Sunday Morning

Mr. Briseno and Jim Spence will both be on the Michael Swickard show on Monday Morning 11/20/06 at 8 a.m. on AM 570.

Spence is the one who was on with Diaz on the Swickard show the day before she got put on leave. Spence did a good job cornering her and she didn't score many points.

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Strange that someone mentions Ms. Diaz's antics at hair salons. My daughter was her waitress last month and was actually excited when she realized her customer was the superintendent. By the end of the meal my daughter was beside herself with the arrogant attitude and under the breath comments that were heard. When she told me the story, she was actually sad. Doesn't our superintendent need to present herself in a favorable manner while in public? Based on my daughter's encounter, it's easy to see how the hair salon stories can be true. Pity. --- A parent.

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If the board doesn't get IT now it never will. Good luck people and students of Las Cruces. I wish you the best. You may not know it but people all over the state and states from NY to Florida to California are watching this. May God Bless your City.

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I am a retired LCPS administrator and have been watching the situation with the school board and Dr. Diaz and thanking my lucky stars that I no longer have to deal with this kind of behavior from a superintendent. Even if Sonia should be reinstated, I think she has damaged her reputation in this district so much by her behavior that she could never effectively manage. I have watched Central Office personnel during Board Meetings and through their body language, it is apparent they are terrified of this woman. She has proven her disdain for her staff and students by placing her personal needs above them and denigrating those under her who are subordinate. A strong leader does just that, they lead. A leader has to have followers and you gain them by respecting, listening to concerns, partnering and involving others in the decision-making. Our district has placed great emphasis in the past on collaborative decision-making. When all stakeholders feel their input has been well-received, they are more inclined to unite for a common goal. Our current superintendent does not seem to know this elementary principle, maybe they don't teach that at Harvard. The School Board has two strikes against them. They have proven they are incapable of selecting a "winner" and no doubt Sonia IS reacting somewhat to their guidance. All of them need to go! They have managed to make the former School Board look exceptionally competent. It’s embarrassing to be the laughing stock of the state once again. Many phenomenal people work in this district who truly care about the education of our students and perform above and beyond on a daily basis. They need to be empowered not demoralized! The right leader could do that but I don't see this happening under the current leadership. She has blown that opportunity. Sonia, go away and let's get a new board of education to select a new super.

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I was shopping for a nice outfit at Dillard's a few days ago. I found a "stunning" dress. The salesperson said it was beautiful, made well and would be a fine addition to my wardrobe. I brought my lovely dress home only to find that there were defects in the garment. I returned it; got my money back. LCPS School Board: You were sold a bill of goods. You now know that the merchandise is defective. You should know from this blog and the community that if you keep the superintendent, the district will further unravel. Please return her!

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It is entirely clear that the school board is as self-serving, arrogant, and ignorant as the central administration is. We're basically a district without leadership, but we're doing fine. We have principals who care, who work their hardest to do what is right in spite of continuing threats from downtown, and we have teachers who sincerely care about the children and work extremely hard to help children learn. On top of this, we have a great community which puts education first and amazing parents who do everything they can as well. It's not fair that we are being treated like children by our superintendent and school board, who seem to think that they can act selfishly and do it right under our noses. I am an employee of the school district, and I am absolutely ashamed to have to say that I work alongside these people. Make one thing clear, I DO NOT work for them. Our school board is incompetent, and if they make the wrong decision and re-instate Diaz, then they'll have further proven that they don't care about the employees or students here in the Las Cruces Public Schools. I expect that they will re-instate her, because they are that arrogant, and always have been that ignorant.

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These comments about Sonia Diaz are pretty scary. But let me say this. When she first came, the word on the streets was that she didn't want teachers leaving the classroom for trainings. After that, a couple of teacher trainings were cancelled at our school. But then things went back to the usual. That was so disappointing. Does anybody else see this happening? Teachers are being sent out of the classroom several times a month for "trainings". While they're gone, a sub is hired to take over. Sometimes the sub shows and sometimes not. Then EAs are pulled from their regular assignments to fill in. Meanwhile the Ea's regular work goes undone. Hey, administrators! It's a big deal not to have your EA around to do their job. Then, while the cat's away, the mice are doing everything they can to act up for the sub. Kids know that the sub will be gone soon and so they mess around and do as little as possible. A sub usually means busy work for a day. And THERE ARE JUST TOO MANY OF THESE BUSY WORK DAYS! How much training does a teacher need? Didn't we go to college and get multiple degrees? Half the time the trainings are only so so. I realize we have to keep up with the trends but come on. Taking whole grade levels out to go to training is ridiculous. Think about the children please. Do something about the sub problem. Let the EAs do their jobs and quit pulling them like they're not worth anything. I would support a superintendent who would actually do something about this situation.

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A sincere thanks, followed by a margarita or diet soda, is always a nice gesture!

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REMEMBER the school board election in Feb will only give us the opportunity to change out TWO of the school board members. ONLY A RECALL will rid us of the lot! BTW, the 2 up for reelection are not the worst. Who is up for working for a recall?

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As a teacher in the LCPS, I resent the comment that the teachers are lazy. I will have to work this Sunday to attempt to stay on top of the endless paperwork required of teachers. Note the number of vehicles in the local school parking lot after school. Check out how late the vehicles remain in the parking lot. When the paper work is not on time, despite the many changes and technology not working correctly, guess who gets the blame? The teachers! There have been many changes in the curriculum and changes in teaching duties. It takes some time to implement and learn the new changes. You can imagine the surprise when the attendance and lunch count changed at least four times this year. Many teachers are over stressed, over worked and then criticized for what they do. This leads to tension and is likely to be passed on to the students. Many are counting down the days, years to retirement. Warning teaching is hazardous to your health.

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Yes, as an acquaintance of both, Joni Gutierrez and Elizabeth Marrufo are close friends. How do you think Marrufo got such a large sum of money towards library books for Sunrise's library when she was the principal there? Other schools struggle to fill their shelves.

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Regarding the three split lunches at the high schools-why is it such a problem? The middle schools have lunch that way. And based on the number of high school aged young people roaming the streets and the mall all day long, maybe the split lunches will curb truancy. I also know that my kids at LCHS don't have time to eat in the cafeteria because of overcrowding-and they aren't the only ones. Maybe split lunches will help with that also.