FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) – New Mexico’s top education official has rejected a proposal to split a school district made up largely of American Indian students.

Secretary-designate Hanna Skandera said Friday that a group of Kirtland, N.M., residents failed to show that dividing the Central Consolidated School District would be in the best interest of public education or the students. The driving force of the proposal appeared to be disagreement over actions taken by the school board, and it would irresponsible of her to approve it because people cannot get along, she said.

“The struggles and issues that have been present in the district for years can finally be put aside if the adults in charge choose to do so,” she said.

Tensions have long flared among residents in the district over what students should be taught and who is in control of a district that spans 3,000 square miles and has about 6,100 students, making it one of New Mexico’s largest based on enrollment and one of the country’s largest serving American Indian students.

Skandera’s decision came less than a month after she held a public hearing on the proposal that she said generally was civil but also included disparaging comments and allegations of racism. The proposal would have split the district at the Navajo reservation boundary, which Skandera said was “so bizarre on its face that it is unexplainable on grounds other than race.”

She did not consider a second option from proponents to include parts of the reservation in a new district because it wasn’t certified as part of the original petition.

The proponents had argued that a split would lead to more rigorous curriculum for students, greater parental involvement, less travel time for students, decreased costs and increased accessibility to school board members and a superintendent.

But at no time did the petitioners mention a strategic plan or vision for creating a new district or propose a curriculum for students, Skandera said. She also saw the potential for lawsuits arising from violations of civil and voting rights if the district, which has a 90 percent Navajo student population, was split.

Byron Manning, a spokesman for the petitioners, said decisions on how a new school district would operate are for the school board and superintendent to make, and it would have been presumptive of the petitioners to bring forth mission and vision statements. Manning said he was most disappointed that Skandera threw out a majority of documents the group provided after the hearing. Skandera said her request was for persuasive arguments, not new information at that time.

“What they’re saying is ‘the statute be damned, we don’t care. We don’t care that you have the data. We don’t care that you have the facts. We talk the talk, but we are not about to take on the Navajo tribe.”’ Manning said.

The Central Consolidated School District as a whole, Navajo Nation President Ben Shelly, tribal Vice President Rex Lee Jim, the tribe’s Human Rights Commission, eight Navajo communities and some members of the Tribal Council had spoken against the divide. They argued it amounted to segregation of Navajos living on the reservation. They also argued that a split would undo efforts to teach Navajo culture and language in the classroom.

“They are still children of this nation, and we must do everything we can to ensure they have the opportunity to learn the precious Navajo knowledge handed down from generation to generation,” Shelly said.

School board President Matthew Tso thanked Skandera for her decision that he said would help move the district forward.

Skandera commended the petitioners for the work they put into the proposal and said her decision now provides an opportunity to overcome divisions among community members. Yet Tso and Manning say they’re not so sure the rift can be healed.

To the school board, Skandera said listening to the residents of Kirtland is not an abstract hope on her part but an “absolute expectation,” and her staff would be monitoring the board’s meetings to ensure that the students’ and parents’ rights on both sides are honored.

Manning’s brother, Randy, who sits on the school board said he already has been talking with neighboring school districts about accepting students from the Central Consolidated school districts and encouraging parents who are unhappy with their students’ education to consider online schooling.

“I’m getting cries of desperation across the district because they’re not happy with what is going on,” he said.