April 12, 2005
New Mexico Public Education Department
300 Don Gaspar
Santa Fe, NM 87501-2786

Jennifer Chavez
Public Information Officer
(505) 476-0393
jchavez@ped.state.nm.us

Secretary García Visits Several
Schools in Southeast New Mexico Today

(Santa Fe, NM)— Secretary Veronica C. García announced today that she would be visiting several school districts in the Southeastern portion of the State. Secretary Garcia’s visit was planned by Superintendent Gottlieb, of the Roswell School District, in an effort to increase her accessibility across the state and to have a “hands on” experience by visiting exemplary programs.

Superintendent Gottlieb, “I’ve been in education in 24 years, and Secretary García is the first chief state school officer out of Santa Fe to make school visits in rural school districts in Southeastern New Mexico. We arranged this trip for her to get first hand knowledge of how taxpayer dollars are being spent in the classroom and that each one of our school districts are very unique in terms of what we offer.”

Secretary García remarked, “I believe it is important to get into the classroom, visit with teachers and principals, to see what’s really happening outside of Santa Fe. I also want to glean best practices to share with others across the state.”

Secretary García’s itinerary is as follows:
9:00-10:00 am Roswell School District
Parkview Early Learning Center
Roswell High School		 Mike Gottlieb, Superintendent
627-2511
10:30-11:15 am Dexter School District Sid Miller, Superintendent
734-5420
12:00-12:30 pm Hagerman School District Steve Starkey, Superintendent
752-3254
12:45-1:30 pm Lake Arthur School District Michael Grossman, Superintendent
365-2000
2:00 – 3:00 pm Artesia School District James Phipps, Superintendent
746-3585

To arrange an interview with Secretary García, please contact the Superintendent’s offices above to get a more detailed schedule.