Two TPS board members fail to complete training

Two members of the Tucumcari school board failed to complete mandatory training during the 2022-2023 training year. That data will be included in a school district report card due to be issued by the state.

Board members Jerry Lopez and Robert Lucero each logged only four hours of training during the period from Sept. 1, 2022, to Aug. 31, 2023, according to an email from the New Mexico School Boards Association to the school district.

The minimum number of required training hours is five. Three other school board members — Heather Gonzales, Matthew Pacheco and the recently resigned Bo Wallace — totaled five to seven hours of training during the period.

The association’s email was included in the board’s packet during its Sept. 18 meeting, but it was not discussed.

Joe Guillen, executive director of the association, said the penalty is each board member’s name will appear in the school report card as not having met the training requirement.

“I see they were short an hour, but they still didn’t meet the requirement,” he said during a phone interview.

According to the association’s email, board members had 12 opportunities during the year to accrue training hours. Each session offered two to three hours each.

Guillen also said the association sends status reports on board member training twice a year.

Guillen acknowledged it can be difficult for some board members, especially those in rural areas, to attend training sessions that mostly occur in Santa Fe or Albuquerque, though regional meetings with trainings also are held in Portales and Tucumcari.

He said 80% of the state’s 447 school board members comply with training requirements.

Lopez said in a phone interview he had planned to attend a winter training meeting in December but was unable to do so because of a death in the family. Another death in January also prevented him from attending another, he said.

Lopez admitted he might have attended a training session but forgot to sign in.

“It’s my fault,” he said.

Lopez said he planned to fulfill his training requirement early in the current period.

“I’m going to get it all knocked out by December so I don’t have to worry about going to all the other meetings throughout the year,” he said. “We’ve got a lot of things to worry about with the district. It’s better to get it all done so we don’t have to worry about it.”

Lucero said in a phone interview he noted he was short one hour late in the training period and had planned to attend a session to fulfill the requirements.

But he said he and other family members contracted COVID-19 and were unable to travel.

In a follow-up interview, Lucero said he contacted Guillen about the shortcoming. He said Guillen said missing an hour “is nothing to worry about” but recommended Lucero fulfill his training requirements in the current period.

Lucero said Guillen also acknowledged the COVID-19 pandemic made it more difficult for board members to complete training.