Zuni school board meeting turns into a 3-hour donnybrook

By Karen Francis
Diné Bureau

ZUNI — More than 200 people packed into the cafeteria at the Zuni Middle School for the Zuni Public School District’s board meeting Tuesday evening, including Zuni Gov. Norman J. Cooeyate.

All five board members — board president Ernest Mackel, secretary Pamelia S. Chimoni, vice president Andrew L. Othole, George Devries and Royce Gchachu — and Superintendent Dr. Kaye Peery were in attendance.

Parents and community members expressed concerns throughout the meeting, which lasted more than three hours.

Cooeyate also said that he had asked Peery to address the tribal council about the concerns which the tribal leaders have been hearing from parents and community members. Peery is scheduled to meet with the governor and the council today.

The governor said that he requested the meeting because “staff and parents have been protesting and have made their concerns known, so I thought it’s time to talk.”

He said that this year, the new board and administration have not met with the Tribal Council.

“In the past there used to be dialogue in terms of doing a quarterly report,” he said.

He said that it appears that the administration isn’t culturally sensitive.

“We broke away from the Gallup McKinley County School District for a very specific reason,” he said.

Cooeyate said that he heard concerns that the school was not complying with House Bill 212, which involves certification of teachers. If a certified teacher is not available and a substitute must be used for more than four weeks, the parents must be informed, he said.

He planned to discuss the issue with Peery at today’s meeting.

Discussion to support a proposal to make sure that every student has access to a school textbook drew debate from the audience. Some said that the district simply does not have enough money to buy expensive textbooks for each student. Others contended that textbooks are necessary for the students to learn.

One young student spoke up during the discussion saying that in one of his classes, “we only have two textbooks available. We use copies.”

The board voted in support of the proposal and Peery said, “We will make every effort to comply with it.”

During a presentation on the school’s Health Advisory Council, audience members brought up issues with the new eligibility requirements to participate in sports at the middle school.

A school employee said that students have other opportunities for physical activity with physical education classes and the use of the swimming pool beyond school hours, which prompted another audience member — a former student athlete — to stand up and say, “I used my talent to get into college.”

Board President Mackel and Peery told the audience that the change in the eligibility requirement would only affect the middle school and no plans have been made to require proficiency in state standards for the high school athletes.
Many parents stood up to say that they were concerned with the lack of community input.

Carmelita Sanchez, the former Lt. Gov. of Zuni, said to the board, “You have a governance of the whole community. They need to be involved.”