Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Editor's note: This is one in a continuing series of interviews with candidates in the Nov. 7 elections. Catherine Cobb is challenging incumbent Paul Cordova for the Clovis School Board District 3 position.
Catherine Cobb
Q: What made you decide to run for the school board?
A: I'm a mother of two young men right now. They actually went to school K-12 at Clovis Municipal Schools, and I also was a student K-12 in the school system. For me, it was volunteering, being there for them. I saw a lot; I knew a lot. I volunteered a lot and I just saw that there was a need for not only my own kids, but there's a lot of kids out there that don't have a voice and they're the voiceless. And so, for me, I have a heart for the children.
Q: How are you qualified?
A: Aside from being a mom, I've served our community in the school system for about 17 years. My husband and I both served on booster clubs. We did everything all through my kids' ages and I also have close friends that are in the community that have kids and I know their concerns. Some people think that their hands are tied. I think as a mom, as a parent, you would have your best interest for your kids. That's the main thing. Being an avid volunteer and wanting to have a serving heart.
Q: What do you see as the school board's role in deciding what books are available in the school libraries?
A: I know there has been some litigation on that in the state. If we're asked and we're put in that position to be able to have a voice, of course it's going to be what's best for the kids and their education. That's the main, important thing. What’s best for them, and what's going to help them be successful in the world.
Q: As a school board member, would you vote for the district to act independent of state mandates? If so, under what circumstances?
A: Definitely, I would vote for that because in our state alone and in the state in New Mexico, I think there are a lot of different things that you have to put into play. The community area that we're in; our particular area is very close knit. People know people, people want to support people. We want what's best for our own community. So, we would know what's best for our kids. We would know what's best for our school systems. We would definitely need to be able to make our own decisions and decide unanimously on what we want in our community.
Q: If elected, what would be your No. 1 priority?
A: To be an avid advocate for every child's success. That's my number one priority, what’s going to help them be successful in life? Right now, I think we're getting distracted with a whole bunch of things and school is the one place that we should be able to teach them what they need in life and what they need out there. Let the teachers use their credentials and do their job.
— Compiled by Landry Sena, the Staff of the News
Paul Cordova
Q: What made you decide to run for the school board?
A: I've had the honor of serving District 3 for 12 years. I have a wife who has 28 years of teaching here in our district. I have two daughters who have graduated from Clovis High. My youngest daughter is currently going to middle school here. I would love to be able to continue the great things that are happening here in Clovis. We have a great superintendent and a great board to work with. So, I hope to see that we continue to move forward here in the district.
Q: How are you qualified?
A: In my 12 years, I've learned so much. One of the things that we have to understand is who we are and what I mean by that is our demographics. Right now, we have about 7,600 kids. As far as the children right now, we are 64% Hispanic, 26.5% Caucasian, a little over 7% Black and then, you know, others as well … You have to be able to relate to these kids and their families. You do that. I've grown up here, I'm Hispanic. I’m fluent in Spanish, so it has helped me a lot with these Hispanic kids and their parents with questions that they have. I am happy to be a representative for them. I think it's important that we have diversity in our board.
Q: What do you see as the school board's role in deciding what books are available in the school libraries?
A: We have guidelines through the Public Education Department, of course. They do give us a little bit of leeway to go and get the books. You have to understand each campus is a little different. We are the same city, we are the same district. We're the same but just a little different. We let the administration at each campus figure out what's best for that campus to better serve the students. And while we have those PED guidelines that we have to follow, then the principals and administration can have a little more leeway to get what they need for their kids in their school.
Q: As a school board member, would you vote for the district to act independent of state mandates? If so, under what circumstances?
A: Right now, we do have a little bit of district control. The PED and secretary of education do allow us to make some decisions. I would really like for us to be independent so that we can make our own decisions here; what's good for Albuquerque and Las Cruces would probably not be good for Clovis and vice versa. We're not Farmington, we're not Rio Rancho. I believe that our district, our school board, our superintendents, we know what we need to do for our kids. My wife is an educator, and she has told me before, “I wish we could just teach. I wish we could just teach like we used to when I started.” But of course, we have to follow the guidelines of the secretary of education, the PED, and the state. COVID was a really, really difficult situation. We had kids in Farwell that were playing sports, and we couldn’t. Then they were playing sports without masks, but we had to. I didn't agree with any of that. So, I do wish we had more local control here. I don’t know if the state realizes our poverty level. Two thirds of our district meet the criteria where we’re at the poverty level. Right now, the state allows all the kids to eat free in school. We were doing that years before, and that was the one thing that I was most proud of. We know our kids, and we know what’s best for them.
Q: If elected, what would be your No. 1 priority?
A: I'll give you my top three. The most important is the quality of education. We have to continue the outstanding quality of education that we have right now. Clovis High School was ranked among the top 40%. The freshman academy was voted one of the top schools in the state. So, we need to keep that up. The second is school safety. Our kids need to be safe. The third is the retention and recruitment of our teachers. Of course, there are a lot of other areas, but that’s what I believe in.
— Compiled by Landry Sena, the Staff of the News
