‘Our kids, our schools, our future — that’s what it’s all about.’
By JUAN ESPINOSA
Fred Galves wants every pupil in School District 60 to at least have the same opportunities he had when he graduated from South High and went on to earn degrees from Colorado College and Harvard University.
The odds were against him. He came from a single-parent household where his mother earned less in a year than the cost of attending Colorado College for one year. But he received the support and guidance from teachers, family and friends that it took for a Pueblo Latino to succeed at two of the nation’s best schools.
Earlier this month, Galves announced his candidacy for D60 Board of Education. He returned to Pueblo four years ago after a career as a law professor. He is currently a partner in the law firm of Orona Garcia & Galves PC.
“Our kids, our schools, our future — that’s what it’s all about,” he said. “I’ve had so many people who have helped me. Now that I’m back in my hometown, I want to make sure we’re moving forward in improving public education.”
Making public schools as good as the ones he attended is not necessarily the goal. “They should be better now,” he said. “The answer to education is not for every kid to go to Harvard. Instead, we need to make sure that every kid that goes to District 60 gets a valuable education. A lot of future jobs will require skills that even artificial intelligence can’t replace.”
In addition to a vigorous college prep program, he thinks public education should offer non-college-bound students other educational opportunities, including vocational education and professional licenses and certifications.
When he was in high school, Galves took a graphic arts class that led to a placement at Bob Pacheco’s Speed-E-Print shop in the Union Depot. “I learned a lot working for Bob. I learned a valuable skill and about keeping customers and the boss happy.”
In the print shop, he learned the value of doing quality work and the consequences of making mistakes. It gave him confidence to know he had learned a marketable skill.
In many ways, Galves says he is typical of many of Pueblo’s young. “My mom and brother didn’t graduate from high school,” he said. “My grandfather never attended school at all. They were extremely intelligent and worked hard.”
Others did finish high school and went on to college. Some in his family were well educated and have had significant careers. One was his uncle Dr. Edmund Vallejo, who was the District 60 Superintendent from 1985-1991. “He was truly an inspiration for me. I hope to follow his legacy and pursue his dream of a better Pueblo public school system.”
Galves said he is running for the school board to counter what feels like a “war on public schools” at both the national and state levels. Funds for public education are drying up. Some in society would like to end the right to a good public educational system.
“Some individuals want to completely privatize education, where only families of means, could then properly educate their kids in expensive private schools.”
Improving our schools in every way is the solution to declining funding and enrolment, he believes.
“We have to fight to try to keep those state and federal dollars so we’re not losing money,” If we make our schools better, we could draw students back who are looking for better and safer schools. We have to stop the declining enrollment.”
Just as critical is making sure the district is not wasting money. We need to get every benefit possible from the money we do have.
“As a law professor, I was on the financial committees at the law school,” he said. “I wanted to make sure we were using the money wisely.”
As a member of the board, Galves said he would strive to provide better financial and moral support to our teachers.
“Teachers have an incredibly difficult job, plus preparing our students for the future,” he said. “As a community, we must begin the discussion of having mental-health-trained social workers in our schools. Teachers should not have to carry the extra burdens of serious mental and disciplinary situations on top of their already complex duties.”
Professionals in the fields of mental health and social work could relieve teachers to teach and allow school resource officers to focus on school safety.
“In my youth, I never felt that schools were unsafe,” said Galves. “There weren’t huge mental health issues at the level we have now. Teachers didn’t also have to be security guards, and mental health or social workers.”
Proud of his Pueblo roots, Galves said he wants to help improve the public school system at this critical time.
“We have our share of problems here — crime, poverty, substance addiction, and a lack of economic opportunity for many. Several of these problems stem from our poor educational system,” he said.
The district’s overall academic performance is at an alarming low with district students generally performing poorly on standardized tests. The district needs to avoid “teaching to the test” as a strategy for improving test scores.
“Our schools should be in pursuit of good writing, creative pursuits in the arts and music and quit ignoring innovative methods of learning,” he said.
Two Pueblo D60 Board of Education seats — occupied by incumbents Kathy DeNiro and Brian Cisneros — are up for election this November. Rae Carnevale, Tommy Farrell, and Daniel Mc-Henry are among the candidates who have announced their candidacy for the school board.
