Schools superintendent leaving on high note

Veronica García is stepping aside as superintendent of Santa Fe Public Schools after five years in the job, the last one managing how students learn in a pandemic.

Hers is a well-deserved retirement. She can take with her the satisfaction of leaving the district on a high note. Its fouryear graduation rate rose to 86.3 percent for 2020, up from 78.1 percent in 2019.

That compares to 68.9 percent reported in 2018, after her first year back in the job. It had dipped a bit that year from 71 percent in 2017; García said at the time she had told the board to expect a decline.

García also said then that the district tightened up how students could make up credits and “worked to adhere to rigorous academic standards.”

One step back to build a better foundation for future success. And that demonstrates one of García’s strengths: She takes the long view, with no shortcuts.

Her ability to do the work to lay a solid foundation is one reason Santa Fe was better prepared to start remote learning when COVID-19 turned the world upside down last year.

In 2019, Santa Fe used a mail-in election to continue its Educational Technology Note, with voters approving millions to improve internet connectivity at schools, buy devices for all students and help train teachers to use technology in the classroom — which, of course, meant that when students had to begin learning from home, the tools were there to succeed — or at the very least, survive.

The year of managing during a pandemic has taken its toll, though.

The strains of implementing remote learning, setting up hybrid schedules, getting schools prepared for students to return, negotiating with teachers and dealing with the myriad complaints of those who want change now — all the demands of leadership — have left the superintendent ready to take break.

Perhaps that’s just part of the daily grind in leading Santa Fe Public Schools, and it may be a cautionary tale for anyone, near or far, who wants the job. This one ain’t easy.

The five years at the helm were García’s second time as superintendent, taking over first as interim and then permanent superintendent after change-maker Joel Boyd left the job. She had the mission of keeping Boyd’s best innovations while restoring morale and consistency to the district.

Setting things right must have felt familiar to García, who first became superintendent in Santa Fe in 1999 — the seventh in a decade. It was a period of upheaval for the district. She guided Santa Fe schools out of a financial mess and, after two years, resigned to take care of her health. The first time around, she didn’t even have to apply. Lee Vargas resigned and García was appointed his successor at the same meeting. Then-school board President Donita Sena said the district “didn’t want to skip a beat.”

It didn’t.

When she returned to Santa Fe in 2016, she was going to be a bridge between Boyd’s energetic push for reform and a stable, long-term successor. She did so well as the district’s interim leader that the board chose her as the permanent superintendent. García became the stabilizing factor, just as she was 20 years ago.

After 48 years in education — including serving as the first secretary of the Public Education Department and the last five as Santa Fe’s superintendent — García deserves not just a rest, but our gratitude. Twice, she took a district in need of repair and left it better than when she arrived.

Let’s hope we don’t need her a third time.