Rio Rancho Schools Board Secretary Dr. Beth Miller Steps Down, Citing Health

Dr. Beth Miller, the District 4 representative and board secretary for Rio Rancho Public Schools, announced March 6 that she will step down from the five-member Board of Education to focus on her health, and the district said she "will officially depart Monday," a move that coincides with the next regular board meeting and a work session on Independence High School.

Miller joined the RRPS board in 2023 after defeating former board member Ramon Montaño in the November 2023 election with 58 percent of the vote, and Ballotpedia lists her term as running from 2023 to 2027. The district release excerpt provided to reporters was truncated; the Rio Rancho Observer reported Miller's departure is for health reasons and tied the timing to the upcoming meeting schedule.

School board records and meeting coverage show Miller participated in the district’s recent superintendent search and voted in December for Dr. Robert "Robby" Dodd, described in coverage as a former longtime Maryland schools administrator who is set to become only the second superintendent in RRPS history. Miller represented Lincoln Middle School, the single RRPS school located inside District 4.

Miller has been absent from several recent board meetings, including the Feb. 23 session where board member Amanda Galbraith publicly excused Miller and said only, "we wish her well." The district statement cited board policy for filling vacancies: the remaining four board members have the authority to appoint Miller’s successor, and the board said it will provide additional details about the appointment process "in the coming weeks."

Background material from a board meeting transcript and online video highlights Miller’s higher-education administrative experience, noting, "When I first met Beth, she was a uh administrator for the University of New Mexico, uh she worked in uh for some years in the Gallup campus when she came to help start the UNM campus here in Rio Rancho, was the chief administrator for that campus, and we had opportunities to work together on on several uh projects and so really glad that she brings that university experience to the district and many years of administrative experience."

Rio Rancho Public Schools serves 16,725 students across 21 schools in the 2023–2024 school year, with 771.72 full-time classroom teachers and a student-teacher ratio of 21.67, per Ballotpedia statistics. The RRPS board is composed of five members: Gary Tripp (District 1, term ends 2025), Amanda Galbraith (District 2, term ends 2027), Jeffrey Morgan (District 3, term ends 2025), Beth Miller (District 4, term ends 2027) and Jessica Tyler (District 5, term ends 2025).

As the board prepares the Independence High School work session and moves forward with the superintendent transition, the district has said it will outline the vacancy appointment process in the coming weeks; reporters requested the full district release for complete wording and confirmation of the effective departure date. Photo used in initial reporting was credited to KEVIN OPSAHL.