New Mexico looking for a new state Public Education Department secretary for K-12 schools

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico is looking for a new state Public Education Department secretary for K-12 schools. Again.

Arsenio Romero resigned Wednesday, effective immediately, after about a year and a half on the job.

Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said in a statement that she and her staff will begin interviewing candidates to replace Romero immediately.

Earlier this month, New Mexico State University officials announced that Romero is one of five finalists in its search for a new president, and a decision is expected by the end of September.

Michael Coleman, a spokesperson for the governor, told the Santa Fe New Mexican that Lujan Grisham gave Romero “a choice to either resign and continue pursuing the NMSU position or stay on the job and withdraw his candidacy at NMSU.”

Coleman added that “the Secretary of Public Education is critically important in New Mexico and the governor believes it’s imperative that the person serving in this role be fully committed to the job.”

The state’s Public Education Department has struggled to turn educational outcomes around as high percentages of students fail to be proficient in math and reading.

The department also has struggled to retain a Cabinet secretary throughout Lujan Grisham’s tenure. Romero was the fourth person to hold the job since 2019.

“Not only is this a continuation of failed leadership and high turnover from our governor’s executive staff, but also, I find it hypocritical that while the governor positions herself for higher office, those on her staff are given ultimatums if their ambitions do not fit the vision of the administration,” Republican state Sen. David Gallegos, of Eunice, said in a statement Thursday. “Again, our children are the ones who pay the price.”

Leaders of the state’s top teacher unions echoed those concerns, saying “the persistent churn” of leadership at the state agency results in instability that hampers achievement and that educators can’t be fully effective when state mandates and leadership are constantly shifting.

American Federation of Teachers New Mexico President Whitney Holland and National Education Association-New Mexico President Mary Parr-Sanchez said in a statement that legislators should research and refine efforts to return public education governance to an elected, statewide board of education.