Print
Category: Front Page News Front Page News
Published: 26 October 2019 26 October 2019

By Hallie Richwine

The Silver School Board candidate forum happened October 14, 2019 in the WNMU Global Resource Center auditorium. The Silver City Daily Press and Independent sponsored the event and Publisher Nick Seibel acted as moderator.

Seibel opened up with an introduction of C.P. Thompson, who covers education for the Silver City Daily Press (SCPD). Thompson asked questions on behalf of the newspaper.

Seibel asked that the audience, should they have questions, use the provided note cards and pencils to write them down and turn them in. He asked that questions be succinct and to have them addressed to all candidates rather than a specific candidate.

He also asked that applause be held until the end of the closing statements.

Opening statements began with candidate Ricky Villalobos. Villalobos is a graduate of Silver High School and also of the WNMU Police Academy. After graduating from Quantico and a long career in law enforcement, he was approached by individuals about safety in District 5, so he decided to put his hat in the ring.

Incumbent Michael McMillan was next. McMillan is also from Silver City and comes from a family of educators, and after completing his graduate education returned to the area. Working in sports medicine, he has been with Southwest Bone and Joint and has contracted with the school district. McMillan has experience being on many different boards, including the Silver Consolidated Schools Board of Education.

Tasha Donaldson of Cliff followed and is the write-in candidate for District 5. Donaldson has been in the area for three years after living in Safford, AZ. She is active in the Cliff community and has four children in the schools there. As a part-time ranch manager and stay-at-home mother, Donaldson feels she has the time to take on the role.

The first question was from the SCDP, “Cliff schools’ teachers, staff, and parents sometimes feel they are forgotten because of their rural location and being so far from Silver City. What will you do to help Cliff schools feel included?”

“It is a unique situation for Cliff to be about 30 miles out and the schools being separated by distance. In today’s world, communication is quite easy. I have been contacted over the years by people in Cliff via email and telephone, and as a board member, one of the primary roles is to listen to the needs so they can be resolved or addressed at the board level,” said McMillan. “We recently completed a Parental Advisory Committee (PAC) forum out there. One of the ideas is to attend those PAC meetings every other month or to invite the PAC folks to the board meeting. This year the board will have at least two meetings in Cliff. Having a presence will be beneficial.”

Villalobos agreed that presence is key to inclusion. “I’ll definitely make it a point to go out there and visit the school two to three times a month.”

Donaldson said she is already at the school frequently. “Between picking up the kids and going to soccer practice, one reason I can be a bridge is because I am there. Increasing the amount of board meetings will help as well,” she said. “Having a school board member from Cliff would help with communication.”

The second question from the SCPD addressed school safety and what the prospective board members think Silver Consolidated Schools should do.

Donaldson spoke first. “I do know that when the first issue was brought up about increasing school safety there was security hired. I believe security needs to be more present as well as armed security.” Donaldson also believes teachers should be armed.

“I can address what the board has done and it was initially after the Aztec shooting,” McMillan said. “We drafted a safety and security resolution and took steps at all schools throughout the district. We worked with state police and noted deficiencies. We applied for funding to help improve security in addition to approving the hiring of additional security guards.” McMillan said the guards could be armed if the district altered policies to include the training involved for such a position. “I’m not at this point in favor of arming teachers, but I think our security guards could be armed if we follow the right policies and protocols.” McMillan said there are always things that can be done to improve the safety of the schools.

“After the Aztec shooting I was asked to do recommendations,” Villalobos said. “Harrison Schmitt has done upgrades, and I’m very familiar with the assessment itself. Active shooter training has been done with teachers.” Villalobos said that the schools currently have security, but he is unsure what they would do in a situation. “I would make it my goal to have armed security and to keep increasing security.” Villalobos said he thinks teachers have enough to handle and does not want to give them the extra responsibility of being armed.

Seibel asked a follow-up question. “What is the balance between school security and still having the public, the community, involved in our public school system?”

“It’s unfortunate, the times we live in now, “ Villalobos said. While he never worried about shooters during his own school career, his child is in elementary school and practicing drills. “My thought is not that it is going to happen here, but when it is going to happen, and are we going to be prepared for it?”

Seibel asked another follow-up question, “Are there opportunities? How does that work? Is it just that security is the most important thing?”

“We don’t want to have the schools look like prisons. I believe having armed security guards is the number one thing, and training on how to react,” Villalobos said.

“I think along the same lines as what Ricky is saying,” Donaldson said. “It is unfortunate that we live in these times when we do have to worry about these types of things.” Donaldson believes that "we need to start from the home, instilling values in children to behave and be disciplined." She says no parent is perfect, but that one way of teaching kids to be respectful is to learn that in the home.

Seibel had another follow-up, “How do you see that balance between school and community involvement?”

Donaldson said there still needs to be security, no matter what.

McMillan said he agrees with the other candidates. “Unfortunately this day and time has security as the primary issue and it is going to take the community a long time to get used to that interface.” McMillan said. "It took us a while to get used to increased security at airports, but that we eventually got used to it. We’re going to have to get used to a level of security and verification.” McMillan said another key aspect is identifying students with issues and addressing them before there are problems.

Thompson asked the next question. “In the face of declining enrollment in both school districts, is it responsible to continue maintaining two separate administrations? At what point should the consolidation of the Cobre and Silver schools be considered?

“I think that when it gets to the point you have to shut down a school because there is not enough enrollment at that school, then the two should combine,” Donaldson said. She said in Arizona she saw that very thing happen, and it made a greater program.

“With that in mind, that is something we’d have to look into really closely, because at what point does it affect the students and public?” Villalobos said. “When funding is an issue, that’s something that we’d have to look into and our rivalry would go away.”

“Think of that baseball team, I mean, just think of it,” Seibel said, which drew laughter from the crowd.

“Fortunately at this point this year our enrollment has stabilized,” McMillan said. “In prior years we have had declining enrollment and the budget has been difficult because funding is based on enrollment.” McMillan listed previous actions taken to help stabilize the school system. “Since Cliff and Silver City have consolidated we have worked hard to provide services that are necessary. Hopefully that (closure) isn’t something that will come about.”

Seibel said the audience questions were of a particular theme, and noted that one of the big controversies on the past was the consolidation of the Cliff schools into the Silver Consolidated School District. “On that note, Cliff is a small rural community with ranching and farming industries, what can you do to meet the needs and concerns of that community? How will you relate to those people?”

McMillan said that the board has an open door policy and is willing to hear the concerns of students, staff, and community members. “It is a unique situation but it is one I think we can overcome.”

“As I stated earlier, I am a rancher, and I do relate because I live out there. I know kids are on the bus 45 minutes because they are so rural. I do understand how they feel because I see the things that go on out there, because I am out there. The things that go on at school, the safety concerns, the things of that nature; I have a lot of the same concerns as them,” Donaldson said.

“I’ve spoken with the principal at Cliff High School,” Villalobos said. “I definitely want to get down there and see what their wants and needs are.”

“Despite an increase in salary because of state law, it is still difficult to find and keep teachers. What would you do to find and keep teachers for Silver?” Thompson asked.

Villalobos said he would advertise Silver City itself. “It’s beautiful, the people here in this area, the cost of living, the activities, it’s a beautiful place. Promote the area and the environment and that’s how we will attract people to come down here.”

“I actually agree with Ricky,” Donaldson said. “As far as promoting Silver City, there’s lots of things to do here. There are a lot of outdoor activities. We live in the most beautiful part of the nation.” Donaldson said salaries themselves are the Governor’s decision, but the school board can decide on the number of teachers that in the schools.

“Certainly there has been a nationwide shortage of teachers, and salary has been one key component that has been addressed by the legislature and the Governor and I am thankful for that,” McMillan said. “We do need to continue to work with (them) to continue to increase those salaries on a yearly or biannual basis to attract those teachers.” He also mentioned maintaining training and support for teachers.

Seibel followed up, “One of the differences between Silver City and the rest of southwest New Mexico is that Silver Schools still go to school five days a week instead of four. Certainly there are teachers that see that as a benefit.”

“That was a topic that came up a few years ago and it was a very hard decision for the board to make. Cliff has been on a four-day schedule for a while now and that has worked for them but the board as a whole and I as an individual did not think it was going to be a success for our students and staff here at Silver,” McMillan said. He went on to say that if it comes up again they will revisit the idea, and that previously the lack of data about educational outcomes kept the board from changing the schedule.

“We have a four-day week in Cliff,” Donaldson said. “The days during the week are longer. The kids spend the same time in the classrooms, but the longer days can be hard on kids.” She said ultimately the board should rely on the statistics in order to make that change. “Some parents have the concern of finding childcare for that fifth day,” she added.

Villalobos agrees that it may be worth revisiting in the future.

“How will you do your best to represent both Cliff and Silver students alike?” Seibel asked.

“Like I said before, I go to a lot of activities, and being on the school board I feel I would need to support as many events as possible,” Donaldson said. “As a school board member, I would make an effort to visit all the schools and not just one.”

“I would attend other schools, have lunch with students, go to football games and even Cliff basketball games,” Villalobos said. “I also like the fan gear when I’m off duty.”

“I’m often at Silver Schools which makes it difficult to get out to Cliff. But attending PAC meetings would be one avenue to bridge that communication between myself and Cliff schools,” McMillan said. “It’s been a while since I’ve been to a basketball game there, and there’s certainly great teams out there. It may be difficult but it’s not impossible to get out there a little more often.”

Thompson said there was a series of community dialogues to bring together businesses and educators. “What would you do to connect schools and the community?”

“Those community forums have been a great avenue for schools to connect with the community and making sure we continue those would be important,” McMillan said. He said the previous forums gave a good foundation but that continuing the dialogue will connect the community further.

Villalobos agreed that continuing the forums was a good idea, and Donaldson added that it would be nice to see seniors and even juniors attend.

Seibel asked another question from the audience, “What do you see as the primary work of the school board?”

Villalobos said the primary responsibility is to hire and fire the superintendent, followed by policy, then budget.

Donaldson said for her it is the budget, the policies, and ensuring communication between teachers and the school board.

McMillan also said hiring the superintendent, but added that working with the superintendent to provide education.

Thompson asked another question on behalf of the SCDP. “Silver gets significant funding from bond money or the legislature for infrastructure projects. From that pool of money, what would your priority list be for the district?”

Donaldson said she is concerned about the age of the buildings at Cliff. “It’s not only the buildings, but there are sewer issues. Schools had to be shut down for a day and a half. A big part of the bond money should be geared toward Cliff.”

Villalobos said the promised multi-purpose building in Cliff is his priority.

“Unfortunately the funding is not available to do everything we need to do is Cliff or in Silver. The district needs to make a lot of priorities about what is critical,” McMillan said. No matter the source of the funding, the critical needs to be addressed first and then work through the list. “We need to provide a facility that is still usable with the funding that we have. Hopefully the legislature will help us and we can ask for more capital outlay. The state has their system and the school board works with them.”

Seibel then asked the SCPD “time machine” question, wherein candidates imagine they have won the election and are back to run for another term. “What one accomplishment on the board are you most proud?”

“One thing that I am most proud of is improvement, whether it’s educational or extracurricular,” McMillan said. “We need to continue working on improving. We need to be a top ten district. That would be a great achievement. I certainly think it is worth shooting for and it’s certainly something we can accomplish.”

Donaldson said Cliff is still lacking programs that are statistically proven to help the intelligence of students, especially in the arts. “Those things are very important. They allow scholarship potential. It opens up a variety of avenues, not just sports and academics. If that were to come about, that would be a great accomplishment.”

“Getting Cliff their multipurpose building. I’ve gotten so many concerns about that building. That would be a great accomplishment,” Villalobos said.

Seibel asked another question about how economic development is tied to the schools, and how board members would respond if they heard a community member was leaving town after having a negative experience.

“It’s unfortunate to hear. It’s unfortunate because I moved back to the community because I enjoy the area. One of the key components is to find out what led to that and listen to the person,” McMillan said.

Villalobos agreed that addressing the issues directly could help the board find out how they failed.

“First I would see if the problem was addressed, and why it happened,” Donaldson said. “Nobody is perfect.”

Donaldson was the first candidate to give her closing statement. “So the way to get me elected is to write in my name, first and last. If I am elected I have an open ear and am an open book. If I don’t know the answer I will try my best to find out the answer. Being a part of Cliff, and with a majority of those students in District 5, I am a direct voice. Write in my name.”

McMillan followed. “I appreciate your support. I believe the school district has made progress in the past few years but there is much more work to be done. Progress needs to be made in the Silver Schools and we will continue to move forward for the students and teachers. Contact me directly through my facebook page, email, or my cell at 575-538-1258. I have an open door and please bring your questions and concerns.”

“In addition to my experience in law enforcement, I care and am here to represent the district including Cliff. It’s a lot to learn and a lot of training but I’m here to help,” Villalobos said. He can be reached at 575-590-7722.

Early voting is happening now at the Grant County Clerk's office Monday through Friday - 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. and at the Bayard Community Center Tuesday through Saturday 9 a.m. - 6 p.m. and November 5, 2019 is Election Day.