BY VALERIE FOX
Los AIamos

I would like to thank the Los Alamos Federation of School Employees for their Board of Educations Candidate endorsements so that we know who to steer clear of.  They endorsed Antonio Jaurigue and Margie Serrato, both of which are a hard pass.

Let me start with Mr.Jaurigue.  Mr. Jaurigue was on the school board and quit because his wife could not be hired by the school district, which would be a conflict. Now that his wife has been hired, Mr. Jaurigue wants back on the board.  I see that as a conflict.  Additionally, under his tenure, the school district has maintained abysmal testing scores in reading,  math and science.  The Los Alamos District Report Card with NM Vistas reports a math proficiency score of 58%, reading 69% and science at 65% ( https://nmvistas.org/Los_Alamos_Public_Schools ).  I understand the current school board has been working on and seeing improvements in reading.  Thank you all!  The Common Core math curriculum is a hot mess and a proven disaster.  The test numbers do not lie.  Our school board needs to return the district to standard math.  I am presently teaching my child 6th grade standard math and have consistently seen outstanding test results that our School District and parents would love to have.   Los Alamos is blessed with great teachers.  We can do better Los Alamos!

With regard to Ms. Serrato, she appears to have showed up in town in recent months. At the League of Women Voters forum she noted that she sounded arrogant when she stated, “I am the change that I want to see in the world.”  I absolutely agree with Ms. Serrato on how that sounds coming from a newcomer.  I listened to her Spanish and English videos.  In one video, coupled with her resume, she definitely implies that her focus is on social engineering versus academia.  A lot of parents in the community want the social aspect to be left to the parents. We are not on the same page.

We have two much better options for school board in Tammy Hinckley and Stephanie Galvez.

Tammy Hinckley is a former school teacher in our district and will be retiring from the district business office soon.  Her accounting background, district background and teaching experience make her a perfect candidate!

Stephanie Galvez is a hometown girl that went through our schools and her kids have too!  She knows our community and schools better.  Thank you Tammy and Stephanie for stepping up to the plate to lead our school district.