Saturday, June 20, 2009

LL native Bernard Saiz is named superintendent

Melissa Hubbell News-Bulletin Staff Writer; mhubbell@news-bulletin.com

Los Lunas After two hours in a closed executive session, the Los Lunas Board of Education unanimously voted to appoint Bernard Saiz to the position of superintendent.

"I'd like to thank the board and the community and all my co-workers out there that have helped me succeed. I'm grateful I'm able to continue on and take our district to the next level," Saiz said after the announcement at Wednesday's regular school board meeting, directly following the executive session.

An executive session was held to review and discuss the four superintendent finalists and to determine who would be selected as superintendent.

"We had four excellent candidates that applied for the position and were chosen as finalists. I feel we did a thorough review of the candidates and we're proud ... the board has elected Mr. Bernard Saiz as our superintendent," Board President Ed Hernandez said.

In an interview after the meeting, Hernandez said that each of the finalists — Mary Lou Aguelles-Anderson of Albuquerque, Barbara Perea Casey of Las Vegas, N.M., Steve Chestnut of Moses Lake, Wash., and Saiz — were excellent choices but, in the end, Saiz proved the right choice for the district.

"Primarily, Saiz has loyalty with this district," Hernandez said. "In every position he's held, he has done an exemplary job."

Saiz' career in Los Lunas began at Los Lunas Middle School, where he was principal from 2000 to 2004. Immediately following that, he took the position of director of personnel until June 2005 and then worked as assistant superintendent of human resources. In 2006, Saiz worked alongside former superintendent Walter Gibson as deputy superintendent.

Gibson resigned from the position of superintendent after nearly five years in late April. Shortly after, he was put on administrative leave for the duration of his contract and Saiz was appointed interim superintendent.

Previously, Saiz had served as a principal, assistant principal and teacher in the Socorro School District for 15 years.

Saiz received a bachelor's degree in art education and a master's degree in secondary education with an emphasis on curriculum and instruction at the University of New Mexico.

In 2003, Saiz applied for the position of superintendent. He did not get the job, but Hernandez said he admires Saiz for sticking with the district and applying for the position again. "He was a finalist when Mr. (Armando) Reyes was hired. He would have been great then, but his day came," Hernandez said.

It's been seven years since he first applied for the superintendent position and Saiz said that everything worked out for the best.

"In retrospect, I think it worked out much better for me by not getting the job at that time. I feel I could have been successful if awarded the job at that time, but winning the job now is going to be much more effective for everyone," Saiz said.

Although he had extensive principal experience in 2003, Saiz said he didn't have enough central office experience to do the job to the best of his ability. "That has definitely changed between now and then. I am now ready and very well prepared to take on the responsibilities of the post of superintendent of schools."

When previously asked what he was looking for in a superintendent, Hernandez said that the board wanted someone who would continue moving forward with the district's curriculum, has knowledge of how to manage a budget and is able to make hard financial decisions.

Hernandez said Saiz had already proved that he could manage a budget when the district spent weeks and three public budget workshops figuring out the 2009-10 budget.

"He got a lot of community support and had good references locally and nationally. Everything just fit into place, and Saiz came out on top," Hernandez said.

As a native of Los Lunas and a product of the Los Lunas School District for all 12 years of his education, Saiz said that developing a close working relationship with the community is one of the top three goals he has now that he is superintendent.

"I want to be accessible and able to listen to what the community is asking for," he said.

Saiz said that he will listen to what the community has to say and, if he's able to make it happen, he will. If he can't make it happen, he will try to give an explanation as to why.

Finalists were interviewed Monday followed by an informal "meet and greet" with the candidates.

Board of Education Vice President Maria Marez said when she was asked Monday what she wanted in the new superintendent, she responded that she hoped for someone who could educate the whole child, someone who could educate a child's mind and heart.

The first thing Saiz mentioned when asked what he would like to accomplish this year is taking a more intensive look at the education of the total child.

Saiz said that, although he plans on continuing with the implementation of the academic programs that have been brought to the district over the last few years, he doesn't want to forget that education is more than just what happens in a classroom.

"Higher test scores are very important because that is what the nation's schools are measured by. However, in striving for those higher test scores I don't want to lose sight of the other aspects that are important to the development of a child such as their social skills and understanding of the world that we live in," Saiz said.

No Child Left Behind, a federally mandated program that requires states and school districts to make annual Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP), emphasizes the development of student's math and reading skills, and although Saiz said these are the basis which all other academics are built upon, if too much emphasis is placed only upon the study of math and reading, other important aspects of a child's development go unanswered.

Another goal of the new superintendent is to provide a more intensive and broader development of the district's leadership skills. Over the last few years, a tremendous amount of training has gone into the instructional and curricular components of being a district administrator. Saiz said although there is no doubt that is a key component to the academic success of students it's not the only important thing to being a good leader.

"There is much more to being a successful leader beyond the understanding of curriculum development and implementation and effective instructional practices. I intend to provide more legal and managerial training to our district leadership," Saiz said, adding that this coupled with previous years' training in curriculum will make the district's leaders much more effective.

Saiz and wife, Deanna, have been married for 25 years. They met during Saiz' senior year at LLHS, and he took her to the prom. Deanna is an academic coach at Katherine Gallegos Elementary School and has been a teacher for 24 years. They have two children, Stephen, 12, and Kristen, 8, who both attend school in Los Lunas.

In his spare time, Saiz said, he loves spending time with his wife and kids. He also enjoys hunting, camping, hiking and the outdoors in general.

"I want to thank the school board and community for having the faith in my ability to select me as the next superintendent of Los Lunas Schools," Saiz said. "I will not let the community and our children down."

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