Donald Duran, left, president of the APS Board of Education, defends himself as fellow board member Steven Michael Quezada reacts to his statements during Wednesday’s board meeting. (Marla Brose/Albuquerque Journal)
Albuquerque Public Schools Board of Education members had strong words Wednesday for constituents who have criticized their handling of outgoing Superintendent Luis Valentino’s settlement, with several board members saying the public response has been akin to a lynch mob.
Jacob Gil, left, listens during the public comment portion of Wednesday’s meeting. Gil addressed the school board and is leading a recall effort against most of the board members. (Marla Brose/Albuquerque Journal)
The impassioned speeches came at the end of a regular board meeting, with members saying they feel viciously targeted for giving Valentino a positive reference letter and roughly $100,000 payout as terms of his resignation Monday.
Board President Don Duran opened his comments with a reference to the “Ox Bow Incident,” a story about the lynching of an innocent man.
“How dare you judge me?” Duran shouted. “But go ahead: Judge me. The newspaper has. Go ahead, but I know who I am. My friends know who I am, and my God knows who I am, and I stand strong on that.”
Duran also addressed a recall effort launched Tuesday by two fathers, noting that New Mexico Secretary of Education Hanna Skandera would appoint replacements if the current members are removed. Skandera has launched educational initiatives that are unpopular with some parents.
Regarding Valentino’s fate, Duran said the board “agonized,” not about “the final result” but how to maintain the district’s integrity.
He cited personnel code as a motivator for settling with Valentino, noting that the former superintendent could have pushed the matter to a lawsuit with the potential of a full contract buyout worth $720,000.
Board member Peggy Muller-Aragon echoed that sentiment, saying she can sleep at night because the board “did what we thought was best for the kids to move on.”
“You can’t judge me — there’s only one being that can do that who knows my heart,” she said.
Muller-Aragon also said board members are in a frustrating position because they can’t disclose what went on in the three executive sessions held to debate Valentino’s future, so the public has a limited view of events. The discussions, held over the past 10 days, added up to roughly 12 hours and were conducted behind closed doors because they related to a personnel matter.
“It’s hard when you’re muzzled,” Muller-Aragon said. “Everybody else out there, you guys get to say whatever it is that you want. We can’t. But we are standing here, and we are taking it.”
For board member Lorenzo Garcia, “taking it” has included being called a coward and a puppet and receiving an email with an expletive as the subject line.
“In my mind, that is not a way that my mother taught me to be in my interactions with people,” he said. “But I am going to tell you, I hope some of those people who wrote those emails and I will never meet because I can’t predict the outcome. That was wrong and you crossed the line.”
Garcia added that the board never “shirked our responsibilities” in difficult circumstances.
He and Duran were also highly critical of media coverage of Valentino’s controversies, which included the hiring of former APS Deputy Superintendent Jason Martinez, who is facing child sex assault and assault charges in Denver and never completed a mandatory criminal background check.
Both expressed the view that reporting on the issues has been slanted and sensationalized.
Duran challenged attendees to compare the events to “what is printed tomorrow.”
Each board member drew strong applause from the audience of roughly 150.
Jacob Gil, a father of four who launched the recall effort, said he would have to digest what the board had said.
“There was a lot of passion in the room,” he added.
Gil had been one of eight speakers, all critical, who addressed the board during the public forum, delivering tough statements on the settlement and highlighting his efforts to get rid of all the board members except Steven Michael Quezada. Quezada has been most vocal against Valentino’s missteps, including a text the superintendent attempted to send to Skandera about “going after” APS Chief Financial Officer Don Moya, who accidentally got the message. Valentino ended up putting Moya on paid administrative leave, where he remains.
“People will not stand for the board not listening to us,” Gil said during the public forum part of the meeting, which occurred before the board members’ statements.
Also critical was community activist Feliz Gauna, who highlighted the board’s track record of controversial superintendent hires.
“You have to have some type of responsibility,” she said. “You have Winston Brooks and you had — I don’t even remember his name because he wasn’t here long enough. … You’re hiring people who shouldn’t be 100 feet from a school in the first place.”
But at the end of the meeting, her tone was softer.
She said she recognizes that the board has to keep the discussions about Valentino private and sympathized that they “can’t vent.”
“They did what was right for Albuquerque Public Schools,” she said in reference to Valentino’s settlement.
In other action
• The board unanimously approved a $70 million bond sale for building schools and buying materials, saying it had gotten a favorable deal and maintained a good bond rating. The sale is scheduled to close on Oct. 7. The bonds are a portion of $200,000 in general obligation bonds approved by voters in February 2013.
• The board supported a resolution to “join a coalition of youth advocates statewide” to oppose a proposed curfew for kids. The 6-1 vote drew a “no” from Peggy Muller-Aragon, who noted that a poll showed over 80 percent support for a youth curfew among respondents. Other board members said they feel a curfew does not address the underlying problems behind teen violence and penalizes kids who are homeless or low-income. Many students in tough economic circumstances stay late at fast-food restaurants to use Wi-Fi or have to walk home from movies, board members said, putting them in violation of curfew.
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"How dare you judge me?" Duran shouted. "But go ahead: Judge me. The newspaper has. Go ahead, but I know who I am. My friends know who I am, and my God knows who I am, and I stand strong on that."
In other action Online
• The board unanimously approved a $70 million bond sale for building schools and buying materials, saying it had gotten a favorable deal and maintained a good bond rating. The sale is scheduled to close on Oct. 7. The bonds are a portion of $200,000 in general obligation bonds approved by voters in February 2013.
• The board supported a resolution to "join a coalition of youth advocates statewide" to oppose a proposed curfew for kids. The 6-1 vote drew a "no" from Peggy Muller-Aragon, who noted that a poll showed over 80 percent support for a youth curfew among respondents. Other board members said they feel a curfew does not address the underlying problems behind teen violence and penalizes kids who are homeless or low-income. Many students in tough economic circumstances stay late at fast-food restaurants to use Wi-Fi or have to walk home from movies, board members said, putting them in violation of curfew.
Duran also addressed a recall effort launched Tuesday by two fathers, noting that New Mexico Secretary of Education Hanna Skandera would appoint replacements if the current members are removed. Skandera has launched educational initiatives that are unpopular with some parents.
Regarding Valentino's fate, Duran said the board "agonized," not about "the final result" but how to maintain the district's integrity.
He cited personnel code as a motivator for settling with Valentino, noting that the former superintendent could have pushed the matter to a lawsuit with the potential of a full contract buyout worth $720,000.
Board member Peggy Muller-Aragon echoed that sentiment, saying she can sleep at night because the board "did what we thought was best for the kids to move on."
"You can't judge me – there's only one being that can do that who knows my heart," she said.
Muller-Aragon also said board members are in a frustrating position because they can't disclose what went on in the three executive sessions held to debate Valentino's future, so the public has a limited view of events. The discussions, held over the past 10 days, added up to roughly 12 hours and were conducted behind closed doors because they related to a personnel matter.
"It's hard when you're muzzled," Muller-Aragon said. "Everybody else out there, you guys get to say whatever it is that you want. We can't. But we are standing here, and we are taking it."
For board member Lorenzo Garcia, "taking it" has included being called a coward and a puppet and receiving an email with an expletive as the subject line.
"In my mind, that is not a way that my mother taught me to be in my interactions with people," he said. "But I am going to tell you, I hope some of those people who wrote those emails and I will never meet because I can't predict the outcome. That was wrong and you crossed the line."
Garcia added that the board never "shirked our responsibilities" in difficult circumstances.
He and Duran were also highly critical of media coverage of Valentino's controversies, which included the hiring of former APS Deputy Superintendent Jason Martinez, who is facing child sex assault and assault charges in Denver and never completed a mandatory criminal background check.
Both expressed the view that reporting on the issues has been slanted and sensationalized.
Duran challenged attendees to compare the events to "what is printed tomorrow."
Each board member drew strong applause from the audience of roughly 150.
Jacob Gil, a father of four who launched the recall effort, said he would have to digest what the board had said.
"There was a lot of passion in the room," he added.
Gil had been one of eight speakers, all critical, who addressed the board during the public forum, delivering tough statements on the settlement and highlighting his efforts to get rid of all the board members except Steven Michael Quezada. Quezada has been most vocal against Valentino's missteps, including a text the superintendent attempted to send to Skandera about "going after" APS Chief Financial Officer Don Moya, who accidentally got the message. Valentino ended up putting Moya on paid administrative leave, where he remains.
"People will not stand for the board not listening to us," Gil said during the public forum part of the meeting, which occurred before the board members' statements.
Also critical was community activist Feliz Gauna, who highlighted the board's track record of controversial superintendent hires.
"You have to have some type of responsibility," she said. "You have Winston Brooks and you had – I don't even remember his name because he wasn't here long enough. ... You're hiring people who shouldn't be 100 feet from a school in the first place."
But at the end of the meeting, her tone was softer.
She said she recognizes that the board has to keep the discussions about Valentino private and sympathized that they "can't vent."
"They did what was right for Albuquerque Public Schools," she said in reference to Valentino's settlement.
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Voluntary Resignation and Settlement Agreement (Luis Valentino)