Editor's Note: This is part 2 of two parts of the school board candidates forum.


By Mary Alice Murphy

The Silver and Cobre School Board candidates continued answering questions from the audience at the forum held at the Western New Mexico University J. Cloyd Miller Library on Sunday, Jan. 25.

An audience member asked Trent Petty, candidate to be re-elected to Silver School Board District 3, and to Frances Vasquez, his challenger for District 3, about the articles about the audit and the concerns that the auditor Stone had.

Vasquez said both audits from fiscal years 2012-13 and 2013-14 showed the district was exceeding its budget and there were concerns about the purchasing cards.

"What I know from Stone are two things. One was the concern about credit cards," Petty said. "They were taken up, as almost everyone had one. Now, if someone wants to make a purchase, they have to tell what they are buying and get the card from the principal. The purchase cards were the largest hemorrhaging of the budget. Don't quote me, but I think the spending was cut by 75 percent. Stone also had a concern on our having 1.5 percent in reserves. We need to be at 4 percent to 5 percent. We were charged $48,000 for the pre-test. Stone said the budget and finance department had been transparent on everything, and he got everything he needed."

Janet Wallet-Ortiz, retired WNMU professor, said to Petty that technology is "no panacea. Technology sucks up money into a black hole, but does not create critical thinking skills. Nothing can replace the teacher. Some studies abroad show that use of technology is causing tech dementia. You mentioned money was spent on technology." She said she served on a committee that dipped into reserves, which could cause the state to take over the school. "Put into dollars the amounts that would be the minimum 4 percent."

Petty said: "Four percent would be around $1 million. We are around $400,000 in our $24 million budget. We have taught English, math and science without computers, but we can't teach technology without computers. I agree that the teacher is first and foremost the important part of a classroom, but the fact is that students still need technology. The students know they are behind in technology. We have to keep them competing with the rest of the world. Our son, who is at New Mexico Military Institute, doesn't turn in papers. It's all digital."

Moderator Gabby Begay of WNMU Student Governemnt asked what strategies the candidates would use to keep students here and attending WNMU.

"I want our students to be able to compete with the rest of the world," Petty said. "We have to give them the tools to compete. We are working with Western to move forward to get the Vo-Tech going. I want the ones who want to stay here to be training in whatever area they want. If they want to move somewhere else, we want them prepared. What they want is not necessarily what we want."

Vasquez said she would ask WNMU President Joseph Shepard to partner with the schools to get college students to talk to the high school students about the great college life here.

Frank Cordova, seeking to retain his Cobre District 4 position, said some students have received associate's degrees before they graduated from Cobre. "We are getting the professors to come teach the freshmen and sophomores, and the juniors and seniors can come to classes at the university. We also need electricians and plumbers. We need to get involved in scholarships to Western for our students."

Ralph "Toy" Sepulveda, running to keep his Cobre District 5 seat, said, because he, his wife and two of his daughters are products of Western, he promotes it every chance he gets. "It's a great place to get an education."

Hector Carrillo, candidate for Cobre School Board position 5, said he strongly agreed. "Cobre has a unique partnership with Western. Some kids ask for laptops. We will listen to the students."

Frances Gonzales, challenger for Cobre School Board position 4, said a transition from high school to college is a good idea. "We have students with disabilities. We should go to individual education plans, so their anxiety is not high. One thing I see of students, who want to be teaching, is to work with Western to get what they want. I would also like to see student councils work with Western Student Government."

A woman, who said she is part of Student Government, went to the principal of La Plata. "I see kids bored, doing drugs, having sex. I went back to ask to help work on bullying. Other than that, I had no call back. How do we bring the kids here, if they don't know about it?"

Gonzales said it was sad when the schools don't take advantage of experts. "We had bullying and gang issues. I offered my expertise to get them resolved. We see, with students, suicide, teen pregnancy, drugs. My concern with both districts is that we are forced on state mandates and forget the community. We have so many resources here at Western and so many with expertise. My commitment is to involve the community and use people with expertise."

Sepulveda invited the student, who is part of Student Government, to attend the Cobre School Board meeting Monday evening.

"I apologize if the school did not get back to you," Petty said. "Teachers are on a tight schedule and are expected to teach a certain amount to the students. Mr. Pool explained to me that too many programs request their time. Several people are interested in community involvement in the VoTech."

Felipe Ortego y Gasca, Western professor emeritus, said: "If we want our students to get involved, teach them Spanish, Chinese, Russian and Japanese. I initiated the dual-enrollment with Cobre eight years ago. I've been teaching English I and II at Cobre. I just finished 50 years teaching in higher ed. When I was growing up in San Antonio, Texas, there were three schools, one for native English speakers, one for Blacks, and one for Spanish speakers. I am a fond believer of cultural competence. We really don't know much about other cultures. I connected with people in English, Spanish and Spanglish. Students are being unculturated in white culture."

Sepulveda thanked Ortego for everything he did at Cobre.

From the audience, Eddie Madrid asked what could be done to keep teachers that "we have here now. We have to start with hanging on to the good teachers."

Vasquez said: "We see an exit from the profession. The reason is pressure on teacher evaluations using test scores. Here in Silver, we must make sure the staff is respected and valued and demonstrate it to them. If they are not performing, help them, not harass them into leaving. Use a performance improvement plan to help them."

Cordova noted schools are short teachers everywhere. "They are leaving because of the way they are being treated. The way to influence them is in their pocket. The testing and evaluations are demoralizing, so they leave the profession. If we don't have proper representation upstate, we can't change anything. We will spend a whole day talking to legislators and work for our districts."

Sepulveda noted that teacher retention and recruitment, and the principal evaluation system are more items on the association's platform.

"I've said for four year now, I would lie to see increase in salaries," Petty said. "The state of New Mexico needs to be paying more. School boards are lobbying for a raise."

"Teachers should be part of the lobby," Gonzales said. "The districts need to have someone lobbying for them. You need to spend more than one day. You need to spend the whole session, and you need to get input from the teachers. Give teachers incentives and awards, such as recognition of a teacher of the month, catching them doing something right, instead of something wrong. I can tell you today which teachers had a monumental affect on my life. The state can determine whether a teacher is re-licensed. It's a third party making the decision. That's not right."

Carrillo said one of the biggest problems was the teacher evaluation system. "We need to talk to Santa Fe about a fair evaluation system. We need to evaluate them on the daily work, not on testing scores. We have to give a salary increase, and not just to new teachers, but also to the experienced ones."

Fred Baca, who was recently named to the Western Hall of Fame, said: "Our highest education leader, our governor, wants to give $100 to each teacher. It's a slap in the face. If she gives you a $100 bill, crumple it and throw it back."

Each candidate had a chance to give a closing statement. All thanked the university for hosting the forum and the sponsors for putting it on, and especially the audience for participating.

Carrillo said he has been more involved in the community in the past four years, as a Santa Clara trustee and in the Copper Little League. "We work together with the people. I am young and energetic, some say too energetic. I see this position on the school board, as being a public servant. I urge people to vote."

Petty said the district is moving forward with VoTech. "We are targeting a full-blown program in 2016 to have two career paths. Yes, we are concerned about teachers and salaries. We want for our students to have the tools for a successful life, the tools so they can find the facts and know how to use them, and to do it quickly, because they are competing worldwide."

Gonzales said she was running for the position because, as a taxpayer, she has concerns about fiscal responsibility and transparency. "We need to stop being afraid of every attorney. Everything should be accessible so parents can get information. There should be collaboration between the school board members, the administration and the legislators, so we are working on initiatives before they are pre-filed, so we can get them passed. Community involvement is almost non-existent. Things are so data-driven, we've lost the human element. I will be committed to the position and an active member. I will be a change agent."

Vazquez said: "We can tell by the conversations, that change will be through the ballot box. I will listen to constituents and be dedicated to the students and teachers. I will listen to the public and value their input and opinions."

Cordova thanked the voters, who have kept him in office through the years, and his family. "To all the candidates, this has been a clean campaign. I encourage you to vote for the candidate who will do a god job. My track record is that I serve on the District 8 board and I am concerned about all students. I invite you to look at our remodeled schools, Snell, Hurley and Bayard."

Sepulveda said some of the questions asked by the audience were "enlightening. Get out and vote. Since 1992, I have held every position in the Cobre School Board and have served as vice president of the New Mexico School Board Association. On the legislative platform, we have 89 districts represented and talking to legislators. I would like to keep going the safety, learning opportunities for all and the quality of education."

Early voting has begun through this Friday, and Tuesday, Feb. 3 is the day to vote for the candidate who you, the voter, feel will best serve the students of the two districts.

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