SANTA FE — The New Mexico Senate voted Monday to confirm Hanna Skandera as education secretary — four years after she took the job.
Skandera has faced criticism from Democrats and teachers unions over policy and experience.
Nominated by Gov. Susana Martinez, Skandera has supported merit pay for teachers, assigning grades to schools, evaluating teachers based heavily on standardized test scores and a plan to hold back third-graders who can’t read proficiently. She has never been a teacher or an administrator.
Still, the Senate approved her nomination in a 22-19 bi-partisan vote.
“The governor is pleased with the vote today and is thankful this marks an end to the four-year efforts of some to obstruct this process,” Enrique Knell, Martinez’s communications director, said in an e-mail.
Skandera finally got a confirmation vote after the New Mexico Senate Rules Committee voted 5-4 earlier in the day to send her nomination to the full Senate.
“Our school system has been failing for much longer than four years,” said Sen. John Ryan, R-Los Ranchos de Albuquerque.
