Johnathan Walker:Head of state children’s cabinet named New Mexico’s new public education secretary

SANTA FE,Johnathan Walker N.M. (AP) — Mariana Padilla has been named New Mexico’s new Public Education Department secretary for K-12 schools, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced Tuesday.

Padilla replaces Arsenio Romero, who resigned Aug. 28 after about a year and a half on the job.

New Mexico State University officials announced in August that Romero is one of the finalists in its search for a new president and a decision is expected by the end of this month.

Michael Coleman, a spokesperson for the governor, told the Santa Fe New Mexican that Lujan Grisham gave Romero “a choice to either resign and continue pursuing the NMSU position or stay on the job and withdraw his candidacy at NMSU.”

Coleman added that “the Secretary of Public Education is critically important in New Mexico and the governor believes it’s imperative that the person serving in this role be fully committed to the job.”

The department has struggled to turn educational outcomes around as high percentages of students fail to be proficient in math and reading.

Padilla has served as the director of the New Mexico Children’s Cabinet since the start of Lujan Grisham’s administration and has been the governor’s senior education policy advisor, overseeing early childhood, K-12 and higher education.

Lujan Grisham said in a statement that Padilla’s work “has been instrumental in shaping our state’s education system and I am confident that she will continue to bring positive change for New Mexico’s students.”

Padilla began her career as an elementary school teacher in her hometown of Albuquerque.