The Gallup-McKinley County School Board released Superintendent Frank Chiapetti from his duties Dec. 19, putting the long-time educator on paid administrative leave until June 2017. June 30 marks the official end of the $132,000 annual contract that Chiapetti has with the school district.

The action took place at Tse Yi Gai High School in Pueblo Pintado and during a regular school board meeting. After a little more than two hours in an executive session, board member Lynn Huenemann motioned for Chiapetti’s exit and to put assistant superintendent of business and human resources Mike Hyatt in the superintendent’s seat on a temporary basis.

The vote to remove Chiapetti was 4-1 with retired Gallup High School educator Joe Menini opposed. Menini and Huenemann are white, and board members Sandra Jeff, Kevin Mitchell and Priscilla Manuelito are Navajo. Some in the community have said major board decisions often times fall along racial lines.

“After more than a year of attempting to work out our differences and attempting to supervise and communicate with (Mr. Chiapetti), the Board of Education has come to the point in its evaluation of that employer-employee relationship that it no longer has trust nor confidence in him (Chiapetti) to work with the Board of Education in a manner necessary for him to be the administrative and educational leader of the school district,” Manuelito wrote in a one-page letter distributed Dec. 21 and that was not dated.

Manuelito continued, “It has become apparent that (Mr. Chiapetti) and the Board of Education do not share a common view nor are in agreement on how to best achieve the primary goal of increasing the quality of the education provided to all students of the school district. It has resulted in repeated conflicts and disagreements. The relationship has become toxic and a distraction in moving forward in the school year and in the school years to follow.”

During a phone interview Dec. 21, Manuelito said that the board can evaluate the superintendent anytime before his contract is up for renewal – every month if need be.

But this isn’t Chiapetti’s first board-mandated administrative leave, as the board placed him on leave in August 2015, pending an internal investigation. Sources have said that the investigation stemmed from grievances filed against the superintendent. However, Chiapetti was reinstated in November 2015. To date, the district hasn’t offered media groups access to documents pertaining to the investigation, and is facing a lawsuit filed by a local media group, which argues that the denial of releasing the investigative report constitutes a violation of New Mexico Inspection of Public Records Act.

Reached by telephone Dec. 21, Chiapetti said he was “still in the dark” about the whole matter. He said specifics about what he was doing wrong and right were never really explained. He said he was at a loss in trying to figure out the rationale behind the administrative leave decision. The board’s evaluative process hasn’t been wide open and available to the public.

“I don’t really understand the decision,” he said. “Not a lot was ever explained to me in detail.”

Manuelito said in the correspondence that the board will continue to look for an interim superintendent as well as a permanent superintendent for the 2017-2018 academic year.

“… the Board of Education needs an employee who is not only an expert in public education, but willing to work with the community’s representatives who are sitting on the Board of Education to achieve the same goal.”

The Gallup Sun reached out to Menini Dec. 21 via telephone, but the person who answered the phone said Menini – known to be very approachable and affable - was told not to speak with reporters.

When questioned on whether the meeting to discuss Chiapetti’s fate was held in Pueblo Pintado – about 97 miles from Gallup – to shut out public comment from Gallup constituents, Manuelito denied the assertion, saying it was about rotating meetings outside of Gallup periodically to more remote locations in the district.

“That’s a huge concern of our constituents,” she said, adding that the the board meeting was held at Tse Yi Gai High School at the request of Jeff.

The next Gallup-McKinley County Board of Education meeting is Jan. 3 at the Student Support Center on Boardman Drive in Gallup.

By Bernie Dotson
Sun Correspondent

Grandma’s Restaurant owners ringing IN THE HOLIDAYS

The holiday season is full of tradition, perhaps none more noticeable than outdoor Christmas decorations.

Color is popping up around the Indian Capital, whether in the form of white lights hanging through Coal and Aztec avenues or the bright Santa Claus greeting passersby along West Wilson Street in Gallup or the similar displays in hundreds of people’s yards in various neighborhoods around McKinley County.

For some Gallup families, spreading the holiday cheer through elaborate light displays is as important a Christmas tradition as any. “It’s something we do every year at Christmas,” Sylvestre Villegas, who lives at 217 W. Wilson Ave., in Gallup, said. “We like the lights. People who see them like them. This is something that we do especially for Christmas.”

DECKED-OUT PART OF THE BLOCK

West Wilson is hardly lacking the Christmas flare. At the intersection of Third Street and Wilson, passersby might notice Santa taking off into the night sky, about to be pulled upward by a team of luminous reindeer. Owned by Sylvestre and Ester Villegas, the spacious yard decorations are a custom job. Both Sylvestre and Ester say they’re still adding on to the display “until about a day before Dec. 25,” Sylvestre jokes. The couple, who are from Guadalajara, Mexico, own and operate Grandma’s Restaurant at 410 N. Third St. and another Grandma’s in Crownpoint.

“There are a lot of light bulbs in the yard,” the two say. “It’s Christmastime.”

It’s hard to miss the extravagant light display, which Ester says is turned on every evening at about 7:30 pm and turned off at around 10:30 pm. A celebrity cast of characters surrounds the Villegas residence – Santa Claus, the Grinch and what appears to be the “A Charlie Brown Christmas” gang.”

“We don’t want to keep the lights on too long for too many hours,” Ester quips. “We know that the electricity bill will be a little higher because of the lights. The longer the lights are on, the higher the bill.”

Neighbors and people who frequent St. Francis Church, also located on West Wilson, appreciate the light display. There are homes along West Wilson that have light displays, but not like that of the Villegas residence.

“It’s beautiful,” Moira Sanchez, 30, of Gallup’s north side commented. “You can tell they put a lot of time and effort into putting the lights up. They look very nice.”

In addition to looking at the decorations – most of them store bought – in the yard there are displays set up specifically so kids, if they want, can get their pictures taken. Now in their third year of outdoor light decorations, Sylvestre’s and Ester’s collection has expanded so much, neither can put a number on how many decorations they have. “I don’t know the exact number of lights that we have,” Ester says. “I stopped counting.”

The Villegas’ aren’t the only ones on the city’s north side spreading holiday cheer. Cutouts of holiday icons line the yards of homes for a good block or so on Princeton: ice-skating penguins, elves and snowmen, to name a few.

“We’ve seen the displays,” a telephone receptionist at St. Francis Church said. “But there are a lot of decorations on the north side. They all look good.”

Sylvestre and Ester said they’ll take the light display down on New Year’s Day.

By Bernie Dotson
Sun Correspondent

SHIPROCK – A house fire in Shiprock claimed the life of an unidentified male Dec. 13. The Navajo Nation Police Department and Fire Department responded to the fire.

The fire was reported to have taken place north of Bluff Road and east of 4th Lane.

The Shiprock Police Department was on-scene within eight minutes after the fire was reported and the Shiprock Fire Department was there within 12 minutes. Support was also given by the Ojo Amarillo and Newcomb Fire Departments. The NNFD had enough support and manpower that they didn’t need to alert the San Juan County Fire Department.

After the fire was extinguished, a burnt, deceased human body was discovered within the residence.

“While we deeply regret hearing that a life was lost in the fire, we applaud the Shiprock Police Department and the fire departments of Shiprock, Ojo Amarillo and Newcomb for coming to the assistance of the family who lost their home and loved one,” President Russell Begaye said.

Begaye said that previously, the fire departments in this area were comprised of volunteers. Currently, these positions are being staffed by fire fighters in paid positions which enables the department to respond quicker.

The president said he appreciates the ability of the Shiprock Fire Department to respond in a quick and timely manner and also for providing protection for the Navajo people.

The case is being referred to the Shiprock Navajo Criminal Investigations in conjunction with the Federal Bureau of Investigations and the Office of Medical Investigations.

Students DAZZLED AS THEY SANG, PLAYED holiday classics

SANDERS, Ariz. — The cafeteria was standing room only as parents, teachers, and community members brought their holiday cheer and supportive smiles to Valley High School’s 2nd Annual Christmas in the Valley Concert Dec. 8.

“We wanted to show the community how hard our students have worked,” Mr. Patrick Baker, high school band teacher, said, “Some students have studied music for the first time and they’ve only been doing it three months. It takes guts to get up here and play.”

The high school band played classics such as, Deck the Halls, Angels We Have Heard On High, Jingle Bell Rock, and “March” from the Nutcracker Suite.

“I’m happy to be here, and I’m happier that we have music at this school,” Mr. Michael Carpenter, music teacher at Sanders Middle School, said.

It is the first year of the middle school music program, which includes both a choir and band.

Students from the middle school were dressed in bright white and warm red choir robes as they sang a beautiful arrangement of “Carol of the Bells.”

Seasonally decorated cookies were served by culinary arts students.

As the final song, Joy to the World, was expertly played by the VHS band, Mr. Carpenter and his middle school students moved to the front of the stage and led the audience in a sing-along. The evening concluded as family and friends encouraged their budding musicians by flooding social media with praise for their child’s magical performance.

Story and photos by Stuart Noggle