CANDIDATE COLUMN: Rudy Galindo, RRPS board District 1

Dear RRPS School Board Facebook Community,

I deeply regret being unable to participate in the candidate forum as I am recovering from a previously scheduled surgery.

Please allow me to lay down the basic premise of my platform.

I am a recent retiree after 39 years in public education. I graduated three children from RRPS and served as an administrator at both Rio Rancho High School and V. Sue Cleveland High School. I am interested in serving on the RRPS board because I believe that my experience as a parent, teacher and administrator would bring a unique perspective to the board.

I believe that:

1. Schools should be allowed to focus solely on the well-rounded education of children at all levels without the influence of extremist views. Children must not be “indoctrinated” by either the right or left.

2. The RRPS Board must allow common sense to prevail in all decisions being made (no boys in girls restrooms, etc.).

3. The RRPS Board must allow parents much more of a say in school curriculum, books in the libraries, etc.

The board MUST listen to all stakeholders who are actually in the trenches with the students. In my 39 years of experience (especially as an administrator), I have witnessed many things that the vast majority of board members have never seen nor even envisioned as having happened. I strongly believe that feelings of all staff MUST be given great consideration prior to big decisions being made. Credence must be given to those who are actually in the classroom trenches.

Look at other school districts nationwide with similar demographics to Rio Rancho. What are they doing to effectively curtail violence and drug use in the schools? The district and board must be willing to explore and implement policies that may seem far-fetched at the time. In retrospect, I remember just the conversation of having armed security officers at RRPS schools being very controversial. This policy has now proven to be very successful and was long overdue.

Programs that are “non-essential” (academically speaking) must be prepared to “bite the bullet” and seek alternate resources in the event of funding cuts. Extra-curricular and co-curricular programs are the ONLY reason many of our secondary level students attend school, so it is critical to maintain these programs for our students. Many programs are gateways to real world industries in career/tech, with students being able to acquire internships in their chosen field right after graduation.

If you believe that my core values align with your core values, I would greatly appreciate your vote as a write-in candidate for District 1. As a write-in candidate, you must physically fill in the “bubble” and write in Rudy Galindo. Thank you and may God bless!