Head of SFPS gets contract extended
García receives two more years, praise for her work from school board president
Veronica García called being the superintendent of Santa Fe Public Schools “the capstone” to an educational career that has covered six decades since she started in Albuquerque Public Schools in the 1970s.
She said she was humbled and honored when the district’s school board unanimously approved a two-year contract extension Tuesday that allows her to remain in her position through the 2022-23 school year. District spokesman David Carl said García’s annual salary will remain at $195,570 and no other details were available.
García completed her fourth year as superintendent after taking over on an interim basis in 2016 for Joel Boyd. She previously held the position from 1999-2002.
“I am very at home here,” García said in a phone interview Thursday. “It’s my community, and it has been an honor to serve the first time here and it continues to be.”
School board President Kate Noble praised García’s performance during the 2019 to 20 school year, calling her an “exemplary superintendent” during Tuesday’s school board meeting. Noble did not return a phone message left by The New Mexican. Noble pointed out the district had to deal with the transition to a virtual learning platform amid the COVID-19 pandemic that hit the state in mid-March and enact budget cuts because of it.
García said there was a time when she and her administration worked
seven days a week during the outset of the outbreak to get the distance-learning model operating.
“There had been a lot of professional development and use of technology by the faculty and staff and the students [prior to schools closing],” García said. “That helped us be ahead of the curve.”
García said COVID-19 will continue to be a challenge for the district as it tries to develop a model that balances in-school and virtual learning to ensure student safety as well as faculty and staff.
“There are so many moving parts to bring children back to school and to be able to fulfill the needs of our families,” García said. “There are so many details that need to be addressed in order to do that.”
“I am very at home here. It’s my community.” Superintendent Veronica García