Recently, the Daytona Beach News-Journal published an
editorial highly
critical of Rio Rancho High School and some of its
staff members. It
was written by Bill Hill, a columnist for the paper
and, he states, a
friend of Bill Nevins, an untenured teacher whose
contract was not
renewed at the end of the 2002-03 school year. Mr.
Nevins is currently
engaged in a legal action against the Rio Rancho
Public Schools.

While we recognize the right of newspapers to engage
in fair criticism,
such criticism should be grounded in the facts. We
are disturbed that
neither the writer nor the Daytona Beach News-Journal
contacted the
school district for information or comment. This
editorial, simply
put,
is rife with inaccuracies, misinformation, and
outright untruths. Its
publication constitutes a reckless disregard for the
truth to such a
degree that Rio Rancho Public Schools has asked its
lawyers to review
and evaluate what legal recourse may be available.

Because Mr. Nevins' case is in litigation and involves
a personnel
issue, Rio Rancho Public Schools has been limited in
what it can say in
response to the many misrepresentations that have
appeared in the
media.
We are unable to discuss the reasons Mr. Nevins was
not rehired.
However, we can state the reasons have nothing to do
with the exercise
of free speech or free expression. This is not a free
speech issue.

The original lawsuit included three causes of action.
Two of these
claims, for breach of his employment contract and for
retaliation, have
since been dismissed by the federal court.

We wish to assure the public that the teaching,
reading, and writing of
poetry are alive and well at Rio Rancho High School.
The editorial's
contention that the school's principal ordered an end
to the teaching,
reading, and writing of poetry is so ludicrous as to
be almost
laughable.

While we cannot discuss a case in litigation, we can
address some of
the
inaccuracies in the editorial that are not part of the
case:

. The editorial describes an incident involving art
students and
teachers and "un-American" student posters. This
incident did not
occur
at Rio Rancho High School or anywhere in the Rio
Rancho Public Schools.
It happened in a neighboring New Mexico school
district and was widely
reported by the local media. A cursory check of the
archives of the
Albuquerque papers would have revealed this fact.

. Neither the Rio Rancho School Employees, Union (the
union
representing most district employees) nor the American
Civil Liberties
Union are parties to the current legal action.

. The editorial states that the principal read a
patriotic poem at
a flag-raising ceremony and shouted "shut your face,"
to those who did
not share his opinion. There was indeed a ceremony
held to receive a
flag that had been flown in the war theatre and
donated to the school.
A poem written by a soldier serving in Iraq was read
(not shouted), but
not by the principal. The "shut your face" reference
is part of this
poem.

. The editorial states that Mr. Nevins was unable to
go to work at
another school because the principal wouldn't forward
his credentials.
On September 11, 2003, the Rio Rancho Observer
reported that Mr. Nevins
was employed at a public charter school in
Albuquerque. Procedurally,
requests for credentials must be properly authorized
by the employee
and
submitted to the Human Resources Department (not the
principal). All
such requests are promptly processed.

. The editorial describes a poem written by a student
named
Courtney, and states that her mother (described as
being a teacher at
the school) was ordered by the principal to destroy
the girl's poem or
face dismissal. Not true. The student's mother is
not a teacher;
however, she was and continues to be employed by the
school district.
She was never threatened with being fired, nor was she
ordered to
destroy the poem.

The district stands behind former RRHS principal Gary
Tripp and others
who have been unfairly maligned in this editorial and
in other media in
the months since Mr. Nevins' departure. We also
regret that Courtney
and her family have been subjected to unwanted public
attention. About
a year ago, Courtney wrote a statement that was
published in two local
papers as a letter to the editor. She has given us
permission to share
this letter with you, and we hope it helps you further
understand this
situation.

Thank you for your inquiry and for giving us the
opportunity to
respond.
We look forward to a resolution of this issue in the
legal system.

Kim Vesely
Communications Officer
Rio Rancho Public Schools

Please feel free to share this response.
______

To Whom It May Concern:

This is the first and last time I will discuss
publicly the controversy
surrounding my poem, the Slam Poetry Club, and RRHS
teacher Bill
Nevins,
the club's sponsor.
During the fall semester at RRHS I wrote a poem
entitled
"Revolution X." I, along with other students,
delivered poetry in the
Performing Arts Center at the high school. We
received praise from
staff and students in the packed auditorium. Early in
the spring term,
I read my poem again on the school announcements.
This poem is a
social
commentary. It comments on how our society claims to
value education,
but in actuality spends energy, time and resources on
other things,
such
as war. A staff member, who has a military background
and military
mindset, complained about the poem, saying it was an
anti-war speech.
I
can only assume that he cannot distinguish between a
speech and a poem,
or that he did not recognize it as an allegory.
Due to the complaint, the administration asked for a
copy of the
poem. No one demanded that my parents "search my
room" for the poem,
as
has been reported. I delivered it to the RRHS
administrators when I
got
back from Spring Break because they wished to read it.
They read it,
looking for two things: profanity and incitement to
violence. They
found neither. I was not disciplined. My freedom of
speech was not
violated. It has been suggested that I was not
disciplined because my
parents are on staff at the high school. Let me
assure you that's not
the case. In my years at Rio Rancho High School, I've
been tardy to
class and been busted for dress code, receiving my
fair share of hours
in after-school detention. Staff members' kids are
not given
preferential treatment.

When I asked the administration why Mr. Nevins was put on administrative leave, I was told that the reasons would not be discussed with me, but that they had absolutely nothing to do with me or my poem. I accept that. The administration at RRHS has been nothing but supportive of my poetry endeavors and continue to encourage my writing, even in light of all this nonsense. Will the Slam Poetry Club continue to function in the absence of Mr. Nevins? I don't know. I don't plan to participate because I simply do not have the time. I'm trying to make a good grade in Chemistry, maintain my GPA, choose a college for next year, and get on with my life.

However, I am angry about two things. My poem has been put on the Internet. I did not give permission for anyone to print it or copy it. What makes it worse is that lines have been changed and added. My poem has been prostituted for the world to see. My freedom of speech has been violated because I chose not to speak, but now my words are under scrutiny despite my attempts otherwise.

My family and I have been bombarded for weeks with questions about all of this by newspapers, TV stations, and even national publications. My family's well-earned Spring Break was interrupted repeatedly. This has caused undue stress for my family and is not appreciated. I will comment no further on the subject. I will accept neither calls nor visitors wishing to discuss anything pertaining to this issue. Now that curiosity has been satisfied, I can only hope that we will focus on something more important, like bringing home everyone fighting in the war we insist on having.