Meet, greet superintendent finalists today

By Bill Donovan
Staff writer

GALLUP — It began Monday in Crownpoint and tonight the Gallup-McKinley County School Board plans to hold two more public “meet and greet” forums so parents and people interested in the county’s education system have a chance to meet the five finalists.

Meet and greet forums have been scheduled by the Gallup-McKinley County School District with the final candidates for school superintendent:

• Red Rock Elementary,
  today, 5:30 p.m.;
• Tohatchi Mid-School,
  Wednesday, 5:30 p.m.

Some of the candidates will be familiar to area residents and some come to the finals with a background that will help them fit in here.

Esther Macias: Macias, who has been interim superintendent since Karen White’s contract was bought out last June, was a former principal at Tobe Turpen Elementary School here. Before that she spent 12 years as director of curriculum and instruction for the district. And before that she served six years as a teacher in the Albuquerque school system.

James Hennings: Hennings, who retired last year as superintendent for the Tombstone, Ariz., Unified School District, has direct experience working with Navajo students, having served for a year in 2000 and 2001 as superintendent of the Window Rock School District. He also brings a lot of experience in working with colleges like Cochise College and Northern Arizona University.

Richard Sharpe: Sharpe, who has been principal of the alternative school in Farmington for the past 2 1/2 years, is also director of community education for the Farmington school district. He’s been a principal at various other schools in New Mexico since 2000, serving in places like Capitan and Estancia. He’s has had experience in working with Native students in Farmington and also in school districts where a number of the schools are going through restructuring as has been the case in this district.

Gorman Swinney: Swinney, who is from Las Lunas, spent almost 10 years in the Mescalero Apache school system, first as a principal of the middle school and then as superintendent of the school system from 1998 to 2005. Before that he served in Tucumcari and Deming. But he knows the problems in this area because of his work in the Grants and Milan school systems, where he served as principal of Grants High School from 1982 to 1987 and principal of Milan Elementary from 1973 to 1982.

Raymond Arsenault: Arsenault, who is from Corrales, has been dean of students for grades 10 and 11 at Cibola High School in Albuquerque for the past two years. He explained that he did the same duties as an assistant principal at the school. He also has a wide range of experience as assistant principal and teacher in various schools.

School officials said they would be talking with the candidates more about this and other aspects of their educational philosophy but another key to who is hired is also expected to be how well they relate to parents and community residents in the meet and greet forums that will be held next week.

Information: (505) 721-1062 or 721-1067.