RE-1 board 'insensitive,' write-in candidate charges

RE-1 board 'insensitive,' write-in candidate charges

October 18, 2001

By Aspen C. Emmett
Journal Staff Writer

A candidate for the Re-1 school board was sharply critical Monday night of the board’s behavior regarding concerns about racial tensions in Montezuma-Cortez High School.

District B candidates Kip Kautz, Marci Schuster, Leon Murdock and Remigio Candelaria fielded a variety of questions on subjects including CSAP scores, district accountability, program funding and safety in the schools at a forum sponsored by the League of Women Voters.

The forum was prefaced by the ground rule that there would be no discussion about recent allegations of racism at the high school.

The majority of questions came from the group organizing the forum, but audience members were also able to submit questions. At the end of the meeting, one audience query sparked discussion on the "banned" topic of an alleged racial slur made by high-school Principal Mark Rappe.

Candelaria, who is running as a write-in candidate, did not hesitate to address the subject head-on. He denounced the current school board’s unwillingness at last week’s board meeting to listen to students concerned about racial tension.

He further accused Board President Steve Hinton of being a "dictator," speaking over all other board members when he told the crowd that he didn’t want to hear about the allegations unless they came to him from a first-hand witness.

Rappe reportedly used the term "Navajo gypsies" during a faculty meeting while discussing student mobility and low CSAP scores. The comment, which he has acknowledged as inappropriate and apologized publicly for, angered students and parents, and prompted the formation of a group urging the district to address racial tension in the schools.

Candelaria said that as a former student of the Re-1 district, he has experienced racial tension and said it is a major problem that needs to be acknowledged.

"There was not one person on the board who spoke up," he said. "The school board, as a whole, is extremely insensitive. They don’t take on a lot of issues because they don’t want to take on the administrators. Their actions at that meeting showed exactly where their mindset is."

Kautz was the only other candidate who spoke about the racial issue during the forum. He said he supported Hinton’s decision not to address the topic during the meeting because it was based on hearsay.

"I’m sorry, but I have to side with Mr. Hinton," he said before the discussion was cut short by one of the forum’s organizers, who then abruptly ended the forum.

Earlier, both Schuster and Murdock expressed concern about special-needs programs and vowed to seek better wages for interpreters or hearing-impaired student.

"We lost a wonderful interpreter because of the low wages," Schuster said, referring to the interpreter that helped her own daughter, who utilizes hearing-impaired programs in the district.

Murdock agreed, adding that the interpreters make roughly 50 cents more an hour than someone who flips burgers in a fast-food restaurant.

Kautz spoke of the need for funding in the schools and said he believed there should be more efforts made to get money from the state.

Candelaria, however, said it is time to quit depending on state dollars and look to private funding from corporate sponsors. Additionally he suggested that the district look at adopting incentive programs for teachers, such as student-loan forgiveness.

"We need to quit looking to the state as our only source of funds," Candelaria said.

Perhaps the most thoroughly discussed topic was CSAP scores. Murdock said rampant absenteeism was related to the district’s low test scores and said it was a "circular" problem that needed to involve administrators, students, teachers and parents.

"If I could go out and round those kids up myself, I would," Murdock said.

Schuster suggested that students needed more parental involvement as well, but said there is a lack of school pride preventing motivation.

Kautz hesitated to put much emphasis on the CSAPs because of the newness of the testing but acknowledged that they could be a good tool for the district if used right.

Candelaria also shied away from the CSAPs, saying they don’t offer a longitudinal assessment of students. He blamed administrators for not making any innovative changes.

"It’s been the same stale administration since the ’80s and all they do is make excuses," Candelaria said.

Candidates from districts D and F were not present at the forum.

District residents who have not received their mail-in ballots by Oct. 22 should go to the county clerk’s office.