Meech seeks Grants District 1 school post

Copyright © 2009
Gallup Independent
By Helen Davis
Cibola County Bureau

GRANTS — District 1 in the Grants/Cibola County School Board election will see a four-way race on Feb. 3.
Cubero resident Walter L. Meech, owner of C and E Concrete in Grants, faces off against Jerald Smith, Emily Cheromia and Sharon Young for the seat serving the east side of the school district.

Meech grew up in Albuquerque, graduated from West Mesa High School there and attended TVI Community College for construction and drafting.

The candidate said he and his wife, Vicki, have been involved in education for at least 20 years. Their children have graduated from Grants High School and gone on the attend University of New Mexico in Albuquerque.

Meech said he has been going to school board meetings for 20 years, has watched five rotations of board members and will continue to go even if he does not win the board seat.

“It is for the kids, to make a better system,” he said about his candidacy.

Meech stressed that improvements to the system such as the bond issue that has helped GHS construct new buildings should reach all schools in the district and not just one school. He said he helped with the first phase of the new building at Laguna Acoma High School as part of his involvement in district education.

The candidate said he wants to see buildings taken care of and designed properly and has noticed that new plans offered to the district recently are correcting some past difficulties in building construction, but academics and achievement are also a focus.

“We need to raise our standards so the kids are better prepared when they go out in the real world,” he said. Meech cited the concurrent enrollment program with the NMSU branch campus as an area that serves the students academically and can improve and expand.

Like most candidates in this election, Meech has concerns about the Adequate Yearly Progress and No Child Left Behind programs. In order to receive needed federal money, the local district must comply with the requirements of these programs regardless of how well they serve the variety of students in Cibola schools.

“I don’t think they (the federal planners) really looked at it,” Meech said. “What works in the East is not what works in the West,” he added and stated that No Child Left Behind needs to be revisited.

Meech said the current makeup of the district and board is doing well in working through roadblocks confronted by the Milan Elementary project. “They are still trying to improve what we have, still getting working funding through a ranking system,” he said. The ranking system assigns need values all over this district.Meech said he has ideas and priorities, such as improving math and English skills in students, cooperation within the board and school, facilities but a board member only has one vote; just because a member votes for what he/she wants does not mean they will get it.

He also said that the school board has little or no say in the day-to-day running of the schools but can critique and advise the superintendent who is responsible for the running of county schools.