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left-of-center2012

(34,195 posts)
Thu May 27, 2021, 10:51 AM May 2021

Entire Los Lunas, N.M., school board suspended indefinitely

The entire Los Lunas school board has been suspended due to alleged violations of procurement and public access laws, according to a release from the New Mexico Public Education Department (NMPED). Los Lunas School Board President Eloy G. Giron, Vice President P. David Vickers, Secretary Frank A. Otero, and members Bryan C. Smith and Steven R. Otero are all suspended. The NMPED release states that members are not allowed to contact school staff or use school equipment or facilities during the indefinite suspension. They also cannot use the board's attorney to represent them. The state's public education department warned the board about violations in November. They also provided training to the board members in January and March regarding the laws and rules.

The NMPED has credible evidence of the following violations by one or more board members:

PUBLIC ACCESS CONCERNS

Knowingly misrepresenting information in public meetings;
Violating the Open Meetings Act by using rolling quorums;
Acting on matters not described with reasonable specificity on board meeting agendas;
Violating the Inspection of Public Records Act by refusing to produce records as required.

PROCUREMENT CONCERNS
Interfering with district contracts and not following the Procurement Code;
Directly asking or demanding a vendor to redo a part of a contract;
Attempting to extort vendors by suggesting they would receive a district contract if they agreed to personally enrich a board member;
Soliciting bids;
Providing confidential bid information to potential vendors;
Demanding contracts for goods and services be awarded to certain vendors, bypassing appropriate procurement procedures;
Soliciting services and contracts without working with the district’s chief procurement officer and central procurement office.

ETHICAL CONCERNS
Addressing a district employee in an inappropriate and threatening manner in a public meeting;
Inducing an employee to lie about a supervisor;
Falsifying allegations about financial misconduct of school administrative personnel;
Attempting to extort school administrative, support and maintenance personnel through intimidation and threats;
Interfering with personnel matters, including demanding the demotion, suspension and/or termination of school personnel, decisions and responsibilities properly assigned by law to the superintendent;
Interfering with overall district operations;
Demanding family members be hired, in violation of prohibitions on nepotism;
Interfering with the superintendent and administrative staff roles.

https://www.kob.com/albuquerque-news/nmped-entire-los-lunas-school-board-suspended-indefinitely/6122572/?cat=500
32 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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Entire Los Lunas, N.M., school board suspended indefinitely (Original Post) left-of-center2012 May 2021 OP
Wow! They were rotten to the core. NH Ethylene May 2021 #1
Yikes! Ours definitely is not. We are transparent to the max. AllyCat May 2021 #21
. dalton99a May 2021 #2
I have an inherent distrust of anyone who wears a cowboy hat, but doesn't rope cattle for a living. Aristus May 2021 #4
I am the exact same way!!! Pacifist Patriot May 2021 #7
TX Ag. Com. Sid Miller confirms all your viewpoints. Paladin May 2021 #10
You had to know that, with a story like this, the one named "Eloy" was going to be pretending... BobTheSubgenius May 2021 #22
They seem nice. A HERETIC I AM May 2021 #12
Old white males. MAGAtts? Bernardo de La Paz May 2021 #13
3 of 5 Zeitghost May 2021 #25
There are two Spanish surnames intheflow May 2021 #30
Last I checked Zeitghost May 2021 #31
These people creep me out. Baitball Blogger May 2021 #17
Hmmm . . . there's a common thread among the five here, but I can't quite place it . . . hatrack May 2021 #29
Otero County's very red, unlike NM state government, so assuming Hortensis May 2021 #3
Two of the board members have the same name as the county. Looks like a long-term racket. lagomorph777 May 2021 #6
:) I noticed that also. This county is down south, away from Hortensis May 2021 #8
FYI - Los Lunas is nowhere near Otero County fantase56 May 2021 #19
Guess diversity wasn't an issue on the board JuJuChen May 2021 #5
Good ol' boy corruption Sur Zobra May 2021 #9
They all look like DENVERPOPS May 2021 #11
Yes, let's judge people by how they look Mysterian May 2021 #16
Oh, look! intheflow May 2021 #23
White men? Zeitghost May 2021 #26
You have no idea what BIPOC means intheflow May 2021 #27
Are you really... Zeitghost May 2021 #32
This message was self-deleted by its author intheflow May 2021 #24
Board members in good standing with the local rethuglican committee. lpbk2713 May 2021 #14
My honey lives in Los Lunas and knows one of the Oteros womanofthehills May 2021 #28
Some school board members are decent, conscientious people who wish to improve their schools Mysterian May 2021 #15
So? Dogboyzdad May 2021 #18
hey, they had to work real hard to get all that done in their tenures AllyCat May 2021 #20

NH Ethylene

(30,813 posts)
1. Wow! They were rotten to the core.
Thu May 27, 2021, 11:07 AM
May 2021

I've never heard of suspending a school board before, but I hope this is well publicized. A lot of members of school boards and town boards of selectmen are guilty of these kinds of offenses, and it's good for them to see accountability.

AllyCat

(16,189 posts)
21. Yikes! Ours definitely is not. We are transparent to the max.
Thu May 27, 2021, 01:36 PM
May 2021

I literally cannot imagine this happening with our current board.

Aristus

(66,388 posts)
4. I have an inherent distrust of anyone who wears a cowboy hat, but doesn't rope cattle for a living.
Thu May 27, 2021, 11:38 AM
May 2021

They always seen like emotional seven year-olds who see themselves as rootin'-tootin', six-gun shootin' Wild West heroes.

It's hard to square with the beer-bellies, the slack muscles, and the double chins.

Paladin

(28,264 posts)
10. TX Ag. Com. Sid Miller confirms all your viewpoints.
Thu May 27, 2021, 12:17 PM
May 2021

A large piece of shit, stupid even by TX right-wing standards, in a cowboy hat.

BobTheSubgenius

(11,564 posts)
22. You had to know that, with a story like this, the one named "Eloy" was going to be pretending...
Thu May 27, 2021, 01:52 PM
May 2021

...to be a cowboy. He'd be right at home if his surname was Bundy, don't you think?

intheflow

(28,477 posts)
30. There are two Spanish surnames
Fri May 28, 2021, 12:17 PM
May 2021

among three people, Giron and Otero. A Spanish surname indicates Mestizo, who usually identify as white.

Zeitghost

(3,862 posts)
31. Last I checked
Fri May 28, 2021, 12:49 PM
May 2021

Mestizo people are included in the I portion of BIPOC. Are we now denying brown people are marginalized?

hatrack

(59,587 posts)
29. Hmmm . . . there's a common thread among the five here, but I can't quite place it . . .
Thu May 27, 2021, 07:50 PM
May 2021

Can anybody help?

Hortensis

(58,785 posts)
3. Otero County's very red, unlike NM state government, so assuming
Thu May 27, 2021, 11:31 AM
May 2021

the school board is also very red and all those charges are fully justified.

lagomorph777

(30,613 posts)
6. Two of the board members have the same name as the county. Looks like a long-term racket.
Thu May 27, 2021, 11:42 AM
May 2021

They might as well be called "Boss Hogg."

fantase56

(444 posts)
19. FYI - Los Lunas is nowhere near Otero County
Thu May 27, 2021, 01:32 PM
May 2021

It's in Valencia County just south of Albuquerque..... There is however a nice little prison in Los Lunas where they might get to visit.

DENVERPOPS

(8,835 posts)
11. They all look like
Thu May 27, 2021, 12:44 PM
May 2021

a bunch of white, male, entitled pigs............At the risk of getting my hand slapped by DU, I will say no more.........

intheflow

(28,477 posts)
23. Oh, look!
Thu May 27, 2021, 02:45 PM
May 2021

Here you are, slapping his hand!

If it looks like a MAGA and it acts like a MAGA, it’s usually safe to assume they’re Trump Humpers. The poster you replied to based his initial assessment on the OP outlining ethics violations. It’s pretty easy to make the leap that white men + corruption = MAGA. He didn’t just look at their photos and jump to a conclusion.

intheflow

(28,477 posts)
27. You have no idea what BIPOC means
Thu May 27, 2021, 06:52 PM
May 2021

Last edited Fri May 28, 2021, 12:04 PM - Edit history (1)

in terms of Latino identity, do you? White (or white passing) Latinos can pass as white, and many are descended from Spaniards and identify as and with whites. Otero, in particular, is a Spanish surname, and there are the only two I think are Latino, only one looks like a Mestizo, or POC, as you put it. (Can’t imagine who the third one is that you’re referring to. The guy named Smith?) All these men are white MAGA. (By the way, this area was mostly blue in the 2016 election, but went hard Trump in 2020. Coincidentally, just about the same time a Facebook data processing center came to town. Or is it coincidental? )

Zeitghost

(3,862 posts)
32. Are you really...
Fri May 28, 2021, 12:54 PM
May 2021

Questioning the minority and indigenous status of the Mexican people because some can pass for white?

Response to Mysterian (Reply #16)

womanofthehills

(8,718 posts)
28. My honey lives in Los Lunas and knows one of the Oteros
Thu May 27, 2021, 07:47 PM
May 2021

He’s surprised by this. Said the guy is definitely a dem. I’ve met Otero a few times but only talked with him for about 10 minutes.

Mysterian

(4,588 posts)
15. Some school board members are decent, conscientious people who wish to improve their schools
Thu May 27, 2021, 12:54 PM
May 2021

But it seems a lot of them are stupid assholes who just want to do some power trippin'. It's the same with most local boards I've encountered.

AllyCat

(16,189 posts)
20. hey, they had to work real hard to get all that done in their tenures
Thu May 27, 2021, 01:34 PM
May 2021

We are incredibly careful even being in public together for fear of folks thinking we are a walking quorum. If we go out for drinks after a meeting, we make an announcement of where we will be and no school board business will be discussed or voted on. Someone is always looking at the financials and we publish it EVERY SINGLE meeting. Anyone can look at it.

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