Floyd school board hearing pushed to 2022

SANTA FE — A hearing for the suspended members of the Floyd School Board has been pushed into 2022, according to the Public Education Department.

Judy Robinson, a spokesperson for the PED, told The News a hearing was set for Jan. 24-25, with stipulations due Jan. 14 and an exchange of witness and exhibit lists by Jan. 10. The hearing will be held virtually, with parties told to expect the hearing to begin at 9 a.m. and go seven hours each day.

The board — comprised of Leon Nall, Jeff Essary, Charlsea Lee, Ryan Bollema and Vicki Bannister — has been suspended since Aug. 4.

Board members voted in a July 26 meeting to make PED-mandated COVID-19 mitigation practices, like facemasks and social distancing, optional at Floyd schools.

Then-Secretary of Education Ryan Stewart warned the board it would be suspended if it did not rescind that vote. The board chose not to do that in an Aug. 1 special meeting, instead putting Superintendent Damon Terry on administrative leave to shield him from fallout and sending a communication arguing the PED had no right to suspend board members.

Stewart suspended the board and reinstated Terry, and later appointed Stan Rounds to act on the school board’s behalf during the suspension.

A hearing was originally scheduled in September for the board members, but the parties instead tried to work toward an alternate agreement. The deadline for that agreement was Friday, and the scheduling hearing that took place Monday was in place in the event an agreement wasn’t reached.

The hearing officer is Damian Martinez of the Mynatt Martinez Springer law firm in Las Cruces. The hearing may be held at facebook.com/nmped.licensurehearings.

Counsel for the suspended board members had no comment Monday when contacted by The News.

Three of the board members are up for re-election in next month’s general election. Bannister is running unopposed for her Position 1 seat, while Essary is running against Kenny Reed in Position 2 and Lee is running against Adam Burns in Position 5. The PED’s Office of General Counsel declined comment on the ramifications the suspensions would have on the election.