by Kate Sanchez
Julie Miller retired from the position of Administrative Assistant to the Superintendent and Board of Education at Portales Schools on February 28, 2018. Retirement didn’t last long, however, and on March 1, she started her part-time position in the Special Student Services Department. The one common thread between both roles: Miller has been successful in helping day-to-day operations run smoothly.
Miller grew up in Clovis. Her dad was an iron worker and worked on the Minuteman Missile sites around the country, in addition to several other projects. Although Miller says her family moved multiple times, “Clovis was always home”. She received all her education in the Clovis Schools and graduated in 1970. She then went on to earn her associate of Arts degree in Secretarial Business from Eastern New Mexico University.
Miller’s Administrative Assistant role lasted a little over 29 years, but her impact will last for many more to come. “In that position, I was there to assist anyone (student, community member, board member, teacher, support staff, etc.) with anything they needed”, she says. While perfection is typically hard to achieve, Miller often came close. Problem solver deluxe, she would ensure that whatever she was involved in would run smoothly by providing the appropriate support. Her day-to-day tasks included things like preparing the agenda for Board of Education meetings and taking minutes at the meetings, and then preparing them for a perpetual record of the business taken by the Board. She also maintained the Board of Education Policy and Procedure Handbook, just to name a few.
In her new position, Miller finds herself again, as Administrative Assistant, this time for Special Student Services. There, her duties include entering requisitions for purchases being made by the faculty and staff, checking in and distributing materials that have been ordered, and making travel arrangements for the staff of Special Student Services, for the many meetings they attend. “I love my part time job”, Miller says, “I am not a homebody and I think I would miss dealing with the public if I retired.”
In her time at the school, Miller says that she’s seen the biggest changes come from the NM Public Education Department. “It seems that changes come from the PED daily”, she says. But also adds that change is inevitable, especially having worked under six different Superintendents and various members of the Board of Education. Changes or not, she says she has enjoyed her time being employed by the school, thanks in large-part to the people. “Both the people that I worked with daily and those that would call or come into the office needing information…it was and still is a great pleasure working for the Portales Municipal School District. It is the best school district in the state of New Mexico”, Miller says.
