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UPDATE: Skandera Confirmed As Education Secretary

NM Education Secretary Hanna Skandera

 The New Mexico Senate has voted to confirm Hanna Skandera as education secretary four years after she took the job.

The Senate approved her nomination 22-19 Monday.

Gov. Susana Martinez's nomination of Skandera in 2011 drew criticism because of her having never been a teacher or administrator.

Senators who supported her say she is an educator who has made improvements in the Hispanic student graduation rates in the state, New Mexico's education woes predate her, and they spoke of support for her from educators from the Navajo Nation to the University of New Mexico.

And, finally, they say, the voters have spoken by ushering Martinez to a second term and thus expressed support for her policies and appointees.

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