Skandera Closes Albuquerque PED Office

Jay Miller

Inside the Capitol - Public Education Department Secretary Hanna Skandera is closing the department's Albuquerque office and transferring the 18 employees to Santa Fe.. This follows her cut a few months ago of 33 jobs in Santa Fe. How can she do all this when Gov. Susana Martinez has frequently said she will protect public schools from budget cuts? Well, she later amended that position by stating she wouldn't touch classrooms. At the same time Gov. Martinez said she wants major cuts in bloated school administration. In that category, she includes the Public Education Department, despite charging it with reforming education. Skandera's position is that she doesn't need a lot of employees to bring about the education changes she wants.

Hanna Skandera



Plus, her department was hit with more than a 20 percent funding cut by the Legislature. Some departments require more than one office because the staffing has grown to the point that one building won't hold them. But with the hiring freeze of the past three years, it now should be possible for many departments and agencies to consolidate into one building. During the years of staff expansion to second and third locations, Albuquerque was a very popular place. A primary reason for this was that many cabinet secretaries already lived in Albuquerque and it was far easier to frequently work in an Albuquerque office than face the daily commute. Read full story here: News New Mexico

Skandera Closes Albuquerque PED Office