Tenorio will seek re-election to school board

Las Cruces Public Schools Board of Education President Teresa Tenorio will seek a second four-year term on the school board in the Nov. 7, 2023, local election that includes three school districts, municipal races and soil and water conservation districts in Doña Ana County.

Tenorio was first elected to the school board in November 2019, receiving about one third of the vote in the six-candidate race in District 4. Then incumbent Maury Castro did not run for re-election.

Tenorio was elected board president in January of this year.

The school district budget is “in good shape,” and school district officials have “developed a more transparent (budget) process,” Tenorio said.

As part of the budget process, it is important that principals, teachers and parents at each school, work together to make sure the district is aware of all their needs, she said.

“Our teachers know best what they need in the classroom,” Tenorio said. “We want to know what the need is.”

There are six schools in her district, but LCPS has 40 schools in all, and “They’re all my schools,” she said.

Tenorio said she is concerned that LCPS “is not keeping up with the growth” in the district.

“Getting Columbia Elementary back is so important,” she said. (See below for details on Columbia.)

Tenorio said her regular visits to schools throughout the district are “opportunities to talk to people. I try to do a lot of (school) functions throughout the year,” she said.

“We’re bringing in new leadership,” Tenorio said. It’s “a time to listen. I’m always learning.”

“Our employees have always kept the ship steady,” she said. “They’re doing what’s best for kids.”

Tenorio grew up in Santa Rosa, New Mexico, where both her parents were teachers, and were “wonderful role models,” she said in her LCPS biography. There are 12 educators in three generations of her family.

Tenorio has a bachelor’s degree in university studies from the University of New Mexico with an interdisciplinary focus on health and society.

She is married to Manuel Sanchez, who is a member of the Doña Ana County Commission. They have three daughters, ages 9 (a fourth grader), 11 (a sixth grader) and 13 (an eighth grader).

Columbia Elementary

Columbia Elementary School was closed in 2018 because of a mold infestation. Students have been attending classes at Centennial High School since then. The Columbia Elementary building was demolished in 2022. The design of the new school building is complete and will be taken to the LCPS Board of Education for its approval this month, said LCPS Director of Construction Gloria Martinez. If approved, construction should start in November, and expected to be completed for the 2025-26 school year, Martinez said.