By Margaret Hopper
On January 22, 2015, all four candidates for positions 4 and 5 on Cobre's school board were present at the Performing Arts Center for a forum sponsored by CATS TV/KOOT 88.1 FM Radio and the Silver City Daily Press. Nick Seibel, editor of the Press, moderated the event. Lori Ford, Executive Director of CATS and Stewart McClintic, Press reporter, were on hand to supply questions for the candidates who also answered those written by the audience. The event began shortly after 6:00 p.m. and was videotaped and aired by radio. Seibel promised the write-up would be in the Friday paper, as well.
The four candidates were Frances Gonzalez and Hector Carrillo, challengers for districts 4 and 5, and incumbents Frank Cordova and Toy Sepulveda, incumbents. Each was allowed an opening statement; they used the time to tell of past experience and interest in the positions.
The first question asked if candidates thought the arts were getting enough funding now. All four stressed the importance of the arts for students. Carrillo added that budget realities forced prioritizing funds; Sepulveda said for the budget available, arts were getting a fair share; Gonzalez suggested doing more grant writing for them, and asking from other organizations. Cordova mentioned several limiting factors but said enrollments were picking up and that the mining district helped with needed funding.
The second question asked each to identify the biggest problem for the district and how they would go about fixing it. Sepulveda said declining student enrollments were eating the budget; the state was not doing much about that, and there was really never enough funding. Carrillo said to start at the top and get local control on the board; make its leadership stronger; all the testing was tough on teachers and students.
Cordova said loss of students meant cuts, and the State was sending more unfunded mandates that forced the district to make hard choices. Some of these mandates helped other districts, but not Cobre. Transportation funding cuts really hurt, but these were beyond board control. Gonzalez mentioned a long list of issues, the retention of third graders, PARCC testing, at-risk kids, SPED, outsourced food, among others. She said the board members should increase communications, have more forums, call legislators, hold officials accountable and exhaust all avenues.
Regarding the recent change in the Food Service structure, Cordova said the board had studied the problem for years and was trying this new plan. Factors were that some schools had cooking facilities while others must be served from them; meals running to Hurley got cold, and meeting federal and state guidelines was hard, but all employees had been retained in the change. He would wait for the evaluations to come in and decisions would follow.
Gonzalez questioned the contracting and whether employees would remain hired in the future; minor problems like uniforms and bargaining issues were on her list, too. Carrillo said his daughters enjoyed the choices they now had. Sepulveda stressed that not one employee had been laid off in the change; kids now have choices, and even his picky-eating grandson was willing to eat there. With all the government mandates, better solutions might be hard to find. The rules had changed.
In answer to the question of why they were running and what skills and abilities they "brought to the table," Sepulveda said his board experience since 1992 and positions on state school board committees were important to him and he wanted to stay on those committees. Carrillo said that as an experienced public servant, (trustee on the board of Santa Clara) and his extensive acquaintance with over 400 kids in the summer athletics program, he wanted to be a voice for the community and bring local control to the board.
Gonzalez spoke of experience with boards, detention center and judicial work, interests in veteran's affairs, school violence and bullying issues, and other agencies and boards of many kinds. She said she wanted to add a website and work with parents' questions. Cordova said he was concerned with student achievement and internal problems. Most boards lacked enough training, as the state only mandated 5 hours a year, but 30 hours were possible, he said; Cobre had once been first in the state but was now down about the middle. He wanted to use his 28 years of board experience to bring it back up.
As Cobre might be the only school, which had a student representative on the board, the next question was whether this representative was taken seriously, and how this person was used. Carrillo affirmed that the student brought information to the board and these ideas were considered. Sepulveda said the representative and three more from other classes, "the Super Four," met with the superintendent monthly. They also had assignments, such as running surveys to advise the board on things like the cafeteria problem or backpack issues. Sometimes they might go the Santa Fe legislative session. Gonzalez said she thought the experience was good and wanted to know how they were chosen.
Should board members do fundraisers to help pay their own expenses? There was general agreement that this could be a good thing. Cordova showed concern for how to do it as the mining district had so few businesses, and these were already heavily pressured; Sepulveda figured the school fundraisers alone asked about $10,000 from them annually. Carrillo noted that more was expected and there was less to do with. Yet, he saw the need for serious board training, and it took money to go for it.
After a brief intermission, the next question called in the consolidation issue. That bomb was explored but candidates didn't think much of it. Another question of rising administrative costs with lower enrollments brought varying responses. Cordova pointed to unfunded mandates; Gonzalez saw a trend; Sepulveda saw more and more duties requiring more administrative help. Carrillo said if you can't keep good teachers, you can't keep students. Most pointed to government requirements impacting schools.
Lori Ford of CATS questioned how to improve oversight to prevent loss of potential income. All stressed the need for careful watching. Cordova added that boards could advise the superintendent, but not look into the duties of other staff. Overstepping one's authority meant a fast response from the state. McClintic asked about technology and if it was up to date. Carrillo mentioned the constant upgrading and costs, but knew his daughters used and needed it. Cordova pointed to improvements at Central Elementary, Snell and Bayard, saying their technology should be adequate. Gonzalez thought of additional uses for computers.
Regarding the failing grades for Bayard and Central from the state, the general response was what the guidelines were; they pointed to confusing answers even from (Education Secretary Designate Hanna) Skandera at state level. Carrillo said it wasn't working and it couldn't be explained. Sepulveda asked how A's and B's one year could be D's and F's the next, when nothing had really changed in how students were taught. On the question of a rising truancy rate, Sepulveda told what the board was doing with information; Gonzalez and Carrillo pointed to JPO work and cooperation; Cordova noted that truancy was not a board duty, but they were trying to learn what would affect that rise. One idea was a 4-day school week, and they were studying that, too.
Each candidate told of budget experience in their past work or with organizations. Next question was about improving the grounds, especially the tennis area. Gonzalez, Cordova and Sepulveda looked at reasons and budget restrictions; Carrillo suggested the student rep could help with student solutions. And what did each hope to accomplish in the next four years? Cordova hoped for all A's in achievement. Gonzalez looked for community relationships and more funding. Sepulveda wanted a graduation rate of 100 percent and the A's for schools. Carrillo spoke of local control for the board and communications.
Closing statements were about thanks for all who were supporting their election work, their open door policies and getting out the vote. Seibel noted that the night's forum work would be in newspapers and on air, on CATS and that people should be getting the information and be sure to vote. The forum lasted over two hours.