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Stan’s Straight Talk – December
I continue to be impressed with the outstanding educational work being done in districts around the state. As I visit more and more districts, I notice that we are blessed to have “all hands on deck” working together to assure that our students are being placed as our central priority. I see Superintendents, Principals, Business Officers, Technology Leaders, Special Education Directors, REC Leadership, all of our educational partners including a group of retirees, all pulling together, locally, to “make it happen.” We are blessed to have all of these “hands” as part of our organization – now 18 affiliates – (including our newest – Facilities Managers).
We are preparing for the 30-day session of our State Legislature beginning in January, the last session with Governor Martinez. I have had substantive discussions with our Secretary Designate, continuing to work together, and have asked that we all address the fact that in 13 months we will have a new Governor but will still have our students moving through the New Mexico educational system. It is our moral imperative to assure they are served well during and after this 13 month period is over. So, it is time for critical management decisions to be made that guarantee they are served well by assuring we have a well- defined transition plan that maintains a balanced resourcing of our mission.
To assist in this “imperative,” we are proposing the following legislative platform for the 30-day session:
2018-2019 Proposed Legislative Platform
Local Control:
• The best point of decision making and accountability to our school communities
rests closest to our students. Therefore, local superintendents and local boards must be the first line of decision making about education. The “Top down, one size fits all” approach to decision making for public education does not recognize the local differences that exist due to size and demographic makeup of New Mexico districts. Therefore, all legislation passed by the New Mexico State Legislature must support the return of local control to districts and local boards of education.
Stan Rounds
The New Mexico Coalition of Educational Leaders (NMCEL) provides the effective foundation for proactive educational advocacy for public education in New Mexico.
NMCEL Update