BY COLLEEN KEANE
SPECIAL TO THE TIMES
ALBUQUERQUE — A due process hearing will be held on Monday, Feb. 6 to determine how the Alamo Navajo Community School and several other entities are to be governed now that there’s been a lapse in leadership.
The Navajo Nation Board of Education sent the Alamo Navajo School Board, Inc. a certified letter on Monday informing the board of the hearing.
In the letter, Dr. Pauline Begay, NNBOE President, states, “It has been brought to our attention that a legal quorum of the ANSBI governing board ceased to exist as of Monday, January 9, 2017, which will seriously impair the educational process and endanger the day-to-day operations of your school.”
The hearing, which is open to the public, is scheduled for 1 p.m. on Feb. 6 at the Sunrise Conference Room at the Department of Diné Education in Window Rock.
The decision to hold the hearing came after the Navajo Election Administration determined that the five Alamo Navajo School Board members’ terms of office ended on Jan. 9.
In a public announcement dated Jan. 19, Kimmeth Yazzie, Acting Director for the Navajo Election Administration, stated that there is “no functioning school board at Alamo at this time.”
School board positions referred to are: President Steve Guerro, Vice President Stanley Herrera, and board members Genevieve Apachito, Hector Guerro, and Earl Apachito.
Yazzie stated that new board members need to be elected.
There’s been a holdup on school board elections because of complaints on two candidates that need to be decided by the Office of Hearings and Appeals.
In a phone call to the Office of Hearings and Appeals on Monday, staff said they couldn’t comment on the situation.
A December 2016 memo from the Navajo Election Administration states that a special school board general election will probably be scheduled for late February or early March.
There are 15 school board candidates altogether. Five will be placed on the ballot once the complaints are resolved.
Besides school board member seats, there are other vacant seats at Alamo.
The executive director position and an accountant position have been open since last May, according to the ANSBI website.
The Alamo Navajo community took control of their children’s education in 1979 when ANSBI was established as a contract school under the PL93-638, the 1975 Indian Self Determination and Education Assistance Act.
Prior to this, Alamo schoolage children were sent to boarding schools as far away as Santa Fe.
A K-12 school for about 350 children, a health clinic, early childhood center, adult education program, technology department, wellness center, and a community radio station are also under ANSBI’s governance.
According to their website at ansbi.org, the school’s mission is provide the resources and services necessary to empower community members to attain good health and self-sufficiency through excellence in education.
But that’s not what some people say is going on.
Last year on Dec. 20, 33 community members voted in favor of a chapter resolution requesting that the Navajo Nation conduct a financial audit on ANSBI.
Thirteen community members opposed the resolution; one abstained.
In a letter addressed to Navajo Nation Council Delegate Norman Begay (Alamo/Ramah/To’hajiilee) that accompanied the resolution, the cohort of community members noted concerns about mismanagement of funds, questionable election practices, and being shut out of school board meetings.
The scanned copy received by the Navajo Times shows that Delegate Begay signed the resolution, but then-Chapter President Stanley Hererra and Vice President Earl Apachito did not.
Buddy Mexicano took office as chapter president in January.
“We need change. This is impacting the community, especially the kids. We want to know where the money is going, so we know our children are getting the services they need,” said a father of several children who attend the Alamo Navajo School.
“It is hurtful. I definitely would like to see change to heal the community so everything will be better,” he stressed.
The father asked that his name not be used, because he’s concerned it may cause problems for him and his family.
A Sept. 21, 2016 education status report posted online notes detailing the following achievements at the Alamo Navajo School: “School enrollment has increased; and teacher positions are promptly filled. Teacher turn-over has been cut in half as a direct result of the improved culture. The fact that the attendance has gone up and teacher retention keeps climbing is a testament to the change in culture. All staff meet once a week to discuss and interpret student work and data. The meetings provide opportunities for instructional and program planning.”
The report is copyrighted by Advance Education, Inc.
Calls to the most recent-termed School Board President Steve Guerro and current Chapter President Buddy Mexicano were not returned before deadline.