Questions for the Candidates Alamogordo School Board Elections District 4

AlamogordoTownNews.com, AlamogordoConservativeDaily.org and KALHradio.org shares a responsibility as a media platform to allow all candidates to express why they should be considered for the offices they seek. Our role in journalism is to showcase the details of candidates and offer information then you the voter will decide. As we get closer to the actual election our editorial board will release our endorsements for the various offices.

The Alamogordo School Board election for District  includes the candidates 

• Josiah Stephen Vesey, Board Member Four
• Brandy Murphy, Board Member Four
• Carol Louise Teweleit, Board Member Four

Our media enterprise represents over 12,000 daily readers and listeners representing our entities of KALHradio.org, AlamogordoTownNews.com, and AlamogordoConservativeDaily.org. We sent a set of questions to all candidates seeking their input for the various positions. We explained that we wanted to provide our over 12,000 daily readers representing both major political parties, Independents and Decline to States an opportunity to see a response in the candidates own words to our questions. The deadline for response has passed.

The municipal and school board elections are supposed to be nonpartisan races.

However, it has become obvious some candidates will only participate in partisan forums. Partisanship in a nonpartisan election in itself speaks to what one can expect in the style of governance from those candidates. It takes courage to run for elected office and transparency is what the public expects of elected officials. Candidates are screaming for transparency yet some are not transparent with the press.

Specific to the school board race for Alamogordo School Board District 4 Josiah Stephen Vesey and Brandy Murphy FAILED TO RESPOND to our INTERVIEW Request. All three candidates did participate in the forum hosted by the League of Women Voters Otero Unity.

The incumbent, Carol Louise Teweleit, that is experienced in the pressures of meeting the public and answering constituent questions and media inquiries which is a requirement of elected office, participated and what follows is her responses...

AlamogordoTownNews.com Question 1. Provide a brief biography of your governing and business experience or if a new candidate for office what community experience qualifies you for public office?

Carol Louise Teweleit Response: "I’ve been involved in leadership positions as a classroom teacher and an NEA member. I served as Department Chair for 5 years while teaching at Chaparral Middle School. I also was a counselor during my education career in which I was the coordinator for the school testing as well as the chair of the SAT committee which aided in assessing needs for a student to be evaluated for Special Education. In NEA I was the national Board member representing New Mexico for 3 years. I also served as alternate NEA director for 6 years, was a part of NEA-NM Leadership Team for 9 years. Locally I was NEA-Alamogordo President for 2 years and served on the bargaining team for 10-12 years.

Currently I am a member of the COPE Board of Directors and NEA-NM Board of Directors representing retired members. I believe these experiences in teaching and leadership have made me highly qualified to serve the community as a school board member."

Brandy Murphy, FAILED TO RESPOND

Josiah Stephen Vesey, FAILED TO RESPOND

AlamogordoTownNews.com Question 2: Please describe your understanding of your role and responsibilities as a school board candidate.

Carol Louise Teweleit Response: "As a school board member, I share the responsibility with the rest of the board to hire and evaluate the superintendent, understand the budget and be fiscally responsible for the district’s finances, and to approve policies for the district. I believe I am also responsible to the community to make schools as safe as possible and to students to help ensure they get the best education possible. I also need to be open to communication from my constituents. They deserve to be heard."

Brandy Murphy, FAILED TO RESPOND

Josiah Stephen Vesey, FAILED TO RESPOND

AlamogordoTownNews.com: (Incumbent) If an incumbent please describe 3 achievements that you are proudest of in accomplishments during your tenure in office?
(New Candidate) Please provide 3 initiatives you will champion as a school board member and
explain how you will facilitate garnering support from a majority of the board and the public across constituencies.

Carol Louise Teweleit Response: "As an incumbent, I am proud of our district being ahead of the pandemic by already supplying every student with a Chromebook. It was done to get our students technologically ready, but when the Covid-19 came along, the other school districts were scrambling to get their students laptops, but APS was ready to go, due to their advance planning. 

More recently, I am also proud of the new schools we have built and are still building. Our students deserve a great place to learn. 

Finally, I am so pleased with what our schools have to done to improve and maintain the health and well-being of our students and community. They furnished and delivered home meals all during the pandemic, even the summer. Flo, our health bus travels to different schools and events to supply an assortment of needs, from information on how to get needed help to doing teeth hygiene, shots, to handing out water on hot days."

Brandy Murphy, FAILED TO RESPOND

Josiah Stephen Vesey, FAILED TO RESPOND

AlamogordoTownNews.com Why are you running for office? What is your motivation to be an office holder? 

Carol Louise Teweleit Response: "I am running for office again because I want to continue the work we have done as a board so far. I believe I am more qualified than the average person due to my experience as an educator. I understand how students learn and what it’s like to do the very difficult (although rewarding) job of teaching, have been trained in budgets, and I understand how districts work. But most of all I put Children First!"

Brandy Murphy, FAILED TO RESPOND

Josiah Stephen Vesey, FAILED TO RESPOND

AlamogordoTownNews.com What do you view as the biggest opportunity as a leader in the role you are seeking? How will you expand community engagement and bipartisan leadership?

Carol Louise Teweleit Response: "The biggest opportunity in my role as school board member is help ensure that the students are safe and learning. Part of this is, of course parental involvement; it’s a need for this community that more parents get involved. Not just in the extracurricular activities, but the academic as well. Parents are ready to attend football, but not the Parent/Teacher meetings."

Brandy Murphy, FAILED TO RESPOND

Josiah Stephen Vesey, FAILED TO RESPOND

AlamogordoTownNews.com . The demographics of Otero County 4.6% Black, 8.1% Other 39.7% Hispanic, 46.9% Caucasian, 7.1% identify as members of the LBGTQ community according to the US Census. What outreach have you done to build consensus and constituencies within the diversity of the citizens in your
district?

Carol Louise Teweleit Response: "I don’t normally associate a person with any particular group that person may be associated with. The person is my focus."

Brandy Murphy, FAILED TO RESPOND

Josiah Stephen Vesey, FAILED TO RESPOND

AlamogordoTownNews.com . Integration was introduced to Alamogordo due to a military directive and a coach took it on. Equality of Girls in Sports was a federal mandate and the system under the coaching staff took the lead ahead of much of the state. Alamogordo public schools during those periods of innovations was ranked in the top of the nation. Given the diversity especially with the military students within the Alamogordo Public Schools and the military mandates for diversity and inclusion education and recognition to be a part of public-school curriculum per military directives such as AFI36-7001, how will you message and manage the limits to your authority to conservative leaning constituencies with the requirements and mandates of state, federal and military required curriculum around diversity and inclusion?

Carol Louise Teweleit Response: "I believe that if we stay on the message, that ALL students are to be treated with respect and ALL them are entitled to the best education possible. It’s hard to believe that would be objectionable to any parent."

Brandy Murphy, FAILED TO RESPOND

Josiah Stephen Vesey, FAILED TO RESPOND

AlamogordoTownNews.com The job of school board member is one that is focused on one staff member decision, the only staff issue a board member may legally engage in is for is the school superintendent. What is your criteria for a successful superintendent? What qualifications are you looking for in a superintendent?

Carol Louise Teweleit Response: "My criteria for a superintendent are one who understands New Mexico and our community, whose main focus is on children and learning, can communicate fairly with the employees, and someone who is a kind person and respects others’ differences."

Brandy Murphy, FAILED TO RESPOND

Josiah Stephen Vesey, FAILED TO RESPOND

AlamogordoTownNews.com What are the two best attributes of your local school system? What within the local school system brings you the most pride?

Carol Louise Teweleit Response: "The two best attributes of APS are the employees; the staff is caring and hard-working; the next is the services our district offers Parents of our children can have access to the best services, many of the contributed by our schools, among them “Telehealth“, free dental and eye exams and immunizations, summer meals to name a few."

Brandy Murphy, FAILED TO RESPOND

Josiah Stephen Vesey, FAILED TO RESPOND

We believe the public has a right to receive as much candidate information as possible from a variety of outside sources.

Media has a responsibility to dig, investigate, question and report. The public has a responsibility to gather information and make an informed decision and then of course vote. We take our role serious and appreciate the candidates that take their role with an equal level of respect for the process.

For transparency sake we share that our media business is owned by Rene Sepulveda a registered Democrat. He has issued a few personal endorsements via opinion pieces. Those are of his personal choice and may not reflect the opinions of the editorial board.

The primary author of a majority of the content on our site is our lead journalist, a registered Republican, Chris Edwards. Mr. Edwards during past elections assisted in the campaigns of two Democrats and one Republican Judge. The judge who's campaign he assisted with in crafting a web presence, and social media engagement, won her race. She is a seated 12th Judicial District Judge.

The editorial board consists of representation from each party plus a Libertarian, Independent and Decline to State affiliations. We do not offer commentary on their responses in this series of articles, and thus allow you the reader to decide the merits of the candidate based upon responses. A future endorsement commentary will be issued closer to November 7th.

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