NM Public Education Secretary Arsenio Romero abruptly resigns amid NMSU job intrigue

SANTA FE — Just weeks into a new school year, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham is once again in the market for a new boss at the Public Education Department.

New Mexico’s top public education official Arsenio Romero abruptly resigned Wednesday, less than two weeks after being named a finalist for the job of president at New Mexico State University.

A spokesman for Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham confirmed the two-term governor had asked Romero to pick between his current job or the position he’s seeking.

“Gov. Lujan Grisham gave Secretary Romero a choice to either resign and continue pursuing the NMSU position or stay on the job and withdraw his candidacy at NMSU,” the governor’s spokesman Michael Coleman told the Journal.

“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,” Coleman added.

Romero was appointed to lead the state’s Public Education Department by Lujan Grisham in February 2023, becoming the fourth person in four-plus years to hold the high-profile job.

A former Los Lunas Schools superintendent, Romero said during his Senate confirmation hearing in March 2023 that New Mexico is “going to be stuck with me for a long time.”

“I’m here for the long haul ... and together, we’re going to do amazing things,” he also said at the time.

As PED secretary, Romero has led the agency’s efforts, via a new rule, to require New Mexico public schools to spend at least 180 days with students per school year.

But a coalition of school districts and superintendents filed a lawsuit challenging the department’s rule, leading to the proposed July 1 implementation date being put on hold.

Given that backdrop, Romero was named one of five finalists for the vacant NMSU president job earlier this month, an announcement that apparently caught the governor by surprise.

In a terse statement released late Wednesday afternoon, Lujan Grisham wished Romero well.

“I appreciate Secretary Romero’s service to the New Mexico Public Education Department and the children of our state,” the governor said. “I wish him the best in his future endeavors.”

The Governor’s Office also said Lujan Grisham and top staffers would immediately begin interviewing new candidates to lead the Public Education Department.

In a social media post late Wednesday, Romero indirectly addressed his resignation, saying, “This is hard work and not everyone is willing to step up to the plate, take risks and sometimes make others mad.”

“I am proud of my years as a public school servant. My next adventure awaits,” Romero said in his Facebook post.

Earlier in the day, Romero attended new Albuquerque Public Schools Superintendent Gabriella Durán Blakey’s first state of the district speech and could be seen chatting with local legislators.