Image

After almost four months of being on paid administrative leave, the Los Lunas Schools Board of Education unanimously voted to terminate the employment of Ryan Kettler as superintendent at a special Nov. 14, 2024 board meeting. Kettler, who was hired as the superintendent in July 2023, was put on paid administrative leave on a 2-3 board vote pending an investigation into allegations of misconduct on July 16.
Socorro School’s Board voted unanimously to rescind the contract of Superintendent Ron Hendrix in June of 2024 wih no comment.
This week the Santa Fe Board of Education has accepted the resignation of Superintendent Hilario Chavez Friday. This comes after recent misconduct allegations made against Chavez by a former Assistant Principal, Amanda Chavez.
With all of the terminations, resignations and turnover of school board superintendents one must ask: are school boards serving the best in taxpayer interests?
Are local school boards seeking the best and the brightest candidates to serve in the role of superintendent and as educators?
With that thought in mind within the Alamogordo Public Schools they have now now launched a national search for a new school board superintendent. Once those nominations are in we will be posting their application packages and what make then think they are qualified for the role of school superintendent.
Superintendent Todd Lindsey of the Tularosa Public Schools made a recruiting announcement that the system is seeking teachers...
One hopes that Mr. Lindsey's criteria for selection of "high quality educators and support personnel" means that he actually considers, grammer, how letters of introduction are pieced together and what the scores are in the competency testing of his applicants.
Along that train of thought; Alamogordo Town News streamed in KALHRadio.org requested, from the Tularosa Public Schools, Mr. Lindsey's application and credentials for when he applied for the position of school superintendent.
The response initially was a letter from an attorney explaining that the information would be provided.
Next we received word that a certified letter consisting of a cease and desist was being sent to us to stop covering the decisions of the superintendent. We have yet to see an official copy of that document though we requested it be emailed to us.
And then, we finally received a response from the Tularosa Public Schools directly and the application was shocking in the level of poor grammar, typos and answers to the questions contained within.
We shared the employment application with two professional recruiters who suggested that they would totally dismiss an applicant based upon the first impression the package made. The application package did not present Mr. Lindsey as an applicant well and certainly did not present him as a "high quality educators and support personnel."
Note the cover letter says...
One of our recruiters as absolutely disturbed by the first paragraph of Mr. Lindsey cover letter..."...however moving back to your hometown trying to work for a board since you have known since childhood has proved to be impossible..."
Our professional recruiter said an applicant should never begin an introductory letter with a negative about the applicant's relationships and ability to interact with those in power to supervise the applicant. Then of course our recruiter mentioned the grammar - "proven not proved."
Since childhood has proven to be impossible would have been proper use of the English language for a position in the profession of an educator.
Then later on in the paragraph to follow Lindsey referred to himself with a lowercase "i." ...before that i was an employee for TorC." Again poor form and obviously not proof read before being submitted. Is this cover letter representative of the best and the brightest to lead our students? An English teacher would have failed a student who was assigned to draft this cover letter.
Interestingly, Mr Lindsey says in the final paragraph that, "I have found its easy to place my values on others, so I try to avoid that...I have stay current on educational issues and professional development...
"Grammer, oh my," per our recruiter.
And then if the grammar, typos and mispelling is not bad enough then one must consider was the applicant top of the class? A stellar student? We are confident Mr. Lindsey did not graduate from college Summa cum laude, which means "with highest honor," the highest academic award designated for students in the top 1-5% of a class or those with a GPA of 3.9-4.0. Like the magna cum laude honor, the requirements for summa cum laude may vary by institution and department. Usually, the only way to earn above a 4.0 is to enroll in honors programs at your high school like advanced placement (AP) or international baccalaureate (IB) courses. Magna cum laude which recognizes students who graduate "with great distinction." It is the second-highest in the Latin honors. Its requirements vary by school, but it's typically designated for students in the top 6-15% of a class or those with a GPA of 3.7-3.8. Mr. Lindsey own admission as reported by Anthony Lucero was that he graduated High School 25th out of a class of 28. Given Mr. Lindsey required his GPA to be redacted prior to release of his application to the public we can only speculate he was was not the best and brightest nor a summa cum laude graduate when seeking his degree as an educator nor as an administrator.
That point is further confirmed when one reviews Mr. Lindsey's certification to teach social studies.
Mr. Lindsey's experience was as a social studies teacher. He scored a 258 on the content knowledge competency exam. According to New Mexico state standards a scaled total test score of 240 represents the scaled minimum passing score for the test. An examinee with a scaled total test score of 240 or above passes the test. An examinee with a scaled total test score below 240 does not pass the test. The minimum passing score for each test is established by the PED based on the professional judgments and recommendations of New Mexico educators. Mr. Lindsey scored a 258. Does a score of 258 represent the best and brightest to lead students in s public school system?
Mr. Lindsey's recruitment post claims he is seeking "high quality educators and support personnel" for the Tularosa Public School system. Shouldn't the school board and parents demand "a high quality superintendent?"
Note: This story is a followup story on past coverage questioning the decisions of Mr Lindsey that has raised questions from educators, parents and students. His ban on CNN resulted in student protests and an onair interview with a concerned student airing on KALHRadio.org. Our news tipline continues to grow with stories of education professionals fearful of retaliation for questioning the superintendent's positions or actions. Letters of support continue to come into us suggesting we should continue pursuing the facts within the Tularosa Public Schools and shine the light for public review.