Super. Selection Process Irks Some

    There will be some personnel changes when the Española School District’s new year begins Aug. 16, but not everyone is happy about it.        Some faculty and staff members said they questioned the Board’s lack of a transparent selection process involving stakeholders in the hiring of the District’s top administrator.

    Former Questa Superintendent Eric Martinez was chosen by a 4-0 vote by the Board at a special meeting, May 31, and was offered a $130,000 per year contract, for two years, starting Monday.

    Martinez will earn $10,000 more than his predecessor, Bobbie Gutierrez, and his salary is higher than many of his counterparts in the region.

    According to public records made available by New Mexico School Board Association Region 2 District members, Mesa Vista Consolidated Schools District Superintendent Ernesto Valdez earned $98,000 in School Year 2015-16, Jemez Mountain School District’s Manuel Medrano earned $107,151.90 and Chama Valley Schools Superintendent Anthony Casados was paid $103,000.     

    According to salary.com, a website which tracks salary information for public officials and industries, the median annual salary for a school superintendent is $149,124 as of May 31, 2016, with a range usually between $121,807 to $179,940.

No formal process

    Board member Ruben Archuleta disputed Board President Pablo Lujan’s claim that the Board chose the former Chama Valley School District administrator and director of operations collectively.

    Archuleta said not only was he not included in the selection process and did not find out Martinez was being considered for the position until a week prior to the special meeting May 31. However, he still voted in favor of appointing him because he did not want Martinez to start his tenure on a negative note.

    He said for the sake of continuity, the Board decided to grant Martinez a two-year contract but he said he was not happy with the lack of a structured process.

    “It felt rushed,” Archuleta said. “We should have taken our time, even if it takes a year, if that’s what it takes to find the right person for the position.”

    Lujan told an Albuquerque TV reporter, June 2, that someone recommended Martinez to him based on his previous experience as an administrator, but he could not recall who made the suggestion.

    He did not return calls to comment on who suggested Martinez, but District Human Resources Director Esther Romero confirmed that Martinez’s selection did not follow typical hiring procedures like having a search committee in place.

    “The one hire they can make is that of a superintendent,” she said. “The Board, at their discretion, can interview and hire anybody they choose. Once they have made their selection, that person has to go through the new hire procedure like any other District employee.” 

    Martinez did not return calls regarding the Board’s selection or to comment on when and how he was approached by Board members about the position.

    According to Martinez’s resume provided by the District, he served in multiple administrative positions from 2001 to 2006 at the Cobre Consolidated School District, as superintendent at Questa from 2008 to 2011, and most recently as director of operations at both Pojoaque Valley School District and Chama Valley Independent Schools.

    John Sena, an English instructor at the high school, said it was disappointing to faculty and staff that pleas to Lujan and Board members to involve them in the process of selecting the District superintendent fell on deaf ears.

    “What it is, is it stinks of politics,” he said. “I think that’s pretty clear to anyone who has been here. It was the same with (Bobbie) Gutierrez and (former superintendent) Danny Trujillo before her. It’s important the public understands that the Board has not successfully completed a hiring process in close to 10 years.”

    Sena said the Board’s failure to involve the community was tantamount to spitting on the faces of their constituents.

    Board member Yolanda Salazar said she was disappointed she was not able to participate in the process.

    “I had mentioned to Board President Lujan that Tuesday was going to be a very busy work night,” she said. “It had been originally decided that the decision would not be finalized until Wednesday night, so I don’t know why it was changed.”

    The vote to hire Martinez was taken at the special meeting following an executive session, instead of during the regular Board meeting scheduled for June 1.

    Salazar said she told Lujan and the rest of the Board members she felt they should open the position because following Gutierrez’s dismissal, the teachers said they wanted to have some input in the process. She said she was hoping for an open forum.    

    “I think it’s important to have every Board member present during such an important decision.” she said. “Especially when it came down to deciding the length of the contract. Being a part of it would have been nice.”

    Vice President Lucas Fresquez could not be reached for comment.

    Secretary Annabelle Almager said she was too busy with orientations to comment on the superintendent hire.

    The District also filled the position of principal at Española Valley High School with Tom Graves, but unlike Martinez’s selection, faculty and staff had a hand in choosing the new principal. Graves took over as principal succeeding Leslie Romero-Kilmer, officially on May 31.

    Wilmer Chavarria, a Spanish teacher at the high school concurred with Sena and said he thought there should have been a process in place to include other people besides the Board members in the decision to hire Martinez, although staff were happy with the selection of Graves.

    “There was a process to hire the new principal,” Chavarria said, even if you were not a part of that committee, it feels good to know it was not just an arbitrary decision.”

    He said it was encouraging to see the administration respected the suggestion from high school staff to have a system to pick the new principal, which involved faculty, parents and student representatives.

    “It feels legitimate because we have this stranger coming in, but he was selected in a legitimate way,” he said.