The new APS School Board has only been seated for 2 ½ weeks. So far, an extensive agenda for a special meeting on Jan 11, 2024, requiring an Executive Session that lasted close to midnight has occurred. This was followed by a Working Session, on Jan 16, 2024, where the School Board was given presentations by the different departments and functions of APS. This was around 5 hours. The next day a regular School Board meeting was held on Jan 17, 2024, with a standard agenda. It appears the new School Board has a plate full of items to deal with.
They started with full transparency which is greatly appreciated by the community. However, the elephant in the room is when all of the agenda items from the Jan 11 Special Meeting will be addressed.
The Alamogordo community, parents, students, and all employees of APS are still waiting for issues to be resolved. These are not small matters. People’s lives and careers hang in the balance. It is accepted that full resolution will take time but that’s what makes it incumbent on the School Board to continue their initial transparency with statements and actions. Everyone deserves due process. Everyone deserves a timely resolution. Remember, not that many people attend the meetings or watch on YouTube. Communication is most critical through every means possible.
The previous School Board appeared to be “guided or captured” by their law firm. The School Board appeared to be only taking a defensive posture after incidents were mishandled – not prevented. This was a major disservice to employees and the community due to many lawsuits being filed against APS for apparent abuse of procedures. This could have been prevented, but instead, the previous School Board and the Superintendent ALLOWED this abuse of procedures to continue acting like bystanders. Now the new School Board has to resolve these cases and make a good-faith effort to change many things so this does not happen again.
Many problems were allowed to continue and fester and now we all will be paying the price. It needs to stop now. This profoundly affects the ability to hire employees. Get operations and decisions back on track to the benefit of students, parents, employees, and teachers. The method is by transparency, communication, and action. Known serious problems exist and must be corrected so procedures do not slip into the “business as usual” that was so detrimental to all areas of the education system in Alamogordo. Education needs to focus on teaching the basics too. This is sorely lacking.
After the election was won for the three new School Board members, each had a vision and plans that they felt needed addressing immediately – solutions to existing problems. The community is hopeful about the plans for change and improvement. School Board members, please do not get sidetracked by shiny objects, or “captured” by law firms. Do what is right. Every decision or action is a risk but often worth it to correct situations to improve the educational and work environment. This in turn builds the confidence of the community. Do not be relegated to the too often disappointing results of elected leaders. Do not compromise. Stand strong. Stay focused. Make the tough decisions and do not hesitate or waver. Everyone in the community is watching and waiting for your decisions and actions. The longer things are delayed the more hope is lost by everyone. That’s when people start mumbling “They are no different than the previous ones.”
