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The House passed a bill that would remove Isaac Elementary School District Governing Board members from their elected positions, and Gov. Katie Hobbs will soon decide if the measure should be enacted.
The House passed House Bill 2610 (school districts; board members; superintendent) 39-20, with a handful of Democrats supporting the measure.
“I am pleased to see bipartisan support for legislation that is going to hold accountable school boards who run their districts into the ground,” said Rep. Matt Gress, the sponsor of the bill.
HB 2610 was drafted in response to the state Board of Education placing Isaac School District into receivership after the district had a budget deficit of more than $20 million. It is retroactive, so Isaac’s governing board members could be forced to resign from their positions if the bill is signed into law.
The bipartisan element of the bill is crucial because Hobbs is unlikely to sign a measure that only has Republican support. But most Democrats in the legislature, including both House and Senate Democratic leaders, oppose the bill.
“This bill is overreaching, and we should not be passing laws in this state because of one public school district,” said House Assistant Minority Leader Nancy Gutierrez. “It is not up to the Legislature to force a governing board member, or members in this case, to resign. These are publicly elected people. The voters decide who is on a school board and who is not and those are nonpartisan elections.”
HB 2610 would designate authority to replace governing board members to a county school superintendent. In Isaac’s case, that’s Republican County School Superintendent Shelli Boggs for a district that has a heavy Democratic voter base.
Currently, a county board of supervisors has authority to appoint school board members to fill a district vacancy.
The Democrats who supported the measure in the House are Reps. Lupe Contreras, Lydia Hernandez, Alma Hernandez, Elda Luna-Najera, Consuelo Hernandez and Myron Tsosie.
“Mismanagement is not being dealt with at the state level,” Lydia Hernandez said. “I’m disheartened by the fact that there isn’t a political will to hold board members accountable.”
Have questions or comments? Contact Jakob Thorington on X @JakobThorington or at [email protected]
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