Saturday, June 23, 2007

Chris Martinez chosen for seat on LL School Board

Kenn Rodriguez News-Bulletin Staff Writer; krodriguez@news-bulletin.com

Los Lunas After a week-long delay, the Los Lunas School Board wasted no time during a special meeting Tuesday night, unanimously voting to nominate Chris Martinez as the new district 3 representative.

Pending approval by Secretary of Education Dr. Veronica Garcia, Martinez will take the seat left vacant when Gene Carabajal resigned from the board in April. He is scheduled to be sworn in at Tuesday's regularly scheduled board meeting at the district's administration building at 6 p.m.

The decision to name a new District 3 representative was tabled at the regular board meeting on June 12 in order to give the board members more time to talk to candidates and make their decision.

Steven Otero, one of the other three candidates along with Patricia Knapp and Darren Hayden, said he was happy with the appointment of Martinez.

"I'm glad to they went 4-0 for one person instead of bring it up and down and black and forth," he said. "Mr. Martinez is a great choice; I've known him all my life. He'll do a great job."

District Superintendent Walt Gibson said the board members had their work cut out for them in the decision.

"I think it was a hard choice because there were four quality candidates, all of whom expressed strong opinions about the positive direction the school district is going in," he said.

The motion to nominate Martinez had to be precisely worded as a nomination rather than an appointment because the board exceeded its 45-day time limit.

"When both Mr. Castillo and I talked to Secretary Garcia, she indicated that her legal counsel had advised her to have it done that way in order to make sure that nobody contests this and we're within the law," Gibson said. "The law said 45 days and she gave us longer to do it."

By law the district had 45 days to appoint a replacement for Carabajal. The district had to re-open the process after its first candidate dropped out before a decision could be made. Then the district had to seek new candidates for the position.

Board Vice President Maria Marez said the extra week for consideration helped her with her decision.

"They were all very interested, very knowledgeable," she said. "They all had four different visions.

Marez said Martinez' volunteer work at Valencia High School, where he was an assistant coach last season, was a factor in her decision.

"That showed a lot to me. He's already been there without having the title. He's doing that for the kids and it meant a lot to me," she said.

Martinez, 47, is a 1977 graduate of Los Lunas High School who grew up in the San Fernandez area between Tomé and Valencia. He and his wife, Tracy, have three sons - Dana, 17 who attends Los Lunas High, and twins Russell and Clayton, 15, who attend Valencia High School.

After graduating from LLHS, Martinez joined the U.S. Navy and served four years. After graduation, he earned his associate's degree in commercial printing from Albuquerque's Technical Vocational Institute (now Central New Mexico Community College).

He said he has 27 years in the printing industry and has run his own company, Bare Bones Graphics and Printing, out of Los Lunas for the past 12 years.

"I started with $500 and a dream, and that grew into $1 million in sales after a few years," he said. "It's been a long road. I've had to work hard every day to make happen."

Martinez said part of his vision for the Los Lunas Schools is based on watching the growth in Valencia County.

"We have to bring the school system up to speed as far as the quality of education we bring to the kids of the community,' he said.

He also said his time volunteering at VHS gave him a different perspective as well

"(Volunteering at VHS) allowed me to get in the school and get a good feel for the academic mission and where that's at," he said. "I was intrigued by the setting for the smaller learning communities and trying to create a consistency of education teaching all through the district."

He said safety is a big concern of his in District 3 — particularly infrastructure items such as roads.

"I really feel that needs immediate attention," he said. "Soon we're going to start getting kids driving out there, so we need good roads. That's a priority, along with safety for anyone. The security angle is important."

"My mission originally was to try to help bond the community and point out my concerns there," he said. "I've invested in the community. I was born and raised just few miles from Valencia High School off Highway 47. That's why I stepped up and threw my hat in in the first place."

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