Letter to the Editor: Displeased With School Board? Run in Next Election!
By SHELBY REDONDO I was surprised by the uproar over Superintendant Schmidt’s resignation and the implication that the School Board is “hiding behind a law purposefully designed to give them political cover” as quoted by the Los Alamos Monitor publisher Ben Carlson. In fact, Mr. Carlson noted that the School Board can not publically discuss personnel matters and, in fact the law was specifically designed to provide protection for the employee. However, nothing is preventing Dr. Schmidt from sharing this information if he so desires.
Having spent 24 years as a teacher in the district, Read More
Letter to the Editor: Support Request For School Board Explanation
By DON COBBI write in support of Morrie Pongratz’s request at Tuesday night’s (March 4) School Board meeting for some explanation by the Board of its reasons for not renewing Dr. Schmidt’s contract.
I recall that when Dr. Schmidt became District Superintendent five years ago, Los Alamos schools had major issues regarding funding and maintaining our schools. He immediately held open strategic planning sessions with input from teachers, students and the public to chart a course for our schools.
On his watch major recapitalization of the high school and middle school was successfully Read More
Letter to the Editor: UNM-LA Rezoning Request
By STEPHEN T. BOERIGTER, Chair
UNM-LA Advisory Board
and long-time Los Alamos resident
I would like to thank George and Chris Chandler for their letter to the editor. It’s vitally important in this community to ensure open and honest communications, to get facts and issues in front of citizens, and to work towards a shared vision and future for a better Los Alamos.
It’s a small town and we’re all in this together. Many facts regarding the UNM-LA re-zoning request are accurate: the current zone allows only 41 units however there are currently 64 units on the 1.88 acre site. Read More
Column: Los Alamos School Board and the Law
Column by GEORGE SCHWARZWhenever I hear or read about a public official, elected or on the taxpayer payroll, blather about the role of the media, I can generally anticipate the official is unhappy that a journalist didn’t shill for him. Oh, you know. The story is “negative.” I also easily conclude the official doesn’t know much about the First Amendment.
Such is the case with Jim Hall’s impotent little screed posted Tuesday.
Let’s start with the disavowal of authority. Hall wrote, “The following comments represent my opinion, as the president of Read More
Letter to the Editor: School Board Ravings Of How Great Schmidt Is Don’t Jive
By JOEL M. WILLIAMSSounds like Los Alamos School Board President Judy Bjarke-McKenzie has a personal agenda per her statement that “there were some things from previous evaluations that he has not done … It is a personnel matter.” Is this – ‘a personnel matter’ – one(s) that would stand up in court or personal agendas of some of the board members?
Actually, who deserves termination? Schmidt or the school board? Who is doing the best for Los Alamos?
Decisions behind closed doors: “when a ‘vote’ is not a vote!” Read More
How the Hen House Turns: Universal Emotion – Relating to Animals and Aliens
How the Hen House Turns: In spite of the title of this column, the issue here is directly related to the Hen House theme ─ our responsibility to animals that we adopt.
I’d like to believe that we humans have matured to the point where we could appreciate the alienness of other beings. We’re doing much better with animals now, since Temple Grandin shared her experiences with us in her book “Animals in Translation” (Scribner, 2005).
I agree that my birds do see things in WYSIWYG mode. It takes them some Read More
Letter to the Editor: The School Board Has Blundered
By ANN REVELLEThe School Board has blundered. This is a poor way to run a school district.
If the School Board wants to see changes and a smooth transition to a new superintendent then they need to make a one-year agreement with Dr. Schmidt and initiate a broad search for a new superintendent with a year to plan the transition.
If in this confusion they can not do that then they need to bring back someone formerly on the admin team to serve as an interim superintendent while they do a careful search for a new superintendent.
Dr. Schmidt has been a good leader for the Los Alamos Public Schools. Read More
