dollar loss will be significant. Mr. Bright said a new truancy program will fix this, but Ms. White pointed out that most of the losses were in the early elementary grades. Tom stated that high teacher turnover and the influx of inexperienced, unlicensed teachers was hurting education quality. He pointed out that two-year “boot camp” programs like Teach for America takes a toll, and this is reflected in discipline problems as well as low test scores. Parents want quality education, and some believe the BIA is now surpassing our schools. Also, unlicensed teachers grew from 20% to 35% in the last few years. Also, hiring ELL teachers from third world countries to teach our ELL students does not make sense. Ms. White agreed that the first two years of teaching are the hardest. Mr. Bright stated on April 7 the board would review hiring teachers from third world countries.

· Teach for America. Justin May briefed that he wanted to increase the program from 30 teachers to 70, and charge the district $1,500 per teacher for recruitment and handling. That will be $105,000 total for next year. Also, he wants all teaching positions locked in by June 15, and teachers spread out at all grade levels. He also said TFA teachers cannot be sent alone to schools, that they must have at least one other TFA teacher for support.

· TFA concerns. Tom asked if TFA would increase the commitment from two to four years. He said no. Mr. Thompson expressed concern about the effectiveness of high-income college graduates coming here and leaving two years later. Also, our district has a partnership with the Navajo Nation, and he wants to know what their view is about TFA. Mr. Bright asked about these teachers being considered “highly qualified,” and Mr. May said new guidelines were being written that would make them highly qualified under NCLB. Dr. Tempest wanted to know how much normal teacher recruiting cost. Ms. White was concerned about the June 15 deadline, and wanted to know if the $1,500 cost was negotiable (it was). Ms. White also said higher teacher pay and collective bargaining would stabilize the teacher workforce, and locking in 70 teachers by June 15 may deny jobs to more experienced teachers. Ms. Price expressed concern about teachers who come and go. The board then voted to research the matter further, and not approve it now or at the next meeting. The two city board members voted no, calling for a vote next meeting. The three county board members voted to not rush the vote at the next meeting. (MCFUSE will try to find out if most TFA teachers are assigned to county schools.)

· SAVER survey. Last meeting concern was expressed over giving middle school kids a survey that Ms. White and the two city middle school principals felt would condone drug use and suicide as normal behaviors. Mr. Bright said that giving this survey would bring money to the district, and the kids should take it. (Last school board meeting he had asked the administration to force the mid school principals to support it.) It was voted on and approved that a stricter parent permission form would be used, but that it first needed to be modified to let parents know that questions about suicide were on the survey in addition to questions about sexual activity and drug usage. The information obtained from the survey is used to fund SAVER of which Mr. Bright is a member.

Between Board Meetings

Too many administrators? Both the paper and the radio reported concern over the district’s hiring an extra administrator at Crownpoint when student enrollment in the district recently dropped 400 students and Governor Richardson is calling for reduced spending on administration. According to SDE, the district has one administrator for every 193 students. The state average is one for every 250 students.
1% pay raise. Santa Fe school employees received a 1% pay raise when SDE finalized the unit value $18.88 higher than last year. Our district made a similar promise to school employees last fall, but so far have not followed through.
More administrators coming. Two more warm bodies will be joining Central Office. The district is currently advertising for two standards specialists to work with “power performance” standards. The school board will not learn of these new positions until individuals are identified for hire. Title 2 funded.
Bedpans for teachers. GJHS and JFK students got a day off when a water main broke. Employees were forced to work under threat of no restrooms. The district went on the radio and denied they would keep employees at school without restrooms, however, the day before teachers at both schools were told they would have to “go to McDonalds” for restroom breaks. Luckily the water did not go off until 3:00 PM. No reason was given why teachers had to stay when students were not present.
Third world teachers coming? Last weekend’s Independent carried a story reporting that the district may recruit teachers from the Philippines. The local school board is presently working this out of public view, and “will be discussing the issue formally in the coming months.” (Note: normally the public is informed of school board actions at open meetings.) The three issues the district expressed concern with were saving money, minimum paperwork for administrators, and the ability of the teachers to speak English.
Another backroom deal? The district has been working to import third world teachers since last fall’s school board retreat. It was revealed to MCFUSE at an October board meeting when a board member let it slip out. The district retracted the statement and claimed there were no plans to import third world teachers.
SDE attacked. In a local radio interview on March 17, the JFK corrective action principal criticized SDE for lowering teacher morale at JFK. Earlier in the school year SDE’s Special Master Toni Trujillo told the JFK staff she was not there to “help” teachers but to monitor compliance with the school’s corrective action plan. Ms. Irvine stated that “helping” teachers was Central Office’s job based on SDE’s reports. The principal claimed this insulted her teachers. Note: at a recent school board meeting Dr. Trujillo stated that the teachers at all four of the district’s corrective action schools were “by and large as good as teachers at the best schools in New Mexico.” Dr. Trujillo further stated that the myth of bad teachers at our district’s four corrective action schools was false, and that she wanted this myth ended. All four corrective action principals were present to hear Dr. Trujillo’s compliments to their schools’ teachers.
March 15 SDE corrective action highlights. The Technology Department is not supporting Church Rock’s corrective action plan. Also, Church Rock teachers may drop Success for All for Four Block and Accelerated Reader. Skeet teachers are happy with SFA.

3 March 2003

Central Office

Absent: None, two new board members sworn in.

New teacherages. Teacher input will be sought on the designs. Several years ago this was an issue as teachers at Navajo voted one way and the district bought another.
Board goes to Santa Fe. Dr. Tempest and Mr. Bright went to Santa Fe and reported on their trip. Dr. Tempest said, “We just talked to some legislators.” That’s all we have to report. Mr. Bright said nothing. Operational funds.
Unacceptable trip reports. Mr. Thompson again reminded the administration he wanted trip reports of administrators to include benefits to students. It was not clear which trip Mr. Thompson was referring to, but Ms. Irvine, Mr. Monaghan, Ms. Macias, Ms. Crowe, and Ms. Jackson were all scheduled to have just returned from a brain compatibility conference in Phoenix.
Less operational money. The classroom budget took a hit when the board voted 5-0 to approve the hiring of a community relations specialist. Both the union and the Independent over the last two years have criticized this as an unnecessary spin doctor position created to generate good publicity and cover up the bad. Mr. Samford said money was available for this position. Duties will include monthly social activities for new teachers, providing refreshments for corrective action schools, Chalk Talk, and meeting with local chapter houses and civic groups. Motion by Mr. Bright.
Less operational money, part two. Dr. Tempest motioned and the board approved 5-0 to create a new administrator position for the new Crownpoint Middle School. Tom asked why the high school did not do like Navajo HS did and transfer the assistant principal to the middle school. He also asked if the parents knew they were tapping into the classroom budget and making teacher pay harder to fund next year. Mr. Helms stated that he could not do without an assistant principal. (New Mexico school districts are under criticism from Governor Richardson for putting too much money into administration. State classrooms only receive 59% of operational budgets; the national average is 62 %.)
Power performance standards. The state has watered down our ability to teach technical writing skills, said Ms. Macias. This was one reason cited for assembling 31 teachers to developmentally align the power performance standards. Mr. Bright requested that healthy items be added to the district standards.
Casual pay up. Because grant money is plentiful, casual pay for after school and summer school programs will increase from $20 per hour to $25 per hour. Ms. Irvine said this would attract more qualified teachers than those currently working these programs. She also stated that she wanted detailed lesson plans for the extra money and that there will be extra expectations that go along with the $25. Ms. Irvine also pointed out that not everyone will get the extra $5 as some grants were already written at $20 per hour. Jeannine pointed out that last summer she had 40% deducted from her check, so the extra $5 may not really be $5. Mr. Samford told the board only 25% average is deducted from teacher pay. Mr. Bright motioned to accept the increase in pay and extra expectations. These extra expectations were not defined.
Gallup Mid and JFK bashed. SAVER (Substance Abuse Violent Episode Reduction) briefed that not all schools participated in their survey. Mr. Bright asked that the administration put pressure on the principals to do so. Ms. White pointed out that the two city middle school principals were concerned about the sexual nature of the survey, and feared the message it could inadvertently send to sixth and seventh graders. Ms White also said the principals expressed concern about questions on suicide that could similarly encourage the children. Tom pointed out that parents are supposed to be involved with this survey, which led to a discussion about parental consent forms. Dr. Tempest emphasized that this consent form must fully disclose the nature of the questions so parents can make an informed decision. Tabled, pending further board review.
Truants and drop-outs. The district plans to copy Silver City’s program. Ms. Price expressed concern about out-of-school suspensions putting students further behind in their learning. Dr. Tempest criticized Governor Richardson for examining Florida’s successful programs when Silver City is closer.
Collective bargaining. This is the subject of an upcoming Saturday retreat the board will attend.

Between Board Meetings

Another fired teacher causes Central Office lockdown. This time it was allegedly based on one or two phone calls from someone other than the teacher. According to the paper, the lockdown occurred after the Board voted 3-0 to fire the teacher for child abuse.
Stagecoach principal resigns. Principal Tim Nelson resigned citing his need to concentrate on his graduate courses.
Next year’s calendar. According to district comments in a recent news story, parent input on next year’s school calendar was not sought because SDE forced the district to coordinate the calendar with the Navajo Nation. This left no time to invite parents to the meetings or have a vote on alternative calendars.

18 February 2003

JFK Mid School

Absent: Manuel Shirleson.

Secret consent agenda: 2002-2003 Capital Improvements Resolution. Are they changing the prioritized list? Maybe, maybe not. The public will never know because our school board – unlike city and county officials – keeps the consent agenda secret.
6% pay raise. Karen said she was all for it, but then went on Liveline the next day and said not if it comes out of the district’s cash reserve (a.k.a. carryover money). At state level superintendents and school boards are fighting giving teachers the raise for the same reason. Carryover money is the district’s slush fund for pet projects.
SFA gets the boot. Five years ago the district mandated nine more schools go with Success For All. This brought the total to eleven. Hundreds of thousands of dollars were spent, over $300,000 the first year alone. At that time MCFUSE pointed out that SFA requires 80% teacher buy-in to work. Well, Ed did a thorough analysis and concluded that SFA wasn’t working. Ed did note that three of the eleven schools were successful with SFA – Thoreau Elem, Chee Dodge, and Onate. So now SFA is optional at schools, hopefully with teacher buy-in and not just principal buy-in.
Bye-bye Annie. Ms. Descheny’s 1991–2003 reign ended with complimentary remarks from the school board. Veteran teachers will remember Annie for her strong admonishments against teachers, but also more recently for voting against reconstituting Church Rock, pushing for new teacherages, advocating for county schools, and ruffling the former supe’s feathers – and yes, Tom and her went around a few times, too. Ms. Descheny had to leave the meeting early and did not vote on the items listed below.
Burn your teaching license and make more money. The school board approved a recruiting plan to give newly hired teachers a bonus if they DO NOT have a teaching license. Tom pointed out we already have a problem with excessive unlicensed teachers. (Three years ago we had 20%, compared to the state average of 5%. Now we have about 35-40%.) Machs nichts, the district still loves unlicensed teachers.
Still MORE unlicensed teachers coming. The same retention plan also calls for increasing the next year’s hiring of Teach for America teachers by 40. As they are unlicensed, these teachers will make more than incoming newly licensed teachers. MCFUSE had requested a copy of the recruiting plan, but one was not provided. Wonder how much that bonus will be….
Community Relations Specialist. Tom pointed out that this position would cost about $60,000 (with benefits) of operational money, or about $2,000 from each school that could go toward classroom supplies. He also quoted Chantal’s earlier comments about focusing on what is best for student achievement, and stated the position’s only purpose seems to be to create “good press” to help school board members get re-elected. He asked how the position would benefit students. Karen said it would save time for principals so they could be instructional leaders. (In reality, this will save time for the superintendent and assistant superintendent as the duties are currently in their job descriptions.) Jeannine commented on the low opinion the community has toward teachers and the lack of recognition given for the many good things our teachers are doing everyday. Bright wants the position changed so it encourages more parent involvement in the schools, and JR wants it rewritten to directly benefit student achievement. If you speak Navajo, understand some technology, and have a degree in education, this will be one soft palace job – paid out of operational funds, of course.
New vision/mission statement. Karen said per Baldridge training the old mission statement was too long, so she came up with a new one with more words. She claimed that even though the new one had more words, it was actually shorter. Copies of the new mission statement were not available to the public. Note: Baldridge training was chosen by our district to satisfy the SDE mandate to have our Central Office administrators learn how to do their jobs.
Board policy on calendar. Tempest wanted to open the dates so the district could use as much of the summer for school without restriction. Karen said it was originally the union that kept some of the summer free for teacher vacations. Tom said if they wanted to really run off teachers, vote to open the summer. Miraculously, they listened and only took away part of the summer to accommodate next year’s later start/finish and corrective action mandates.
Dine’ Division of Education. Chantal briefed that the first meeting went well. (SDE mandated the district to work with Window Rock.) Chantal presented a rough outline for an extensive plan to incorporate Navajo culture into our schools. This plan includes expanding scholarship opportunities for our students. Karen kept referring to DDE as the Department of Dine’ Education.
Corrective action update. The four principals all got up and basically said not much progress is being made in reading, but some in math is happening. Of course, a few cheap shots at SDE were made.

Between Board Meetings

Fired teacher wanted in New Mexico and Florida. The Independent on February 15 reported that a fired teacher had a January 5 New Mexico State Police warrant plus an arrest warrant in Florida. MCFUSE wants to know: How did he pass the background check?
Bright calls for Tom’s ouster. The day after winning the UNM-G Advisory Board election in a close race against Tom, Bright went on John McBreen’s Liveline and said Tom ran a dirty campaign (Tom had printed Bright’s voting record on a flyer). Bright then said the union needs new leadership. He also called for NEA union members to start meeting. Bright said he used to be in the NEA. Note: MCFUSE is an AFT union.
Bright stands up to Gomez. In the same February 5 Liveline interview, Mr. Bright was asked why he supported the mass dismissal of teachers at Church Rock last year. He said it was based on bad information from Superintendent Robert Gomez. He further attacked Gomez for his poor relationship with SDE. Note: Gomez left the district and moved to California about six months ago.
Teacher pay raise—district reneges again. Last fall the district promised to look at raising teacher pay once the budget’s unit value was finalized after Christmas. The administration suggested that a 1% pay raise might be possible. On January 31 the state released the final unit value at $2,889.89. This is an $18.88 increase over last school year. Multiply this by 13,600 students. The district apparently forgot its promise.

3 February 2003

Central Office

Absent: None.

Above the law. The board decided to start the meeting early at 5:50 PM. This caused several citizens to miss the first part of the meeting as the legal start time was 6:00 PM.
Above the law, part 2. For several meetings now the minutes of the previous meeting were not available. The Open Meetings Act requires that they be approved before starting another meeting.
Karen’s pay raise. Karen White told the board she wanted a pay raise right now, so Bright moved that they increase this year’s salary by $29,035.70. Passed 5-0. Operational funds.
SDE Special Master Toni Trujillo briefed that there were four issues for the district to focus on: curriculum alignment, consistent literacy focus, principals as instructional leaders, and high mobility of staff. The high percentage of first-year teachers was also noted. Toni went on to debunk the myth that corrective action schools had bad teachers and were out of control. She praised the teachers at corrective action schools as by-and-large being as good as any in the state.
MCFUSE’s response: Tom thanked Toni for calling for curriculum alignment, pointing out that for years teachers have been asking central office for this. Tom stated that teacher turnover has gone from 15% to 33% in recent years, and the district has not listened to suggestions on how to stop it. He also pointed out that students have a right to have a licensed teacher, and that this is not a criticism of Teach for America or the Peace Corps or the waiver program, but a criticism of giving non-licensed teachers priority hire rights over licensed teachers. Tom thanked Toni for praising teachers at corrective action schools. (Another teacher in the audience pointed out that no recognition of district teachers was received until Toni made her comments.) Tom stated that last year district teachers were also good, and then spoke of the unprofessional and disgraceful way the district treated the Church Rock teachers. Tom asked the board and administration to apologize for the horrible way these teachers were held up to public ridicule. The board and administration did not do so.
Next year’s calendar. The task force presented two options. Karen told the board to reject the four-day week calendar and approve the more traditional one. Tempest asked if parents should be asked their opinion. Karen said she did not want parent or teacher input. It will be approved at the next board meeting, supposedly as written. Both calendars honor Veterans Day and two Navajo holidays. Last year MCFUSE had protested dishonoring veterans especially while the country was at war. MCFUSE will have copies of both calendars at the next members meeting on February 8^th.
Spin doctor job description change. This job will require fluency in the Navajo language so the person hired can go around praising our district to the community in two languages. The gag order was put on public discussion, otherwise MCFUSE would have suggested that supporting teachers would result in better public relations than hiring a person to go around saying everything is wonderful. This position paid for out of operational funds.

Between Board Meetings

Secret board meetings. Tempest went on John McBreen’s Liveline and stated that consent agenda items should remain secret from the public so the meetings can be shorter. Last school board meeting Tom asked for a discussion on the school board’s weeklong trip to San Francisco this April. The board refused to discuss it.

27 January 2003

Indian Hills ES

Absent: None.

Terminations: Jerry Garcia, 3^rd grade teacher, Stagecoach; Jonathan Weston Sherman, auto shop teacher, Tohatchi High.
Resignations: Three teachers.
Why teachers took a $700 pay cut this year: Community Relations Specialist Debbie Castro quit. Her position is being advertised at $30,098 to $47,857. Operational funds.
Why teachers took a $700 pay cut this year: The Board, Ethel, and White will attend a NSBA conference in San Francisco from April 3 through 8. Also, Esther and Bev are going to Nashville February 3-8. Operational funds.
New board meeting protocol policy: White and Samford told the board that they would no longer allow consent agenda items to be publicly discussed. Tom protested, and his letter calling for public discussion of the above topics regarding travel and money for public relations was not responded to. Tom pointed out that this was secrecy, and that the city council and county did not hide items on the consent agenda, and that the Open Meetings Act prevented the school board from doing so. Radio reporter John McBreen said the same thing, and promised to file a complaint with the State Attorney General. (MCFUSE will do likewise.) Tempest and Bright supported White’s call for secrecy. Annie supported Tom’s call for respecting the Open Meetings Act, and stated that there were too many items on the consent agenda, and that perhaps there should be no consent agenda.
Strike Three for School Board? In a radio interview after the meeting Tom pointed out that the school board was cited once this year for shutting off the microphone at open meetings. Also, the State Attorney General is currently investigating alleged secret meetings regarding the reneging of Astroturf for the city. Denying public discussion of consent agenda items may be the third violation this year.
Blame Gomez: Tohatchi Mid’s new gym may use old bleachers. Previous Superintendent Gomez was blamed for not ordering new ones. Ironic shot at the guy who brought a ton of additional federal and state monies to the district.
Superitendent Search Committee: The superintendent job is being advertised with a suspense of Feb 26. Also, three search committee nominees for the 30-plus committee have failed to respond. All three are board-selected individuals. This prevented the list of committee members from being released to the public. Last November Bright promised public release of this list by December 9. (Last December MCFUSE filed an investigation request with the State Attorney General regarding the school board’s secret nature of selecting this committee.)
Dine’ Division of Education meeting: GMCS will try to sell the tribe on Ed’s plan on how to teach Navajos on Feb 11, 10:00 to 2:00, at Sacred Heart Retreat. This is an SDE mandate that GMCS start working with the Navajo Nation.
Crownpoint and Navajo kids may burn: The state wrote us up for not having enough water pressure to operate the sprinkler systems. MCFUSE wonders if the district knew of this problem before the state told us? (Oops! Under new board meeting protocol policy these questions can no longer be asked.) Tempest and Annie expressed their concerns for child safety. White agreed that something should be done about this.
J.R. calls for administrator accountability: Last year Tempest called for trip reports on out-of-state travel. Apparently none were done, because JR brought the issue up again, demanding that these reports be made and that they document how children will benefit. Tom said, “Thank you!” and a small round of applause was made in support of JR’s call for accountability.

Between board meetings

CHILD ABUSE cover-up implicates “previous regime”: (rewritten from a January 17, 2003 Independent article.) Five police reports dating back to February 2002 charge Thoreau ES Principal Yvonne Crooker with child abuse. The abuse included hitting heads, slamming against walls, swinging by their arms, force feeding, swearing, and insulting. One of the insults was “stupid-ass little Mexican.” The parents had reported the incidents to the superintendent’s office beginning last spring. Assistant Superintendent for Personnel Ethel Manuelito learned of the incidents last September and began an investigation. The parents also reported the incidents to SDE during the accreditation visit in October. At this time Ethel’s investigation was already underway. The police reports stayed in the superintendent’s office until December when the district’s investigation was due. Ethel’s investigation has been delayed due to the teachers’ fear of retaliation. These teachers may be fired if the school board decides they were guilty of failure to report child abuse. As of the date of the article Crooker was still on the job.
Accreditation report: Last board meeting the administration told the board, “We’re doing fine.” See for yourself. MCFUSE has posted the findings on our website. At www.mcfuse.com go to GMCS then Current Issues.
Central office changes curriculum position policy: In a January 8 newspaper story the administration criticized the State Department of Education for not writing our district’s curriculum. Last February the previous administration criticized SDE for offering to write a statewide curriculum. Not shared with the press was SDE’s written recommendation that Grant’s curriculum be studied to help our district. Currently GMCS teachers are expected to individually write their own curriculums.
Corrective Action update: The State Department of Education’s January 15 reports show that JFK needs a 7^th grade science teacher and that Thoreau Mid recently hired two new teachers. Professional development in classroom management or a mentorship program is still needed at Church Rock and David Skeet. Skeet still needs to hire a permanent sub, replace a long-term sub in SPED, and replace a second grade teacher that recently quit.

6 January 2003

Central Office

Absent: Manuel Shirleson

Acting Superintendent: Karen White

Terminations: Loretta Tso, teacher, Washington ES.
Resignations: Five teachers, a physical therapist, two speech language pathologists, three cooks, five educational assistants, a materials clerk, a custodian, a secretary, and a registrar. The board stated it was normal for teachers to quit, but why were so many classified employees resigning? MCFUSE believes the board should also be concerned about high teacher turnover.
Where our classroom money goes: The operational fund that pays teachers and buys classroom supplies will be used to send local Hispanic leaders to an educational conference on Hispanic students. Bill Bright made the open invitation with a request that the media report this “free” trip. Each teacher lost about $700 this year when the salary schedule was reduced 2.5%. A shortage of operational funds was the reason given by the district.
Where our classroom money goes, part two: Chantal, Esther, Ed, and Bev are going to Phoenix from 28 Feb to 2 March for a conference on brain compatible practices in curriculum and instruction. No comment.
Baldridge training starts: State-mandated leadership training for central office and school administrators begins this week. Of 89 school districts in New Mexico, GMCS is the only district directed by SDE to have this training. Last summer Tom testified before the State Board of Education of the leadership crisis in GMCS, and the need for professional help. This report can be seen elsewhere on this website under GMCS, Current Issues.
District auditor takes potshot at Gomez: The auditor criticized former Superintendent Gomez for “robbing Peter to pay Paul” when spending money. Graciously, the administration, board, and union refused to participate in this criticism. In previous years the auditor never criticized the superintendent when he was present.
Accreditation report and breaking state law: Concerning the state’s accreditation report, the school board was told by Ms. White, “We’re doing fine.” Dr. Tempest noticed problems with bilingual education and asked about those. The administration did not have public copies available as required by state law. Also, Tom had asked the administration the Friday before to bring an extra copy to the meeting, and this was not done. A copy was “lent” out during the discussion only when Tom raised a point of order on state law. (The State Attorney General has cited the school board in violation of state law regarding public meetings early this school year. Mr. Bright is also under investigation by the State Attorney General concerning an alleged Open Meetings Act violation.)
“Pink Palace” still growing: If funds are approved to build onto GJHS, EDC will be moving to the Tech Center. This will keep students from having to walk across parking lots to attend classes, and will make EDC more accessible to Central Office.
Teacherage rent review: Under questioning from Tom it was revealed that the administration is planning a “rent revenue” review for the new teacherages once the board agreed to the terms of the bond. Words like “debt service” and “market value” were bandied about. The board, apparently unaware of this rent review, then made several speeches about how it was important to keep rent low. (It was 11 months ago that the board made similar speeches about giving teachers a pay raise, then followed through last May by voting to lower the salary schedule by 2.5%.) Ms. Descheny asked that the teacherages not be restricted to “certified” teachers. (At least a third of the district’s teachers are on waiver.) Mr. Bright called for a vote, promising to discuss this “later.”
Better testing: Ed has arranged for a University of Minnesota assessment study that could result in learning how to more fairly administer tests to Navajo students. Ed is working this in coordination with the Dine’ Division of Education in Window Rock. This will be done at no cost to the district, and may be a leading national study in the area of minority assessments.

Between board meetings

Middle college high school: UNM-G administrators denied raiding local district funds and students in a January 7 radio interview on KYVA/KTHR. Former Superintendent Gomez’s primary concern was that students would drop out of high school to attend the MCHS. There has been some evidence that this has happened, violating the charter school’s promise that it would not “compete” with the local school district for students.
School Board election: Christopher Harry Morris and Adrian Sloan (sp?) have signed up for the Tohatchi to Navajo District 1 position as write-in candidates. Mavis Price remains the only candidate for the District 3 Thoreau to Ramah position. MCFUSE partly attributes this poor turnout of candidates to public dissatisfaction with the school board. Also, the district made minimal effort to notify the public.
Corrective Action summary: The State Department of Education’s December 15 reports show that full-time subs are still needed at Skeet and Church Rock, a good job opportunity for someone with a couple years of college. Both schools got dinged for classroom management skills. Skeet had only 5 parents show for PTO, but 50 showed for a family education night and 50 for turkey lunch with their kids. Skeet has no PE teacher and is making classroom teachers take up the slack. They do have a second principal since the last report. Skeet also receives no JOM funds from the district. Church Rock was noted for its Navajo Language class. JFK and Thoreau Mid got hit for not having a written curriculum, something MCFUSE has been asking Central Office to write for years. Parent attendance at a parent night was reported as 50% for one JFK sixth grade team, and Thoreau went to three chapter houses for their parent meetings, reporting a total of 117 parents met. JFK student attendance rate is 96.7%, Thoreau 94%, Skeet 93.2%, and Church Rock 92.4%. For the complete reports, click on the SDE link elsewhere on this website.

Eyes on the Board

18 December 2003

Special Report

Absent: NA

Acting Superintendent: Karen White

Between board meetings

School board humiliated. Only one person, Mavis Price, put in for departing board member Annie Descheny’s District 3 position, and nobody applied for Manuel Shirleson’s District 1 position. KYVA reporter John McBreen reported on December 18 that in his 30 years of covering school board elections this is a first. Over the last few years teacher turnover has doubled to 33%, the unlicensed teacher rate has similarly shot up, and student scores fell to worst in state. The press and teachers union have called for administrators and school board members to be held accountable as our district became what one school board member called “the laughing stock of New Mexico.” Citizens in the Tohatchi area have until December 31 to produce a write-in candidate for the District 1 position. As of 5:00 PM, December 18, county officials were unsure what will happen if nobody declares.

UNM-G College Board. Citizens in the Gallup-McKinley County Schools area will be able to vote for three candidates for the newly created five-member board. Running for Position 1 are MCFUSE Secretary Jeannine Russell, Mellor Willie, Brett Newberry, and Geoffrey Brown. Running for Position 2 are MCFUSE President Tom Payton and Bill Bright. Position 5 has GMCS Assistant Superintendent for Personnel Ethel Manuelito running against Dr. Rachel Misra and Theresa Dowling. Position 5 is an at-large position that covers both the GMCS and Zuni public school districts. Positions 3 & 4 are both Zuni positions.

District reneges on elementary prep: Last year’s school board vote for 3 hours of elementary prep was overruled by C&I at the December task force meeting. Chantal called this a “goal” and not a mandate. School Board Member Bill Bright was present to hear the broken promise told to teachers, and said nothing. Some schools have the three hours of prep, and some do not. MCFUSE believes it is unfair to promise elementary teachers a prep last spring, then not deliver it when they return in the fall.

Increasing class loads and unlicensed teachers. MCFUSE wrote our seven Northwest New Mexico legislators asking that they not support the GMCS legislative agenda calling for increasing class loads using distance learning. This policy was presented the December 9 school board meeting. In the same letter MCFUSE also wrote asking that they support a law preventing districts from hiring unlicensed teachers before licensed teachers.

Employee Assistance Program: According to the report EAP contractor Rehoboth McKinley County Hospital provided the school board on December 9, 100 employees used this program in a 14.5-month period. At $5,000 per month, that comes to $725 per employee. MCFUSE’s position is that since the contract is a flat fee of $5,000 per month regardless of how many employees are seen, the contract would be more efficiently administered if more employees were aware of the program. The contractor’s responsibilities in briefing employees at each school should have been enforced by the administration.

Eyes on the Board

9 December 2002

Thoreau High

Absent: Annie, Shirleson

Acting Superintendent: Karen White

Note: This is a long but important report. The board wants to increase class sizes, plus cover up administrator accountability on EAP, and start the process to hire a new supe. Meanwhile five teachers bailed, plus one retired mid-year, and another was terminated.

Truancy task force: Karen briefed that parents can be fined and jailed for student truancy, and alleged that the DA won’t enforce the law. She said she volunteered to serve on a state administrator committee formed by the New Mexico Coalition of School Administrators to lobby for a better truancy law. (Note: NMCSA is basically an administrators union.) Bright wants truancy added to the district legislative positions agenda for 2003. He proposed a model used in Deming that is non-punitive.
Employee Assistance Program: RMCH’s reps briefed that they are doing a good job providing mental health counseling for employees. They twice stated they were not required to go to schools and tell employees about this free service. A package RMCH handed out claimed they visited Gallup High, Thoreau High, Thoreau Elementary, Central High, Lincoln, Indian Hills, Juan de Onate, Smith Lake, and Tohatchi Elementary.
Blame game points to Paula: Tom pointed out that the EAP RFP called for school visits. Tom asked why RMCH did not call the principals, and why no central office administrators followed up on this contract. Tom stated that this district was a stressful place to work, and that many employees could have benefited from this service. Tom said what should have been a helping hand was turned into a fist for principals to threaten employees with. Karen answered that Paula Garcia did a poor job of setting this program up, and this mistake would not be repeated. Previously central office administrators were blaming principals for denying RMCH access to their staff. Karen also said there is a new RFP out now.
Corrective action: Most everything is going well, according to Chantal. GMCS will meet with the Navajo Nation and align its calendar with tribal and federal holidays.
Stagecoach principal: Karen will appoint Tim Nelson as acting principal for the rest of the school year, and then hire someone fully qualified over the summer. Esther will be pulled back full time to central office. The problem is one of licensure. Stagecoach teachers asked why other principals were hired on waiver, but not Tim. Karen cited NCLB and corrective action concerns. JR noted his concerns for excessive waivers. Karen said no more principal waivers would be given.
David Skeet assistant principal: James Castlebury (sp?) was hired 3-0.
New central office administrator: The after school/summer school program coordinator is Ray Macias, approved 3-0. This is a new position and according to Chantal is not funded out of operational funds. MCFUSE watches administrator expenditures of operational funds as this reduces employee pay. This is especially critical as this school year the board reduced employee salary schedules 2.5% while the district’s unit value was actually increased.
SDE mandated training for central office: Tom pulled this off the consent agenda for discussion. On September 13 SDE mandated that central office managers seek professional help to learn how to do their jobs. According to Karen, ours is the only district with this mandate. The district selected a contractor for Baldridge training, approved 3-0. The cost of this training is $26,510. Karen claimed that she prevented the state board from privatizing our four corrective action schools by selecting Baldridge. When Tom asked her source, she cited “hallway rumors” in Santa Fe. In reality, the state teachers unions have been openly fighting the privatizing of New Mexico schools for many months. NMFEE is the leading advocate in New Mexico for keeping public schools public. NMFEE President Christine Trujillo is also a state school board member, and is on public record numerous times for strongly opposing privatizing public schools.
Board ignores unlicensed teacher problem: Samford read the GMCS 2003 legislative priorities list to the board. Tom pointed out that these are good, but do not address quality education. They appear to be written by an accountant. He asked that the problem of unlicensed teachers be addressed, noting that many excellent teachers are on waiver, but that the practice has been abused over recent years. The state averages one out of twenty-five, while GMCS has gone from one out of five to about one out of three. Tom stated that he knows of licensed teachers who can’t get hired here because principals are hiring unlicensed teachers first. He suggested the legislative agenda state, “Support requiring districts to certify they attempted and failed to fill positions with qualified employees before seeking waivers from requirements.” He suggested the board also develop a policy addressing this issue, and stopping principals from this action. Karen defended principals, stating they need the freedom to choose unqualified teachers over qualified teachers.
Board votes to increase class sizes: The district plans to increase class sizes by using distance learning computers. Tom said increasing class loads of teachers will stress out teachers and water down the quality of education the students receive. The board voted 3-0 to lobby legislators to change state statutes to allow GCS to increase class loads.
Superintendent search schedule: Ethel handed out a package of proposed procedures to select the next superintendent. She suggested the union be represented in the process. There will be up to 30 people on the interview committee. The board voted to accept her package. MCFUSE will distribute copies of the package at the December 14 members meeting. Bright stated that not hiring a headhunter saves $60,000.

Between board meetings—two equity issues:

Ex-convict job market. Food Services and Transportation do their own personnel work. Sometimes the rules are different than for other employees. In the first case MCFUSE learned of, records at central office show that no background check was required, the pay was jimmied so taxes were not deducted, and mileage was paid for travel to county schools. So where could you see an ex-convict employed at our schools this year? Try Crownpoint Elementary, Crownpoint High, Red Rock, Smith Lake, Thoreau High, and Turpen. MCFUSE believes ex-convicts should not be given hiring preferences and extra pay other employees do not receive.
Principal “above the law.” A teacher applied for a transfer after the school year started. The transfer would save her a two-hour commute and enable her to spend more time with her baby. The principal denied the transfer, and then two days later accepted his own across-town transfer, a move he had requested. MCFUSE believes that principals should abide by the same policies they set for their employees.
Retraction: Remember the corrective action school principal who kicked out the after school Indian club? Eyes on the Board reported that the school took money for after school buses from NIYLP, and then booted the kids. The principal asked for a retraction concerning funding for the buses. According to the principal, NIYLP had not yet paid for the buses that payment was due second semester. The kids were kicked out first semester.

18 November 2002

Ramah Elementary

Absent: none.

Acting Superintendent: John Samford

(Karen on vacation)

EMPLOYEE ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (EAP)

(Or: how to spend $5K per month on employees without telling employees)

JR and Annie demanded answers regarding this “hidden” program designed to provide counseling services for employees and their families.
The Business Office has extended the contract at a cost of $5,000 per month without a school board vote. Samford was told to answer Tom’s question on this contract extension, but he refused, skirting the issue and discussing the need for confidentiality of clients.
Theresa Mariano briefed that the contractor had made 16 training visits to schools, principal meetings, and counselor meetings.
Tom pointed out that the contract called for training at every school (we have 34), and that employees were missing a valuable service because the contractor failed to perform. Also, there is a blame game going on within the administration with some blaming principals for locking out the contractor and others blaming central office for not administering the contract.
Annie demanded that employees be immediately informed of this service.
JR demanded a complete report by next board meeting.
MCFUSE wants to know: who is ACCOUNTABLE for this mistake? And why won’t he or she or they just STAND UP AND SAY SO??

TASK FORCE UPDATE

Some principals respected their employees enough to accept volunteers, some principals picked “mini-me.”
Watch for the word to come down in favor of a little democracy in the employee selection process. Allegedly this was the original written edict from Karen.

Eyes on the Board

12 November 2002

Central Office

Absent: none.

White is out --- False minutes --- Secret supe selection committee --- “SDE loves us” --- Tom speaks for teachers --- Chantal on the road --- Open forum to return? --- Secret Task Force to solve all teacher problems --- Annie blown off --- Backroom Bubbas redistrict school board --- Behind closed doors: ex-con hiring cover-up

White is out

Annie stated that the board agreed at the October retreat to have Karen White’s role of acting superintendent terminated on Nov 30.

False minutes

Tom asked to have the October 21 minutes corrected to reflect what really happened regarding the secret superintendent selection committee. The minutes omitted a concern of an Open Meetings Act violation, and substituted JR’s name for Bright’s regarding this violation. Bright agreed to let the truth be printed.

Secret supe selection committee

Annie protested the board’s meddling in writing the questions for the superintendent selection committee, citing the potential for MCFUSE criticism. She stated the selection committee should be allowed to select the new superintendent without board interference.

“SDE loves us”

That was what the Accreditation Team said, according to Chantal. They loved the professional development, ELL programs, mentorship program, teacher retention, and classroom walk through (CWT) program principals recently started.

Tom speaks for teachers

Tom told the board that the mentorship program is a paperwork burden for new teachers. The principal CWT program also adds to teacher stress levels, and will help drive teachers out of the district. Tom also stated that nobody is talking with teachers, and only the union can be depended on to “tell it like it is.”

Chantal on the road

Annie then directed Chantal to visit every school and talk with the teachers. Tom pointed out the problem with retaliation. Annie acknowledged that retaliation against teachers was rampant, and directed Karen to draft a policy to help prevent it.

Open forum to return?

JR asked for a return to open forums now that the old superintendent has left. This was after a Stagecoach teacher spoke up for the hiring of their principal.

Secret Task Force to solve all teacher problems

White promised problems of morale, the calendar, and salaries will be solved. White stated district teachers get paid more than most places. Tom pointed out that the names of this secret Task Force that represents teachers should be told to teachers.

Annie blown off

Samford and White refused to tell Annie who developed the modified B school board redistricting plan. (Tom had protested at a previous public hearing that Samford should reveal who was with him when this plan was drawn up.) Tempest stated he wanted to move on and not reveal the names of the secret committee. Annie insisted on being told as it affected her district. White and Samford refused to speak. If any of the “Backroom Bubbas” were present, they also stayed silent. Tom explained in detail the sloppy nature of the original plans led him to believe that someone in central office manipulated the plans to “guide” the Districts 1, 2, 3,and 5 board members. This manipulation included not sharing information at public hearings.

Backroom Bubbas redistrict school board

The board then voted 4-0-1 to accept the Backroom Bubba plan. Annie abstained.

Behind Closed Doors: ex-con cover-up

At the end of October MCFUSE told Personnel and the press that an ex-con was working at one of our schools. The person was promptly fired. Evidence indicates at least one central office administrator falsified records to prevent Personnel from learning of the employment. Under the Inspection of Public Records Act, MCFUSE will examine district budget records. The administration has delayed public access until November 22.

Eyes on the Board

4 November 2002

Central Office

Absent: Annie, JR, and Shirleson (lack of a quorum caused postponement of the meeting to November 11^th, 6PM, Central Office)

WORK STUDY SESSION

Astroturf

GHS’s Bill Miller presented his proposal to spend the $350,000 the district originally promised to the city on athletic field improvements at Gallup High. This will include buying Astroturf for the soccer and football field. He passed around pictures of prairie dog holes as part of his justification.
White explained how she was able to disapprove the city deal without school board approval by refusing to sign the contract with the city. The school board will have to vote later to disapprove the deal with the city.

Teacherages and February’s general obligation bond issue

Representative Patty Lundstrom and Senator Lidio Rainaldi were effective in getting a bill passed to expand bonding capacity for the district to get money for new teacherages. With low interest rates, it was recommended the board later approve this effort.
As part of “selling” February’s bond issue to the public, the district’s financial consultant recommended encouraging teachers to register to vote. Ironic for MCFUSE as all past union attempts to encourage voter registration among teachers have been strictly forbidden by the administration.

Press conferences

Bright wants to have post-school board meeting press conferences. The press liked this idea because some of the board members are hard to reach during the week.
Tempest asked if any progress was made on a previous administration promise to work with the Navajo-speaking radio stations. The answer was no.

Street talk—Posted: “This School Off Limits to Indians and Unions”

MCFUSE learned that central office today kicked the National Indian Youth Leadership Program (NIYLP) out of one of the four corrective action schools. The school uses NIYLP funds to fund part of its busing in support of its after school program, but has made the school off limits to NIYLP staff members and students. NIYLP must now seek a location off of school property for its meetings. Sounds similar to what happened to MCFUSE. First teachers are kicked out, now students. Who will be next?

Eyes on the Board

21 October 2002

Central Office

Absent: Annie

REDISTRICTING

Tom was successful in getting the Board to consider another Modified Plan B that eliminates the gerrymandering Bright’s District 4 was doing into Tempest’s east side. Tom first explained how Plans A & C were designed to fail by splitting communities of interest three times for Plan A – Mexican Springs, Crownpoint, and Thoreau – and by pitting Bright against Tempest in Plan C, a major mistake in redistricting rules.
Tom also pointed our how Plan B’s gerrymandering jacked up Bright’s total population to 13, 848, over 1,000 higher than Tempest’s District 5. Tom explained how the house district 9 battle that pitted Patty Lundstrom against Leo Watchman was decided in court, and how the judge saw anything over 1% as too much variance in total population.
Upon hearing all this, JR ordered Samford to contact Research & Polling and develop a simple east west split along Second Avenue without any gerrymandering.
Voting will be at the next board meeting.
Note: before the Board meeting Tom asked Samford as part of the official public hearing who had come up with the Modified Plan B that gerrymandered the downtown area east of Second Avenue into Bright’s district. Samford refused to answer. Tom reminded him that he was a public servant, and that ours is an open government, not a secret one. Samford said it was a committee, but refused to identify who was on it, saying only that the decision came out of his “office.” “Backroom deals” have been challenged in other school districts and found to be illegal.

SECRET CITIZENS COMMITTEE TO PICK NEW SUPE

As part of the Superintendent Search Committee Process, Karen White stated that at the School Board Retreat it was decided each School Board Member was to select two constituents to serve on this committee. White asked if the Board Members had the names ready. Manuel said he had three candidates, and only had to narrow it down to two. Bright stated he had already selected his two and gave the names to Doreen. Bruce said he had two in mind, and JR stated that he had made no selection. The names of these “secret citizens” was not revealed.
Tom called a point of order, pointing out that this was a violation of the Open Meetings Act. Last Board meeting it had been stated by the administration that at the Retreat there were no decisions made, that it was information only. As public officials, the Board is required to make policy decisions in public. JR pointed out that he had made no selections. The other Board Members had, however, with Bright going as far as submitting his names.
Bright then called for an end to the discussion, stating he didn’t want to be at Crownpoint all night. The Board voted 3-0-1 for this new type of selection process to be adopted. Manuel was the abstention.

LOCAL PREFERENCE

Teachers from McKinley County and bilingual/TESOL teachers will get hiring preference on a “tiebreaker” status over other teachers seeking initial employment with the district. Vote 4-0.

OCR AND HARASSMENT INVESTIGATIONS

Monitoring of these areas will fall under Personnel, and directors will take turns doing these investigations. Principals felt that having the Assistant to the Superintendent do them was unfair to them, and Ethel pointed out that having someone outside the chain do them would be fairer to the students. Vote 4-0.

PARENT-TEACHER CENTERS

A parent stated that she wanted Parent Centers in the schools so parents felt welcome. She cited other schools that have these. She asked for TVs, food, computers, etc. She stated she was high on drugs and needed a drink. It was unclear if she was joking.
Bright supported the request, stating that these Parent Centers could be combined with teacher lounges.

AFTER THE MEETING

A “secret task force” of handpicked teachers – one per school – has allegedly been assembled by the administration. This was revealed to MCFUSE when a Crownpoint teacher and longtime task force volunteer approached Tom and Jeannine after the meeting. Looks like IBPS is dead.
Bright went on McBreen’s Live Line the next morning and stated the reason why he changed his mind about giving the city $350,000 for Astroturf was because he learned that the city was using effluent water (recycled sewer water) to water Mickey Mantle Field at Veterans Memorial Park. MCFUSE did some checking, first with a local environmental activist and then with the city. Effluent water is not being used for the baseball field, and routing a pipe to do so is much too expensive to be considered. Note: The release of all public documents relating to the Astroturf deal was kept secret by the administration when MCFUSE formally requested them last summer under the Inspection of Public Records Act. These documents should have been a cost benefit analysis and a joint use request to Santa Fe.

Eyes on the Board

15 October 2002

Central Office

Absent: Dr. Tempest

Accreditation Team Meeting

Ed Monaghan gave a presentation that noted that Native Americans FEP scored higher academic growth than all other ethnic groups.
Ed also advocated for a bigger role in implementing data results in the classrooms.
Ed discussed the 9-week assessments being developed by teachers; and STAR Reading, Math, and Early Literacy assessments. He also said our lessons must be more culturally relevant.
Under questioning, Ed admitted that he was already planning on changing the Power Standards next year when another state assessment appears. (Note: the current Power Standards are basically McGraw-Hill “Essential Learnings” written to prepare for the CAT-6 we took last year and will take again this year.)
Ed also admitted that the Power Standards don’t line up very well with state standards, scoring a low 20% alignment rate with Language Arts and Social Studies standards. Chantal Irvin made the point that Power Standards are not all teachers teach.
Ed also admitted that cultural indoctrination of new teachers was weak, and Chantal said the district is aggressively working toward fixing that. Chantal is also funding for more Indian Education Committee involvement, hoping to use the members as a bridge to the chapter houses. Attendance is a major concern.

Community Input:

Tom expressed concern of changing standards again next year, stating this adds extra work and stress for teachers. He also said we need a curriculum. He gave an example of how Edison Schools writes a curriculum for their teachers that have the standards imbedded into it.
Another teacher spoke up about the need for teachers to concentrate on teaching curriculum instead of writing it.
A parent said if teachers have to write the curriculum, they should be paid extra for it, and it should be on a voluntary basis.
One parent dinged other parents for not being involved, and most of the rest of the parents lauded praise on the programs their schools had.
Jeannine introduced herself in English, Spanish, and Navajo, and stated that she chose to move here to live in a culturally diverse community.
SDE Input: The team leader stated she sensed a “wind of change over Gallup,” but asked where were the parents who were not there? She stated parental involvement was the key. She also said she was glad to see the district recognizing cultural diversity.

Board Meeting

Annie pulled some controversial items off the consent agenda and moved them to the next meeting. One was the $350,000 Astroturf capital outlay issue. Where that money now goes will be discussed next meeting.
Ben Chavez presented the latest DOT bus inspection. Unlike SDE’s no-notice inspection, this was scheduled. Bad brakes failed 17 buses. Still, the pass rate was 77%, just below the state average of 80%.
The two afternoon security guards will stay on city buses. (Note: these guards were added last year at Bill Bright’s urging after MCFUSE organized parents to go public on school bus violence and drug use.) Ben wants to add guards for Tohatchi, Thoreau, and Crownpoint, but will need funding.

Karen presented highlights from the Board retreat. One item of interest was going to foreign countries to find teachers. Tom asked if these were third world countries, but nobody answered.

Eyes on the Board

7 October 2002

Central Office

(Postponed to Tuesday, 15 Oct)

Absent: Board on “field trip” to DC.

BETWEEN BOARD MEETINGS

ASTROTURF

On 2 October the Independent reported the City Council announcement that the Gallup School District would not be giving the city $350,000 for Astroturf for city baseball fields. This forces the district to spend the money on our schools.
The Administration and School Board did not comment in the article, but according to city official Larry Binkley, they at first denied knowing of the matter. MCFUSE checked the minutes. Four of the five Board Members were present at the February meeting as was the Business Office. Bright made the motion to buy the Astroturf for the city to “save water,” Bruce and JR supported it, and only Annie voted “no.”
Since February MCFUSE has been fighting the district’s decision to give away this money. MCFUSE argued that busing our high school team across town to use these fields would incur extra costs. MCFUSE also challenged the claim this would save money. Using the New Mexico Inspection of Public Records Act, MCFUSE requested a copy of the Business Office’s cost benefit analysis to support the administration’s claim that this was cost effective. This written request was denied.
On a curious note, the actual cost of the Astroturf was not $700,000 as the administration and city had claimed. The actual cost was $336,000. This raises the question of whether the original intention was to have the school district pay for all of the Astroturf.

REDISTRICTING

At the Thoreau Public Redistricting Hearing on 1 October no School Board Members showed up to hear citizen concerns. At the last Board Meeting in Gallup, a city Board Member had criticized the public for not attending. John Samford, the Central Office point of contact for redistricting, was also absent.
A new plan was presented by Karen, a “Modified B” that still boosts White citizens in District 4 by crossing into the east side, but does so less blatantly. This boost is about 450 instead of the 500 in the original Plan B. Modified B crosses Second Avenue and takes in Precinct 39, the downtown housing area around Cathedral. Modified B also leaves District 4 larger than District 5, but not as greatly.
At the meeting Tom suggested that not “gerrymandering” into the east side would not lengthen the boundary line, not cause a disparity in populations totals, and not dilute the minority vote, all violations of government guidelines as published in a Central Office handout to elementary school parents. Tom later called Research & Polling, Inc., to discuss these problem areas. Their representative agreed that Tom’s suggestion would all work, but Samford must first request it.
The original Plan B had taken in Precinct 45, the area south of GIMC and around UNM-G. Prior to the 1 October meeting Tom wrote a letter of concern to the State Superintendent with info copies to the President of the Navajo Nation, JR, Annie, and the Presidents of 28 local Chapter Houses. Tom gave Karen a copy and will make copies available at the next union meeting on 12 October.

Eyes on the Board

23 September 2002

Central Office

(Special meeting)

Absent: Annie, Manuel

Special board meeting to accept or reject SDE mandates for four corrective action schools. (Note: The first SDE mandate was a management consultant for central office, one that SDE approves of. Other mandates include establishing better relations with the Native American community.) State mandates accepted 3-0.
A plan to hold redistricting hearings in the county was approved, with maps of county divisions provided. Chapter house officials will not be sent copies of the two city Districts 4 & 5. The meeting dates are Tuesday, October 1, Thoreau High at 5:30 PM; Tuesday, October 8, Tohatchi Elementary at 5:30 PM; and Monday, October 21, Crownpoint High at 5:30 PM. Meeting length is restricted to 60 minutes for Thoreau High and Tohatchi Elementary, and 30 minutes for Crownpoint High.

School Board redistricting—MFUSE concerns about city District 4

At the last board meeting Bill Bright voiced his preference for Plan B in School Board redistricting. Dr. Bruce Tempest concurred. Research & Polling, Inc., the company hired to devise the three plans, recommended Plan A. The Board failed to vote on the issue when Annie Descheny pointed out that the county was not adequately informed of the issue. JR Thompson and Tom Payton also called for better notification of voters. Annie suggested contacting the chapter houses, JR wanted Debbie Castro to take charge of this, and Tom wanted the district maps advertised in the Independent and Navajo Times, plus flyers sent home with students. Bill stated they could vote in Crownpoint at the 21 October Board meeting, and Bruce remained silent on the issue.
The three district options are Plan A which divides Gallup in half east/west with Second Avenue/Hwy 602 being the dividing line. Bill’s District 4 is the west side, Bruce’s District 5 the east side. Plan B also divides Gallup east-west, but makes some twists and turns to move the southwest part of the hospital neighborhood into District 4 as well as the housing area behind UNM-G. This adds more people to District 4. Plan C divides Gallup in half north/south along I-40 and the Santa Fe RR with District 5 to the south. As this would pit two incumbents against each other, it is traditionally the least preferred.
According to Research & Polling, Inc., the legal guidelines for redistricting dictate that district total population figures remain close to the same as much as possible. Also, plans must not dilute minority voting strength. “Communities of interest” must also be preserved. Boundary lines must be as short as possible, and districts kept compact.
Besides twisting and turning the border through the hospital and UNM-G areas, total District 4 population numbers of Plan B also varies from Plan A as illustrated below:

Choice “A”

Hispanic: 4,202; 29.9%

White: 1,508; 10.7%

Native American: 7,859; 55.8%

Choice “B”

Hispanic: 4,400; 31.8%

White: 2,051; 14.8%

Native American: 6,819; 49.2%

Total population figures for Plan A are 14,073 for District 4 and 13,715 for District 5. For Plan B, District 4 is 13,848 and District 5 is 12,844. These figures include the above total population numbers for Hispanic, White, and Native American, plus the smaller numbers of Black, Asian, and 2 or more races.

Eyes on the Board

September 16

Central Office

Absent: Manuel Shirleson (note: Annie walked out again -- this time when the subject of redistricting came up.)

· Salary 2.5% rollback. Samford briefed he wants to stop paying teachers for unused sick leave. He also wants to cut increments. Tom told the board Samford was on KYVA and admitted that he projected teacher salaries assuming zero teacher turnover, and that if Samford would be realistic there would be a lot more money in the budget for employees. Bill asked that if money is found – Samford promised mid-October – would the pay raises be retroactive? Samford refused to acknowledge the words “pay raises” and instead said reimbursements for insurance increases would be retroactive.

· Special board meeting on 23 Sep at 6PM to accept or reject SDE mandates for four corrective action schools. (Note: The first SDE mandate was a management consultant for central office, one that SDE approves of. Other mandates include establishing better relations with the Native American community.)

· Sharmyn Munoz is the new Central H.S. principal, vote 4-0.

· John Hartog transferred to Red Rock as principal, vote 4-0.

· Chantal gave a thorough briefing on the new revised EPSS’s for schools, to include technology and standards-based report cards. (Note: MCFUSE previously protested the adoption of standards-based report cards when the administration proposed a 121-grade report card for all elementary grades based on a Los Alamos second-grade experiment. This card was tried and abandoned as labor-intensive and impractical by Los Alamos. Annie had supported MCFUSE’s protest to abandon this report without full staff coordination. Bill had stated in this previous school board meeting that technology should SAVE work, not MAKE it. MCFUSE agrees.)

· Bruce will represent GMCS on the soon-to-be Education Foundation Board, a Larry Linford and Bill Bright effort that promises to bring new money to the district. A public meeting will be held on this, date TBA.

· School board redistricting was disrupted when Annie protested that the public was not notified, especially in the rural areas. Annie threatened to tell Navajo parents to keep their kids home on the 40^th day to disrupt the budget if this issue is not brought before the parents. (Note: this was a Martin Luther King, Jr., tactic during the 60’s to force better education for black children. To be effective, the children must be disenrolled before the 40^th day count. Merely being absent will have no effect.) Annie suggested that the chapter houses be told about this, and JR suggested that Debbie Castro get involved in this effort. About this time Annie walked out. Tom suggested that they follow the example set for state legislature redistricting, and advertise the proposed districts in the Independent and Navajo Times, plus send home flyers with the students.

Eyes on the Board

3 September 2002

Central Office

Absent: None (note: Annie walked out when the subject of the teacher salary schedule rollback came up, commenting that there should be no teacher raises until student scores came up, and that only teachers that raise scores should receive raises.)

Personnel Evaluation Handbook approved on consent agenda without discussion.
School Corrective Action Plans approved for September 4 meeting with SDE. Watch for a MCFUSE summary. Annie commented that the Church Rock Chapter had lots of concerns, and that they may cancel the lease of the school if the state takes it over. Annie also expressed concern that the Church Rock principal was invited to the special planning meeting at the Church Rock Chapter House, but did not attend. The principal stated she was there for half an hour but there was no meeting. Annie also asked that the Indian Education Committee be informed and approves of these plans. Note: IEC is the largest representative body of parents in the district.
Redistricting of school board. Handouts of the complete briefing will be available at the 7 September Saturday 10AM Members Meeting.
Teacher salary 2.5% rollback. Bill went to bat for teachers, asking for clarification on how a budget increase can result in a salary rollback of 2.5% for teachers. Samford admitted that up to $550K might be added to the budget, but argued for the increasing health costs of the 61% of employees who buy the district’s plan. This could cost up to $412 per year maximum for teachers, justifying the salary rollback that MCFUSE estimates to be about $700 for teachers not “maxed out” on the salary schedule. Tom mentioned that for the past two years the School Board approved legal teacher salary schedules that were overridden by the administration. Last year newly-hired teachers were cut up to $1,000 on a secret salary schedule MCFUSE exposed and the School Board then eliminated. This year the School Board approved no change to the salary schedule only to have the administration decrease each cell 2.5%. Issue tabled for future action.
Baldridge. Another management consultant proposal, this one probably pretty good but at an estimated cost of $77,000. Karen White expressed concern about the cost given the health cost issue, and asked for information about grants funding the initiative instead of operational monies.
Truancy. Bill quoted a news article citing our district one of the worst. Karen shared that pouring money into truant officers didn’t work for Farmington. A committee to study the issue will be formed.

Eyes on the Board

26 August 2002

Central Office

Special Session

Absent: None

Administrator personnel actions

Assistant to the Superintendent, Karen White hired 4-1 with Annie voting no. Karen will also serve as Acting Superintendent.
Chantal Irvin hired as Assistant Superintendent, C&I, 4-1 with Annie voting no.
Annie expressed her hope that Karen and Chantal would be able to answer questions from the board and not have to say they didn’t know as predecessors did.

Legal issue

The Board went into closed session with the district’s attorney Frank Albeita to discuss strategy on the Corrective Action status of Church Rock, David Skeet, JFK, and Thoreau Mid. Present were the affected principals and various Central Office administrators.

Eyes on the Board

19 August 2002

Central Office

Absent: Annie Descheny

1. Administrator personnel actions

No action on Acting Superintendent
No action on Assistant to the Superintendent
Genevieve Jackson to Title VII & JOM Coordinator
Bernadette Espinosa to Asst Principal, Church Rock
One or two more administrator positions to be hired in support of After-School/Summer Programs. Position(s) to be grant funded, not one penny of operational (classroom and teacher salaries) money to be used.

2. Church Rock Academy--Week 3

Enrollment up to 221 (300 normal)
95% enrolled in after-school program
42% reading at or above grade level
Landscaping in
Open House next week
Parents signed contracts to read to kids and keep attendance at 97%

3. District teacher vacancies—Day One

44, down from 65 last board meeting
12 schools filled, 8 have only one vacancy, 8 have two, others have three or more
GJHS leads with 7 openings, GHS 6

4. Job Corps Proposal Okayed

Approved with JR’s abstention
JR voiced concerns about the past history of inner-city gang members being dumped on the rez as was done in the 60’s, and encouraging a rez exodus by training for city jobs only.
Job Corps spokesperson assured local job market determined training, such as auto mechanic and home-building skill shortages. Bill locked in this promise with assurance that community advisors would be in place throughout the program.

5. Vandalism--Crownpoint HS hit twice

Front-end loader driven into doorway. Contractor left keys in ignition.
One of two vandals caught breaking skylights

6. Street Talk

Salary contracts late due to new computer program glitch
Salary rollback of 2.5% still in effect

Eyes on the Board

5 August 2002

Central Office

Absent: Manuel Shirleson

1. Administrator personnel actions

5 August actions (all votes 4-0):

· Assistant Superintendent of C&I Dr. Carla Lewis resigned effective 4 September.

· Carmen Wounded Knee hired, Principal, Tohatchi El

· Bart Stanley hired, Principal, Tohatchi Mid

· Richard Fourzan hired, Assistant Principal, GHS.

· Ken Williams transferred to Assistant Principal, GHS.

26 July actions:

· Newly hired principals Anita Bryant and Greg Rockhold resigned.

· Teresa Mariano transferred to Personnel Director. Annie voted no.

· Benny Roanhorse transferred to Principal, Navajo Mid. Annie abstained.

2. Budget increase trimmed

The administration stated that the unit value (“dollar value” of average student) increase received this year will be trimmed back. Last May SDE announced that the unit value was increased $25. The administration did not publicly disclose how much of an increase to the budget we received this year. Normally an increase in unit value would raise salary schedules. This year the school board voted to decrease salary schedules 2.5%.

3. Calendar change

The first day of school was changed to 19 August, and the April in-service day was made a school day.

4. Administrator “all call”

District principals attended to hear APS School Board Member John Emery explain his “four superintendent” idea recently implemented in APS. This is a possibility for our district as the search for a superintendent begins. APS has a business person, two academic people, and a “marketing guy” to share superintendent duties. They are all paid equally, and voted among themselves to determine who acts as the superintendent. The school board directly supervises all four. If done here, Gomez’s and Angelo’s salaries would be added together, divided by four, then added to the salaries of four existing administrators.

5. Church Rock Academy

Everybody’s happy with the new school, according to the administration. First day attendance was 170 and expected to increase. Note: Last year enrollment was about 300.

6. Teacherages

A bond is necessary to support teacherages. This will bring in much needed capital outlay money.

7. Street Talk

The city council’s $700,000 Astroturf project was out for bid at the end of July. GMCS gave $350,000 of capital outlay money to the city so high school baseball teams can use city fields. MCFUSE learned of the $350,000 transfer from city officials. The administration failed to answer a 9 July MCFUSE written inquiry under the New Mexico Inspection of Public Records Act.

Eyes on the Board

15 July 2002

Central Office

Absent: none

Gomez resigns
Principal personnel actions
Indian Hills gets new building
JFK’s “no fail” report card
Add another central office administrator
Street Talk

1. Gomez Resigns

Assistant Superintendent of Business Services John Samford read Superintendent Robert Gomez’s letter of resignation. The letter stated he accepted a job in California in order to be closer to his family. It also stated his accomplishments such as the Zuni capital outlay lawsuit, staving off OCR charges of racism, and creating a tech center. Board approved 5-0.

2. Principals

Larry Baker, Tohatchi Mid, resigned effective immediately due to family illness.

In a 1 July special session, Peggy Taylor was hired as assistant principal at Gallup Mid and Ken Carmichael was hired as principal at the new Navajo Mid. Taylor was hired by Bright, Shirleson, and Tempest; Carmichael by Shirleson and Tempest, Bright abstaining.

3. Indian Hills

A recent PSCOC meeting funded a replacement for Indian Hills Elementary School. Pueblo Pintado and Ramah High Schools were presented but not funded.

4. “No fail” report card

JFK Middle School will replace D’s and F’s with “no credit.” Students falling below a C will lose their electives and be enrolled in a remedial class to bring up their grades.

5. New administrator recommended

A new central office position of Teacherage & Safety Director was proposed. The administration had some concerns about where to place the position, and the board wanted to know where the money was coming from. Decision deferred until next meeting.

6. Street Talk

On July 3^rd the Independent ran an article revealing that our district is one of the few in the state that will be reducing the employee salary schedule, and this in spite of the fact that the district will be receiving a budget increase. Business Office manager John Sampson attributed the need to reduce pay to the district’s large size. However, the article pointed out that the state is looking at creating large districts to save money, not reduce it. MCFUSE note: since MCFUSE’s inception in 1975, this is the first pay cut ever dealt to teachers, about $700 per year for most returning teachers. This is especially confusing because the legislature actually increased school budgets of at least $25 more per student.

The July 11^th Albuquerque Journal carried an article about former Newcomb HS Principal Larry Dean Cunningham having his $25,000 Milken Award withdrawn based on the recommendation by SDE. Cunningham was removed from his job February 20^th for undisclosed reasons. Local School Board Members Bruce Tempest and Bill Bright recently hired Cunningham to be the principal at Thoreau HS. The July 12^th Independent ran an article explaining how Superintendent Gomez told the school board he personally did a background check on Cunningham, but could not get any information. Gomez did not produce any evidence of having done this background check, and none is on file in Personnel as required by school board policy. Officials at Cunningham’s old district stated nobody from GMCS had contacted them for a job reference. The article further stated that Cunningham denies losing the Milken Award and still claims he does not know why he was dismissed.

Eyes on the Board

17 June 2002

Central Office

Absent: JR Thompson, Annie Descheny

More money for principals
Less money for teachers
Dress code changes
Street Talk

More principals, more money

Two new principal positions were created, one at Navajo Mid and an assistant at Church Rock Academy. Gallup Mid’s Karen Vann transferred to the Church Rock assistant position. A Gallup Mid teacher was hired to fill her old position. Grants sent us a third principal—Greg Rockhold will be at Tohatchi Elem. Mary Washburn (sp?) returns from Australia to work at David Skeet.

Teacher pay cut approved 3-0

The budget is still not finalized, but the 2002/2003 teacher salary schedule will remain 2.5% lower than the 2001/2002 schedule. MCFUSE’s Payton pointed out to the board this was a pay cut. John Samford claims this is not a pay cut, even though it will cost each teacher about $700 in the lost step. Payton pointed out that the district will be reimbursed by the state for each returning teacher’s extra year of experience. He also stated that this was a “thumb in the eye” of local legislators who voted to give teachers an 8% raise for 2001/2002, not intending it to be reduced 2.5% the next year. Bill Bright asked if other districts were doing the same. Samford estimated about eight others were. There are 89 school districts in New Mexico. Payton pointed out that some districts are giving raises. He asked Samford if he had any recollection of the district ever cutting teacher pay before. Samford again denied that this was a pay cut. MCFUSE believes this may be the first time a GMCS school board lowered teacher pay.

Dr Lewis’s dress code

No shorts, no “skorts,” no spandex pants. Sweaters and turtlenecks okay. Skirt length rules determined by individual supervisors.

Street Talk

· MCFUSE completed an informal investigation of the three out-of-district principals hired at the last board meeting. Serious concerns were identified, enough to question if board hiring policy is being equally applied to all principal applicants.

· Flaws in the district’s background investigation procedures became evident in a June 13^th Independent news article. In the 2-0-3 hiring of Dean Cunningham as principal at Thoreau High, J.R. stated he abstained along with Annie and Manuel because he lacked information surrounding Cunningham’s February 20^th permanent suspension from Newcomb High and Middle School. Gomez, on the other hand, stated he looked into those concerns “and found they weren’t of a substantial nature.” Part of the problem, according to CCSD Superintendent Linda Besett, had to do with low test scores and the loss of completed course data that prevented 16 of 79 students from graduation.

· On June 14^th MCFUSE met with SDE to protest proposed changes in the SDE accountability regulation that fails to address central office accountability and allows the administration to involuntarily transfer up to half the students. For example, suppose Crownpoint Elementary becomes a “model” school. Central office can order the involuntary transfer of up to 49% of its students to Smith Lake, Thoreau, etc. If these transfers are done after the 40-day count, neither school will be held accountable for the transferred student’s test scores.

June 4 update: KYVA's John McBreen reported that the vote to hire Dean Cunningham as the Thoreau HS principal passed, even though only two of five present members voted "Yes." The administration is interpreting the three abstentions to mean the most "Yes" votes wins even though it is a minority of the quorum.

Eyes on the Board

3 June 2002

Central Office

Departures and arrivals
33 Retirees
Navajo Mid
“Church Rock Academy”
Employee dress code
Standards-based report cards
New employee evaluation forms
Navajo Pine teachers may be “fired”

Absent: Annie absent for the first Executive Session and the work study session.

Administrator Departures: Angelo DiPaolo, Assistant to the Superintendent, retired; Craig Pirlot, Gallup Mid principal, retired

Note: Edmund Lano, federal programs, was originally scheduled to be terminated, but this changed to a teacher transfer after an Executive Session, then changed to Tabled after a second Executive Session called by Annie who missed the first one.

Principal Arrivals:

Church Rock: Recommended: Anita Bryant (sp?), out-of-district, vote 4-0-1 (JR abstaining). Hired.

David Skeet: TBD, no recommendation from the administration.

Gallup Mid: Recommended: Tammy Smith, Gallup Mid, vote 5-0. Hired.

Onate: Wendy Perry from Lincoln, vote 3-0-2 (Annie and JR abstaining). Hired.

Thoreau High: Recommended: Dean Cunningham from Newcomb, vote 2-0-3 (Manuel, Annie, JR abstaining). Not hired.

Tohatchi Elem: TBD, no recommendation from the administration

Tohatchi Mid: Recommended: Larry Baker, out-of-district, vote 5-0. Hired.

Turpen: Recommended: Transfer Matt Jopek from Church Rock, vote 5-0. Hired.

33 Retirees

Many of them the “Best of the Best of the Best” (thanks, MIB): Mary Trujillo, Richard Trujillo, and the inimitable Bruce Potts. Bruce gave a short speech, “From Chick Farrel (sp?) to our present EDC,” he survived it all. Other MCFUSE retirees were not present.

Navajo Mid, 6-8^th grades

This will be a group of portables next to the high school football field. The cafeteria and gym are all that will be shared with the high school, and the kids will be on different schedules. Another administrator will be hired. Bruce Tempest asked why the teachers did not know the sixth graders would be going across the street to the high school. Gomez claimed they were told but that they must not have been not paying attention.

“Church Rock Academy”

That’s the school’s new name, according to Central Office. Annie expressed concern that the parents at Church Rock are not discussing the fact that the school is being changed, and that they may not even know about it. She requested a copy of all parent-meeting minutes. MCFUSE will also request a copy for review.

Employee dress code

Basically, the dress code policy we all received before the end of school year was from GJHS. Also, contrary to what that letter stated, it is not official until the board approves it. At our last members meeting, MCFUSE members were all in favor of it, so that was briefed. Sharon Stalcup presented some problems regarding short skirts, low cut blouses, etc. Looks like it will be fine-tuned and adopted this summer.

Standards-based report cards

MCFUSE briefed that according to the Los Alamos teachers union, their 121-grade report card our district may copy bombed, teachers and parents both hated it, and it is being terminated.

The administration wants to go 100% K-12 on standards-based report cards. MCFUSE and Bill both suggested that if it can be done smartly, i.e., like Edison where technology SAVES WORK instead of MAKES WORK, then it is worth considering. Oakes promised this would be the case. Historical note: Oakes said the same thing with a standards-based lesson plan a few years ago. That one flopped early in the school year.

New employee evaluation forms

“Teachers will be happy with it,” is what the administration promised. Also, all classified employees are getting a new evaluation form similar to the one teachers have. No employees coordinated on these new forms.

Navajo Pine teachers may all be “fired”

Part of a chapter house resolution called for Navajo Pine to be a “model school.” Bill Bright interpreted this to mean they want done to their school what central office did to Church Rock. He called for immediate action.

For teachers, this means: You are dismissed, and must reapply for your job. If you are not hired, like at Church Rock Academy, you may be involuntarily transferred. You will work a longer day without compensation, a longer year with compensation. You will work all additional duties without a stipend, but may get a $3,000 bonus if student test scores meet a Central Office goal.

For parents, this means: You must sign a contract, the breaking of which may involuntarily transfer your child to another school in the district. You must work fours hours per month in the school without pay, your child must have 97% attendance, your child must read 30 minutes a night, and you must attend all parent-teacher conferences. Failure to comply means your child may be transferred.

Eyes on the Board

20 May 2002

Navajo Elementary

Pay raise reneged
Fired principals
Central office rehires
Church Rock update
Navajo parents mad
Street talk

Absent: Bill Bright, Annie Descheny

Pay raise reneged

All employee pay for next year was frozen. The step increase originally proposed by IBPS member John Samford at the Stagecoach school board meeting will not take place. The board had voted 3-1-1 at Stagecoach to accept the recommendation to give employees a step increase but no other raise because no budget increase was projected. For example, a teacher moving from step 7 to step 8 will now receive the same pay he or she received at step 7. Also, a new teacher at step 7 in August 2002 will receive the pay of the previous year’s step 6. No logical justification for this cut was offered.

Fired principals

Tammy Mancebo from Turpen and Brian Bass from Navajo Pine will not be rehired next year.

Central office rehires

All assistant superintendents were rehired 3-0 with the exception of Dr. Carla Lewis. She was rehired 2-1 with J.R. Thompson casting the lone no vote.

Church Rock update

The new principal has still not been hired.

Navajo parents mad

Filling the cafeteria of Navajo Elementary, many parents expressed anger and concern over the decision to move the sixth graders to the high school when the new Navajo Elementary opens next year. The parents called for a new middle school at Navajo. Superintendent Gomez explained the process of prioritizing building needs on the Master Plan.

Street talk

Gomez admitted in a live radio interview on May 22^nd that last November’s false report of child abuse incident was “a component” in the decision to not rehire the Turpen principal.

In the same interview, Gomez stated he was “disappointed in the one board member” who voted against rehiring Dr. Lewis.

Dr. Lewis’s recent failed initiatives include the 121-grade elementary report card, adding 45 teaching minutes to the high school, making elementary teachers stay about an hour after the students leave, terminating one third of the Navajo liaisons, cutting health assistants to a four day workweek, and adding health assistant duties to school nurses. MCFUSE publicly opposed all of these. On the plus side, she proposed and obtained prep and music/PE teachers for all elementary schools. This has been a MCFUSE top priority since 1997.

The New Mexico Open Meetings Act was violated for the third time this school year when school board members began speaking in muted voices the public could not hear. MCFUSE called a point of order, stating that the State Attorney General has already noted the other two violations, and this third one will also be reported. MCFUSE asked that the administration not erase the tapes until a state investigation is completed.

Why weren’t the citizens of Navajo informed earlier of the decision to move the sixth graders?

Eyes on the Board

6 May 2002

Tohatchi Mid

Prep for Elementary
Assistants and HS left alone
Most Principals Rehired
35 Licensed resignations
Smith Lake versus Young Jeff Tom
Street Talk

Absent: Annie Descheny, Manuel Shirleson

Prep for Elementary

Elementary teachers will enjoy three 60-minutes preps each week as the school board voted on the consent agenda to approve prep. Gomez complained about press coverage claiming teachers were unhappy, and Payton pointed out the only objection the union had was unnecessarily extending the duty day. After the Independent ran an article on April 29th interviewing four union officials, the school board killed the unnecessary extended duty day portion of the plan. Payton also stated elementary prep was a number one union lobbying priority for the last four years. The news of the prep was obtained in a discussion with Bill Bright and Bruce Tempest after the meeting. MCFUSE will verify their statements by reviewing the written consent agenda later this week.

Assistants and High Schools Left Alone

In the same April 29^th news article, union officials argued against adding uncompensated teaching time to high school teachers and also extending their duty day for no reason. The board voted to leave high school schedules as is. Similarly, union complaints against cutting health assistants to a four-day work week were also effective in the board voting to keep all or most health assistant positions untouched. The board voted to keep all or most liaisons as well.

Most Principals Rehired

Teri Cron of David Skeet will transfer to a non-administrator position, Bruce Hopmeier of Thoreau High resigned, and two principals were left off the rehire list pending evaluation: Tami Mancebo of Turpen and George Kitchens of Tohatchi High. Eight principals received two-year contracts: Bond, Butkovich, Casuse, Crooker, Hoy, Irvin, Pirlot, and White. Gomez told the board all of these principals were from non-probationary schools. Lets see if the board figures out on their own which two aren’t (no hints!).

35 Bail Out

27 licensed personnel resigned, 8 retired. It’s starting early this year. Hopefully the board’s actions on prep and high school schedules will slow this down.

Young Jeff Tom

…addressed the board asking why he was not allowed to speak at Smith Lake’s graduation this year. Parents had requested the Navajo Nation Council Delegate as a speaker, and Principal Chris Hansen had disapproved the request citing Tom’s recent conviction of vehicular homicide in tribal court. Hansen argued his right under school board policy, and J.R. expressed concern of the administration usurping the will of the parents. And you think teaching isn’t political?

Street Talk

--MCFUSE finds it ironic that the school board and a truckload of administrators used operational funds to take off for a retreat in Santa Fe to discuss the shortage of operational funds. Duhh!

-- At the April state school board meeting NM State School Board Vice-President Marshall Berman read MCFUSE’s letter exposing the administration’s plan to “shell-game” low performing students out of Church Rock’s model school after the 40-day count next year. Ed Monaghan told Berman MCFUSE was wrong, and low performing kids would not be involuntarily transferred. Payton then called Berman to personally discuss how the administration plans to do this via mandated parent involvement as a condition of enrollment.

--Last weekend our state federation endorsed Bill Richardson for Governor, Patty Lundstrom for House District 9 Rep, and Fannie Atcitty for District 5 State School Board Member.

--The buses are still busted, security on them is still needed—the two promised the school board have been dropped, some newly hired teachers still get paid $7,000 more than veteran teachers, and the district reports teacher turnover fluctuating from 25% to 33%. And the beat goes on….

Eyes on the Board

15 April 2002

Tohatchi Middle School

Prep for Elementary --- Assistants Take Cuts --- Church Rock Teachers Canned --- 12 Teachers Chopped --- Tohatchi Mid Parents Blown Off --- Bye-bye Richard

Absent: J.R. Thompson

Prep Plus Longer Day

Dr Carla Lewis presented her plan to give every teacher a prep. Elementary and Middle will get a full 60 minutes, High School will keep its 90 minutes. Everyone will work a full 8-hour day, for example, 7:50 to 3:50. (When we had a union contract, Elementary worked 6.5 hours and Secondary worked 7 hours.) High School teachers will get another 45 minutes of instructional time added. The music, PE, and Navajo teachers needed to make this work at Elementary will come from federal funds.

More Cuts

The Elementary and Secondary Education Act forbids using federal funds for nonacademic personnel. At risk funds will have to fund these areas. Hence seven liaisons cut, plus two health assistants and twelve Elementary tutors. Health assistants will work a four-day week. SFA Facilitators lose ten days off their contract. All schools lose their Title VII, VIII, and JOM allocations.

Note: These above plans were not voted on. Annie moved it be discussed at the upcoming Retreat. JOM suspense to Navajo Nation is 30 April.

Church Rock

The board voted 3-0-1 to reconstitute CRE. All teachers must reapply for their jobs. Annie abstained. At the last parent meeting 29 attended. Interpreter Leonard Haskie stated the parents had a good sense of humor about the plan.

12 Teachers Denied Re-employment

The most any one school had were two. MCFUSE will continue to lobby the legislature for legal protection against arbitrary firings.

Tohatchi Mid SIPT Books Cooked

According to parent Nadine Bitsie, the parents voted 21-2 for field trip funds, the principal later stated Dolly Begay disapproved them, but Dolly claims she did not. Dr. Lewis will investigate and report in writing. MCFUSE will report on the results.

Recruiter Richard Johnson Retires

The last two years Johnson was noted for starting both years 50 teachers short, muffing the Turpen phony child abuse incident, trying to fire a Navajo liaison without notice, and bashing Gallup as a bad place to live in the press.

Street Talk

Dr. Lewis’s claim that Elementary teachers love her 121-grade report card was refuted by MCFUSE on KYVA/KTHR. Teachers at ten schools were contacted, and none had seen it or particularly liked it.

The buses are still busted, security on them is still needed, some newly hired teachers still get paid more than veteran teachers, and the district reports teacher turnover fluctuating from 25% to 33%.

Eyes on the Board

1 Apr 02

Central Office

Dr. Lewis Unchained!! More paperwork and uncompensated duties for teachers next year…

1. School Board Attendance

Licensed Personnel—Another big loss
On the Road Again—another DC trip
Classified employees canned
Distance learning questioned
Central Office Elementary
Lewis whacks traveling teachers with trip reports
Lewis whacks elementary teachers with new report card—121 grades per student
Lewis whacks teachers with uncompensated sponsor duties
IBPS steals MCFUSE ideas
Potpourri—miscellaneous comments
Between Board Meetings—Ed and Gomez buffalo Church Rock parents—JR running for state school board—Gomez “mistruth” corrected on radio—Next year’s school computer allocations
The Ostrich Report—What board doesn’t do sometimes more harmful

1. Attendance

Present:

Superintendent Robert Gomez

JR Thompson, President

Dr. Bruce Tempest, Vice President

Annie Descheny, Secretary

Bill Bright, Member

Absent: None

Manuel Shirleson, Member

2. Licensed Personnel—One hire, seven resignations, four retirements plus Onate principal. SHEILA SIEVERS is retiring, a MCFUSE leader of many years in many capacities. Sheila was lead budget expert for the union, finding money to fund prep for elementary teachers (won in arbitration, rejected by school board), Dorothy’s number one confidant, and one of the main federation members to keep Tom somewhat on track. Congratulations on your acceptance into law school!

3. On the Road Again—This time it’s Dolly Begay to DC April 20-21.

4. Classified employees reviewed for next year—of 989 reviewed, 7 not recommended for re-employment.

5. Bruce asked for a report on distance learning, noting that we spent a lot of money on it and there should be some accountability at least in the form of a summary report.

6. Church Rock parent meeting briefed by Gomez. He admitted he wished it went better. Parents did not understand the presentation. Annie heard there was a problem with interpretation, demanded a better interpreter. She suggested Leonard Haskie. Couple more meetings planned. (No mention made of the shell game the district plans for CRE slow learners—transfer them to Indian Hills, Thoreau, and Smith Lake after the 40-day count so there scores wash out of the system. The school board is in the dark on this, and most parents don’t know about it either.)

7. Dr. Carla Lewis wants teachers limited in attending conferences—no more than two per school at one time. Plus she wants them to make written trip reports and report back to other teachers. She wanted Gomez to have authority to override this policy, but Annie nixed it, claiming Gomez couldn’t be trusted not to play favorites. Bruce suggested that central office administrators also be accountable and make similar trip reports, noting there are a lot of central office trips. (Backfire! Lets watch and see if Bruce’s idea gets nailed to the backburner.)

8. Lewis presented the “elementary mastery report card” from Los Alamos. She proposed it or something similar for next year. It has 19 “life learning” grades and 102 academic grades aligned with standards. MCFUSE pointed out that there will be no time for teaching while students are testing to fill grades in all these squares each quarter. Lewis said, “It will not be burdensome to staff.” Bill and Bruce supported the new report card that gives four grades ranging from Beginner to Extending. Annie spoke up for teachers and students, stating that teachers need to teach more and test less.

9. Not content to leave teachers alone, Lewis had Chee Dodge Principal Danny Smith brief her IBPS ideas on welcoming new teachers. If the board approves this at a later date, returning teachers will have to act as sponsors to incoming teachers—help them find a place to live, get a post office box, etc. This work will be uncompensated and done without release time.

10. Danny went on to brief that someone in central office should be concerned with retention. (Nice to know someone is listening to MCFUSE.) He then briefed his plan to train new teachers in Navajo cultural awareness. Annie asked if he talked with any Navajos about this, he said no. (In 1999 MCFUSE talked with the Dine’ Division of Education. They recommended we adopt a program similar to what Ganado was doing—a one week orientation paid for with federal funds. Teacher turnover in this isolated part of the reservation was lower than our district’s 25%; DDE attributed this partly to this program. MCFUSE proposed it as part of collective bargaining—you guessed it, door slammed.)

11. Potpourri— After Gomez passed out various monthly recognition awards, Annie proposed some way of putting a few dollars in teacher pockets as a form of recognition. Even if it was only $15 or $20, she stated teachers should be appreciated. Bill proposed that all teacher SFA trips stop, Annie disagreed, recognizing the value in teachers meeting with teachers from other SFA districts. Carla again lowered her voice when speaking to the school board, preventing the public from hearing what was being briefed. (The last time was at Church Rock when she pushed through the harassment policy, even though many Navajo speaking parents in the district were denied the opportunity to learn about it. This incident was reported to the State Attorney General as a violation of the Open Meetings Act. The state concurred that the audience should be able to hear the meeting.)

12. Between Board Meetings

ü The administration went to Church Rock Elementary to present its plan for reconstituting Church Rock into a model school. At no time was any parent input accepted into the plan. Before the end of the briefing about 70% of the people walked out. Dr. Monaghan did state that Church Rock had progressed, but failed to indicate how much, leading people to believe that only the model plan could save Church Rock from a takeover by Edison Schools. (Church Rock’s probationary points are now lower than five other GMCS elementary schools and tied with three others. This moved them from last of twenty schools to tied for twelfth. Ed dismissed the remarkable progress of the students and teachers as not good enough.) Neither Ed nor Gomez explained how students who do not test well will be involuntarily transferred midyear to Smith Lake, Thoreau, or Indian Hills. This fact came out when third grade teacher Ed Murphy insisted Gomez answer the question, pointing out that he had refused to answer it to the staff.

ü Wally Davis is stepping down from the state school board, and JR Thompson is running for the position as is local county commissioner Ben Shelly. Ben is known by MCFUSE for recommending to the Eastern Navajo Nation Council to not support teacher efforts to keep collective bargaining in 1999. When the issue came before the school board, JR abstained, refusing to support school board members Joe De La O, Annie Descheny, and Manuel Shirleson in their anti-union move. Also running is Fanny Atcitty (sp?), of which little is known by MCFUSE at this point.

ü Regarding Gomez’s previous radio comments about his right to fire teachers without giving a reason: MCFUSE went on the radio explaining that No, Mr. Gomez, state law requires you to cite a cause when recommending a teacher for discharge. The text of state statute chapter 22-10-7 A (2) was sent to all school board members with a comment about how providing false information to the public has a negative effect on the district’s image.

ü MCFUSE recently obtained a copy of next year’s computer allocations for each school. This is the list Annie asked for on February 4^th. Samford charges a buck per page, but we’ll send a copy to members, principals, and anyone who asks for free

13. The Ostrich Report (or “We Need a Bigger Bucket of Sand”)

ü Busted buses— not discussed: SDE’s finding that two thirds of our school buses should not be on the road and that GMCS has the worse safety record in New Mexico. (When a busload of kids crashes into a speeding freight train, maybe then it will be discussed.)

ü Elementary prep—Gomez’s claim that the teachers want him to decide how to “fix preps” remains unchallenged by the board. MCFUSE’s plan is simple: give elementary teachers a prep, and leave the high schools alone. (And yes, Virginia, there is money in the budget to do this.)

ü School bus drug use and violence is still okay as the board again refused to address this item.

ü Some newly-hired teachers are still making up to $7,000 more than previously–hired teachers with equal experience and education as the board again failed to keep their promise to remedy this inequity.

ü Teacher mismanagement. High turnover (1/4), low experience levels, and the high rate (1/5) of unlicensed teachers were again not discussed.

18 Mar 02
Central Office

“Teachers deserve more money. This isn’t giving them any.” School board member comment about IBPS report on teacher salaries, 18 March 2002.

1. School Board Attendance
2. Licensed Personnel—4 to 6 loss.
3. On the Road Again—Viva Las Vegas—AGAIN!
4. Busted school buses—Gomez two quarts low.
5. Zero salary hike—or: Samford’s tax bracket too high.
6. Church Rock takeover—School board removes wax from Gomez’s ears.
7. New school—Central Office Elementary
8. Wah-wah—more SDE whining from the Supe.
9. Between Board Meetings—Gomez gets it wrong— Gold toilet flushed—Two-thirds of buses redlined by state—Fired Turpen teacher still in the news—Gubernatorial candidate learns of dangerous buses
10. The Ostrich Report—What board doesn’t do sometimes more harmful.

1. Attendance
Present:
Superintendent Robert Gomez
JR Thompson, President
Dr. Bruce Tempest, Vice President
Annie Descheny, Secretary
Bill Bright, Member
Manuel Shirleson, Member
Absent: None

2. Licensed Personnel—3 resigned, 3 retired, 4 hired, plus Tohatchi Elem principal retires. Mary and Richard Trujillo from Thoreau High and Thoreau Mid were two of the retirees—sad to see two of the district’s best teachers leave…Happy trails!

3. On the Road Again—David goes to Raleigh, NC, 19-20 March. Dolly goes to Denver, 21-23 March, then Vegas, 3-6 April…just in time for the Flying Elvis’s, Idaho Chapter.

4. Busted buses—they’re just low on windshield fluid, or at least that’s what Gomez told the school board as he confused two separate inspections. He told the board about a recent state transportation department’s planned inspection. The newspaper article and McBreen radio interview referred to the no-notice inspection from the state department of education that found two thirds of our buses too dangerous to drive. The same inspection also found one out of five buses to have bad brakes. MCFUSE President Tom Payton explained this to Gomez after the meeting. No guarantee he understood.

5. Zero salary hike—teachers and other employees will see only a step increase next year, according to employee representative John Samford. John spoke for the interest-based problem solving (IBPS) team as he presented a report for school board approval. Annie protested, asking, “Why are we approving this? Teachers deserve more money. This isn’t giving them any.” Annie went on to protest that approving this may block any chance for a raise should money become available. The IBPS plan passed 3-1-1 with Manuel, Bill, and Bruce approving the salary freeze, Annie voting no, and J.R. abstaining. Besides being an official employee representative on the IBPS, John is also the assistant superintendent of business services. John makes $74,374 a year, up from $65,442 two years ago when he started on the IBPS. The average teacher makes $34,335, up from $32,107 two years ago.

6. Church Rock takeover—Gomez is still pushing his magnet school idea, except now he is back to calling it a model school. Once again, Annie asked if he talked to parents. Once again, the answer was no. That makes three times Annie asked that parents be talked with, and three times Gomez said no. (Too bad this ain’t baseball.) This time Manuel, J.R., and even Bruce suggested that Gomez talk with parents. Gomez’s plan for the new “Central Office Elementary School” was deferred upon a 5-0 vote until Gomez talks with the parents—oh yeah, and shows where he’s going to get the money.

7. Central Office Elementary—the new model-magnet-model school that Gomez wants to replace Church Rock—will have some interesting rules. Direct quotes from the plan to reconstitute (that means fire everyone and only hire back whoever):

a. 45-60 minute daily prep
b. 8.0 hour day
c. paid on a daily rate for 200 days
d. all extra assignments to be shared by staff w/o extra stipend
e. performance pay of $3,000 if school performance goals are met (Annie raised a concern: “We have some good teachers that should be recognized, not just at one school that the state is getting ready to take over.”)
f. Great Teachers Never Sit Down During Instruction
g. Dress code: khaki pants/skirt and polo shirt or equivalent (teachers and students).
h. SFA, Fred Jones, Saxon Math
i. Students must attend school 97% or more
j. Parents must support 30 minutes of reading per night at home
k. Parents must attend teacher conferences each 45 days
l. Parents must contribute four hours per month to school activities.
m. Revising report card to standards based (remember this? Instead of one grade for math, teachers must give five. MCFUSE helped kill this two years ago—and probably made some salesman mad).

8. Wah-wah— This time it was about SDE’s involvement in our tuition arrangement with Arizona. Another crying towel issue in the ongoing feud…

9. Between Board Meetings

· At the 4 March board meeting Gomez claimed it was the teachers union that lobbied against the bill to allow districts to negotiate their own dental and vision insurance. On 9 March MCFUSE asked NMFEE President Christine Trujillo if this was true. It was not. According to Christine, NEA-NM was also innocent of lobbying against this bill. MCFUSE sent a letter to all board members informing them of Gomez’s false statement.

· Plans for the Technology Center Director’s $200,000 private restroom mysteriously went “bye-bye.” Two of the central office sources changed their stories after a reporter from the Independent showed up at the Technology Center to investigate the project. H’mmm….wonder who could have tipped off the press?

· On March 13th the Independent ran an article on two thirds of our school buses being redlined by the state director of transportation. Our buses were determined to be the most dangerous in the state, and this problem is at least several years old. The administration claimed that because of our bad roads we have bad brakes on our buses.

· Fired Turpen teacher Mike Warren remained in the news as Millennium Media’s John McBreen continued to report on the wrongful firing. Superintendent Gomez went on the air to claim that in New Mexico he can fire any teacher anytime without telling them why.

· Gubernatorial candidate Gary King visited with MCFUSE teachers and friends on March 14th at Liquid Assetts. As part of the members meeting, he learned that two thirds of our school buses were grounded by SDE’s transportation director.

10. The Ostrich Report

· Elementary prep—Gomez’s claim that the teachers want him to decide how to “fix preps” remains unchallenged by the board. MCFUSE’s plan is simple: give elementary teachers a prep, and leave the high schools alone. (And yes, Virginia, there is money in the budget to do this.)

· School bus violence and drug use is still okay as the board again refused to address this item.

· Some newly-hired teachers are still making up to $7,000 more than previously–hired teachers with equal experience and education as the board again fails to keep their promise to remedy this inequity.

· Teacher mismanagement. High turnover (1/4), low experience levels, and the high rate (1/5) of unlicensed teachers were again not discussed.

Interesting School Board Quotes

“We’ve got to turn those teachers around. Our kids need quality teachers. That’s my statement. Don’t question it, just write it down.” February 19th 2002.

“More and more I’m thinking I’m just a rubberstamp.” February 19, 2002.

“I’m tired of being the laughingstock of New Mexico.” September 4, 2001.

“When are they going to start teaching?” September 4, 2001.

4 Mar 02

Central Office

“More and more I’m thinking I’m just a rubberstamp.” February 19, 2002.

School Board Attendance
Licensed Personnel—3-3
On the Road Again—Big shots fly south for the winter
Elementary Prep—Teachers want Gomez to decide
Local Docs Want More Teacher Money
Church Rock Fight
Navajo Prez Slow Learner
Gomez Shuts Up Tempest
More Bad Teachers—Ed briefs Junior High and NMHSCE
Annie Blasts ED
Between Board Meetings—Girl raped at Gallup Junior High—Teacher attacked by student--Two-thirds of buses redlined by state—Bye-bye prep time at high schools—David’s $200K toilet—PTO burns teacher at stake.
The Ostrich Report—What board doesn’t do sometimes more harmful.

1. Attendance

Present:

Superintendent Robert Gomez

JR Thompson, President

Dr. Bruce Tempest, Vice President

Annie Descheny, Secretary

Bill Bright, Member

Absent:

Manuel Shirleson, Member

2. Licensed Personnel—Two resignations, three new hires. Gallup High Teacher Extraordinaire Bruce Potts retires. We’ll miss ya!

3. On the Road Again—Snowbirds Gomez, Carla, Bev, Esther, and Dolly will be in Phoenix, March 7-9. Bev is also going to Tucson, March 17-20. Larry Linford will be in Washington, DC, March 16-23.

4. Elementary Prep—Gomez said that the IBPS couldn’t reach a consensus, and that they wanted “us” to decide—“us” being central office and the school board. One brave elementary principal offered to discuss this issue, but Gomez immediately told her not to. He said this would be presented next month. Gomez stated the teachers had animosity when one group gets something and another doesn’t, and that they were in the last four minutes and agreed upon a solution when everything broke down

5. Teachers lose more money—Local dentists and optometrists showed up to listen to District 5 Rep Patty Lundstrom and GMCS lobbyist Steve Kennedy provide a legislative update. Patty was successful in getting the legislature and governor to sign the more lucrative HUD funding for teacherages—a good idea Gomez initiated based on his conversations with Arizona school officials. However, the city/county/school district plan to opt out of the state’s dental and vision plan while keeping the medical was shot down. Several doctors showed up to badmouth Davis Vision and Concordia, and stated they won’t go with them. Kennedy and Gomez blamed lobbyist Paul Broom and the teachers union for killing it. MCFUSE asked if there was anything presented that supported the insurance industry’s claim that Gallup doctors charge more? Kennedy and one doctor said no. MCFUSE sent an e-mail to our state teacher “fedrep” after the meeting to verify the insurance industry’s alleged claim that Gallup dentists and optometrists charge more. MCFUSE’s concern is that if we get the okay for central office to buy dental and vision insurance, will it be more expensive to pay for the higher rates our local doctors allegedly charge?

6. Church Rock—JR and Annie blasted Gomez because parents are being left out of the decision to turn Church Rock into a magnet school. Annie asked what has been done to contact parents since the last board meeting on 19 Feb. Gomez said he talked with one community person who was supposed to set up meetings. He also said he planned to talk with Church Rock teachers.

7. Navajo President Kelsey Begaye met with district officials last Thursday. Gomez stated that he thinks he finally understands the impact aid issue. The “word on the street” is that the meeting digressed into another Marx Brothers shouting match—just like our school board meetings.

8. Dr Bruce Tempest asked if he could add an agenda item. Gomez said no. Bruce said he has been trying to get this item on for some time. Gomez said next time.

9. More Bad Teachers—Dr Ed Monaghan once again blasted teachers for not following central office’s Writing in Focus program. This is part of the reason why our older kids aren’t learning. This time Ed spread the blame out and whacked all teachers, but again focused on middle school. Ed stated that if all middle schools were like Gallup Mid, we wouldn’t have this problem. Ed also briefed that only 45% of sophomores passed the NMHSCE, down from about 67%. He blamed Santa Fe for raising the standards. At previous school board meetings it was briefed that the NMHSCE is written at an eighth grade level.

10. Annie asked Ed what he was doing to help the students. Ed said he visits schools to present specific improvement plans based on his research, and that he was going to Crownpoint the next day.

11. Between Board Meetings

ü A 15-year old girl was allegedly raped in a Gallup Junior High class while the teacher stepped out for a coke. See the 14 January Independent, two star edition. The administration promised not to sweep this under the rug.

ü The word on the street is a student attacked a teacher at Gallup Junior High when the teacher tried to break up a fight. MCFUSE is researching to find out how many days the student was suspended—rumor has it 45. Also, was a police report filed, or was this swept under the rug?

ü Out of 33 buses inspected by SDE during the week of January 14, 23 were placed out-of-service for safety violations. Seven of the buses were grounded for brake problems. Out-of-service violations include bald tires, broken lights, seats, etc. One bus remains out-of-service as of 25 February.

ü How do you placate elementary teachers who want a prep? Cut the prep for high school teachers in half, and call it equity. That’s what the IBPS team is proposing. Now everybody has equal low morale. Why not just give elementary teachers a real prep? MCFUSE showed them in the 1998 budget how this was doable.

ü On February 27^th MCFUSE visited the site of the Technology Center Director’s $200,000 private restroom. The restroom will be adjacent to existing restrooms, but will have a special wall built to restrict access by common employees. MCFUSE will investigate the details of the design and construction materials to learn why the cost is so high.

ü The David Skeet Elementary PTO Meeting on 28 Feb filled the gym. Two parents spoke out against the teacher previously reported in the Independent. Several community leaders spoke out in favor of treating the teacher fairly, letting him tell his side in a fair investigation. One community leader said that parents need to accept more responsibility for their children. Many people attacked the principal as being unfriendly, uncommunicative, and incompetent. Gomez tried to placate the crowd, but Annie fired them up by calling for the principal’s transfer. Payton asked that the professional process be used, not the political process. He also pointed out that hearsay shouldn’t be used to fire anyone. Ethel Manuelito also spoke, and it was decided she would reinvestigate the allegations.

12. The Ostrich Report

ü School bus violence and drug use is still okay as the board again refused to address this item.

ü Some newly-hired teachers are still making up to $7,000 more than previously–hired teachers with equal experience and education as the board again fails to keep their promise to remedy this inequity.

ü Teacher mismanagement. High turnover (1/4), low experience levels, and the high rate (1/5) of unlicensed teachers were again not discussed.

Interesting School Board Quotes

“We’ve got to turn those teachers around. Our kids need quality teachers. That’s my statement. Don’t question it, just write it down.” School Board Member, February 19^th 2002.

“I’m tired of being the laughingstock of New Mexico.” September 4, 2001.

“When are they going to start teaching?” September 4, 2001.

19 Feb 02

Juan de Onate

“More and more I’m thinking I’m just a rubberstamp.” GMCS School Board Member, February 19^th, 2002.

School Board Attendance
Licensed Personnel
On the Road Again—Viva Las Vegas
CTBS Scores Kept Hushed Up
Another Church Rock Miracle Midnight Solution
$200K Bathroom for David
Parent Boycott of Skeet Elem
Annie sends Ed to PTO Meetings
Annie Fights Nepotism
Mid School Teachers Need More Paperwork
Wah-wah
Between Board Meetings—Teacher fired by rubberstamp board----Dr Ed pulls a Clinton in test cheating scandal.
The Ostrich Report—What board doesn’t do sometimes more harmful.

1. Attendance

Present:

Superintendent Robert Gomez

JR Thompson, President

Dr. Bruce Tempest, Vice President

Annie Descheny, Secretary (left early)

Bill Bright, Member

Absent:

Manuel Shirleson, Member

2. Licensed Personnel—One resignation, six new hires. Danny Smith transfers to principal slot at Chee Dodge.

3. On the Road Again—Freshly returned from its February 6-9 Las Vegas trip with Gomez, the board approved out-of-state travel for another junket—this time to Washington DC, April 19-24. Also, Gomez to New York City, April 2-6. (4 Feb actions)

4. During the Gallup Mid SIPT Annie blasted Gomez for waiting a full year to report to the board individual school CTBS scores. Central office administrators stood by in silence as they let the principal explain the process of reporting to the board.

5. The latest save-Church-Rock-hat-trick is to turn it into a magnet school. Gomez said we could try to work with the community, maybe mandate they spend more time with the kids. He listed a bunch of other central office ideas. Annie suggested he might want to talk to the parents. Gomez said he already talked with two, and the board needed to act fast. Motion passed 4-0.

6. The board voted 3-1 to “rubberstamp” a list of 20% money. Included was $200,000 for Tech Center bathrooms. Only Annie objected.

7. Annie mentioned that David Skeet Elementary School parents are talking about boycotting the school.

8. “How many PTO meetings have you attended?” asked Annie of Dr. Ed Monaghan. Annie expressed her concern that Ed attends them in the future, pointing out that communication between central office administrators and parents was a major problem in our district.

9. Annie spoke out against nepotism when discussing the 2 mil project list and the administration’s frequent use of the phrase “district wide” when documenting expenditures. Annie asked for specific, by-school expenditures as a safeguard against nepotism. She had eight items pulled off the list pending school board review of the expenditures. The list was then approved 4-0.

10. Mid school teachers need to do more paperwork to make sixth grade children read better, according to Ed’s report on CTBS scores. Ed did not look at factors such as transition to a secondary level school, substance abuse, violence, lack of hearing authority support, dropout figures, unlicensed teachers, unfilled positions, teacher experience levels, and teacher turnover when documenting the decline in sixth grade reading levels. He recommended teachers do more data analysis, document more Writing In Focus editing skills, prove they are implementing language arts standards, and learn how to teach reading. JR concurred, stating that the administration has “got to turn those teachers around.”

11. Wah-wah. Gomez read another long letter criticizing SDE, this time for wanting to implement a state curriculum. Bill Bright referred to this as part of the “ongoing feud” and Gomez cried unfair. Gomez’s letter argued for local curriculum development. Does our district even have a curriculum? Last time MCFUSE asked, central office handed over a copy of the standards and said, “Same thing.”

12. Between Board Meetings

· On 12 February the board met to discharge a Turpen Elementary teacher who refused to file a false report of child abuse. The board admitted in an interview with the Independent that they just did what the administration wanted. For more details, see “How to Fire a Teacher” elsewhere on this website.

· Both KYVA and the Independent reported the latest cheating scandal on state assessments. This time it was Gallup High and Thoreau High, and the test was the New Mexico High School Competency Exam. By reversing the test sequence, students were able t