sa国际传媒官网网页入口

Editor鈥檚 note: This continues a series of Journal 鈥渆xit interviews鈥� with outgoing sa国际传媒官网网页入口 Public Schools board members.

It was Sept. 7, 2022, the first full meeting of the sa国际传媒官网网页入口 Public Schools board after the panel approved a district鈥檚 contract with its educators, ending a weeklong dispute with the local teachers union that shook the faith of many teachers across the district.

Board President Yolanda Montoya-Cordova was giving her report, which can be used for community updates, announcements or other purposes.

But Montoya-Cordova was using that time, in part, to rally the troops.

鈥淭his is the hardest volunteer job I鈥檝e ever done,鈥� she told her fellow board members. 鈥淲e volunteer a lot of our time to do this, and we鈥檙e doing this out of service. But we have to remember that we鈥檙e in service of others. And we鈥檙e in service of the communities that we represent.鈥�

School board members are paid very little for the work they do, receiving per diems that don鈥檛 crack triple digits even for board meetings over four hours.

But the job isn鈥檛 just showing up for meetings. It can be reviewing hundreds of pages of documents ahead of meetings, responding to dozens of people voicing concerns or asking for help about issues facing their districts and countless other community commitments.

Then, after all of that, that school board member represents just one voice on the panel, a stark reality for almost all new members on the panel, Montoya-Cordova told the Journal, reflecting on her six years with the board ahead of her final meeting that took place on Dec. 20.

鈥淵ou come in, and you believe you have the ability to change everything 鈥� and you don鈥檛,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 that schooling 鈥� that you get, and you say, 鈥極h, wait a minute, I鈥檓 just one person with seven other people. And this is complex. This is a very big job.鈥�

鈥淭he journey is really about understanding that you鈥檙e just one of seven,鈥� she added.

Montoya-Cordova didn鈥檛 come on the board the way most others do.

In 2017, a vacancy opened up on the school board. Montoya-Cordova, who was working in state government at the time, thought to herself, 鈥淚 could do that.鈥�

So she tossed her hat in the ring and was quickly appointed to the board.

鈥淚t was on a whim,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t wasn鈥檛 like everybody else who鈥檚 really made a thoughtful decision about running.鈥�

But before long, Montoya-Cordova and the school board would find themselves tackling some of the district鈥檚 biggest issues, ranging from a search for a new superintendent to ongoing budget cuts.

The COVID-19 pandemic, though, was the lowest point for 鈥渁ny board member across the country,鈥� Montoya-Cordova said, including her.

Contrary to the opinion of fellow outgoing board member Barbara Petersen, Montoya-Cordova said she wasn鈥檛 proud of how the APS school board comported itself during that emergency.

鈥淚 think we could have handled ourselves a whole lot better,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 think we were trying to do real time decision making right on the dais when we could have been much more prepared ahead of time.鈥�

There were still programs Montoya-Cordova said she was proud to see grow during her tenure on the board. The one that stands out the most to her is the district鈥檚 program for earning bilingual seals, distinctions students can get on their high school diplomas by completing a dual language program .

In the 2016-2017 school year, 191 students received bilingual seals on their diplomas across APS, according to data provided by the district. Last school year, that number was up to 1,392.

The number of schools providing the bilingual seal program has also skyrocketed 鈥� from eight in 2016-2017 to 42 this school year, according to APS.

鈥淚t is one of the programs that has had a consistent track record of just really moving up,鈥� Montoya-Cordova said, noting that she鈥檚 had personal experience in the benefits it provides, with her late husband鈥檚 granddaughter receiving a bilingual seal.

鈥�(She) is doing amazing things, and I believe her biliteracy helped her do those amazing things,鈥� Montoya-Cordova said.

Montoya-Cordova is also from the South Valley, which she ultimately would represent 鈥� somethng Rio Grande High School principal Antoinette Valenzuela doesn鈥檛 take for granted.

鈥淲hat she was given from the community growing up, she gave back to the community, as our board member,鈥� Valenzuela said.

Beyond the board

After years of pandemic crisis management, helping overhaul how the board governs APS and leading the panel through meetings, Montoya-Cordova is now free and clear.

And to some extent, she relishes that fact.

鈥淵ou all have to read something tomorrow. I don鈥檛,鈥� she teased her fellow board members during her final meeting.

Though her term is up, Montoya-Cordova insists she plans to be involved in the state school boards association and other education-related work.

But she does plan to have time to do some of the things that are important to her 鈥� visiting her daughter and grandchildren out of town, caring for her mother, reading books that aren鈥檛 about education 鈥� and, if she sticks with it, learning the accordion.

That all being said, Montoya-Cordova said leaving the board is still bittersweet.

鈥淛ust as it was getting a lot of fun, I鈥檓 not going to be part of it anymore,鈥� she said.