Magdalena School Board Candidates

El Defensor Chieftain sent candidate questionnaires to Socorro County candidates for the upcoming election. Responses from candidates will run over the next several newspaper editions. Candidate answers to basic info was limited to 20 words and questions were limited to 50 words. Answers past the word limit are cut off, responses that are blank were not answered.

Magdalena School Board has two seats open.

Lynn Major

Age:

Current occupation (If retired, from what field):

Highest level of education:

Previously held elected office: Years of residency in the school district:

Have you ever been convicted of drunken driving, any misdemeanor or any felony offenses in New Mexico or any other state? If so, explain.

What in your experience, education, etc., makes you qualified for this position? I have served 2 terms as a School Board member. As a mother, aunt, registered nurse, previous coach, and community member, I truly care about our children and their opportunities for success. I pride myself on listening to every topic, weigh all of the information and facts, and following or

What will be your priorities if elected?

Provide the best opportunities for our children to excel in every way, and offer opportunities based on the needs of each child by supporting our staff with their needs to meet this.

What are the most important challenges facing the school district, and how do you propose to address them? Student outcomes. I encourage feedback from teachers on suggestions to improve these scores. They know what each individual child needs and I want to support their ideas to succeed. New Mexico has been a challenge regarding timely scores. Hopefully, by working with NMSBA and legislation, the Board can help improve

What qualities and actions do you believe define an effective board member? It is so important to be fair and have the ability to listen to all opinions and make decisions based on facts and policies. Our job is to approve policies that help with procedures. If something is not working for our District, we need to review these policies and change

Sandra J Montoya

Age:

Current occupation (If retired, from what field):

Highest level of education:

Previously held elected office:

Years of residency in the school district:

Have you ever been convicted of drunken driving, any misdemeanor or any felony offenses in New Mexico or any other state? If so, explain.

What in your experience, education, etc., makes you qualified for this position? Before retiring, I worked in education for 29 years, starting as a secretary and advancing to become an Elementary Teacher, a K-12 School Counselor, and an Administrator. I completed my career as a Vice-Principal. This experience has taught me to understand the dynamics of a school district and what is

What will be your priorities if elected?

We need to refocus on the basics in reading and math while also prioritizing the recruitment and retention of quality educators. It is also essential to develop policies that support student improvement and school safety. Transparent communication with our Superintendent, board members, and staff, while serving as a voice for parents and students, is one of my top priorities.

What are the most important challenges facing the school district, and how do you propose to address them? One of our district’s most pressing challenges is improving student proficiency in reading and math. I would address this by supporting teachers through access to resources, a rigorous curriculum, and training. Another key challenge is communication; I will prioritize transparency and collaboration with the Superintendent, staff, students, and community to

What qualities and actions do you believe define an effective board member? An effective board member is open-minded and receptive to all ideas and challenges. They will be able to communicate openly with their community, staff, and other board members. Board members should create an atmosphere where parents and students feel that they are heard and trust in their school district.

Kelby H. Stephens

Age: 54

Current occupation (If retired, from what field): Physical Therapist, Owner of Socorro Physical Therapy

Highest level of education: Masters in Physical Therapy

Previously held elected office: I have served three terms as a Magdalena School Board Member, 12 years.

Years of residency in the school district: 18 years

Have you ever been convicted of drunken driving, any misdemeanor or any felony offenses in New Mexico or any other state? If so, explain. None

What in your experience, education, etc., makes you qualified for this position? I am just finishing my third term as a MSBM. I believe I have over 200 hours of training. My leadership abilities include: Owning a PT Practice, Church positions, youth groups, being a father, coaching. My ability to work well with all types of people in multiple settings.

What will be your priorities if elected?

Our priority is to the students. They need a safe environment, surrounded by qualified and caring teachers and staff. Staff needs to be accountable for only what they are responsible for. Leaders need to use constructive, encouraging instruction that helps improve our staff and their ability to perform their responsibility.

What are the most important challenges facing the school district, and how do you propose to address them? There’s a great divide existing among our school. In some conversations you can hear, “ What side are you on?”. I would propose that there is only one side. The Magdalena side. Magdalena Students and Staff come first. We must find a place of compromise and do it for the kids.

What qualities and actions do you believe define an effective board member? Honest, open, transparent, trustworthy, helpful, flexible, understanding, knowledgeable, confident, willing to learn, willing to help, willing to serve, willing to give of your time, willing to sacrifice, able to compromise, able to stand firm, ethical, personal standards that lead you to do good, common sense, skin in the game.