The Española Military Academy won a bittersweet victory against a former employee when an arbitrator upheld the Academy’s decision to fire Leonard Martinez but stuck the school with thousands in legal fees.
“It was kind of like, ‘Congratulations, you won, now you pay the bill,’” Headmaster Steve Baca said.
Arbitrator Michael T. Pottow concluded that Headmaster Steve Baca was justified in firing Martinez, a former military science instructor, substitute teacher and computer technician at the school, for instigating or failing to intervene in or stop hazing. He also determined that, because Martinez has been unemployed since he left the Academy, the school is responsible for its own attorney’s fees, plus the cost of arbitration.
The incident cost the Academy at least $25,512 altogether, according to payment vouchers — which amounts to just less than a fifth of the school’s monthly budget.
Payment vouchers show the District paid its attorney, Patricia Matthews, $16,378 for work related to the settlement between March 2008 and this month. Pottow’s fees amount to $9,622 and transcription of the proceedings cost $510, according to vouchers.
The Academy placed Martinez on paid leave Dec. 6, 2007, for allegedly watching as a student beat a classmate with a stick that day, and fired him two weeks later.
In a statement detailing his findings of fact, Pottow agreed with the Academy’s version of what happened that day.
According to the fact-finding document, Martinez told 30 students in his computer laboratory about “his plan to confront four students who had been disrespectful” by calling him a “silverback,” and asked one student to go retrieve his four classmates.
When the four students arrived, another student swiped at one of them with a stick resembling a broomstick and struck him twice, according to the report
“Martinez took no steps to intervene, took no steps to discipline (the student) and did not report (the student’s) conduct,” the report states.
Baca heard “a whap or a whack” and saw three upset students leaving Martinez’s classroom, according to the report. He then saw the incident on a surveillance video.
The video was later lost when the Academy’s security system automatically deleted footage of the incident, leading Española Police Sgt. Christian Lopez to threaten to charge the Academy for tampering with evidence. Lopez later called the incident a “cold case.”
However, Baca interviewed nine students Dec. 6, 2007, then asked them for written statements the next day, and “the statements were generally consistent with what the students had earlier reported and were generally consistent with one another,” the report states.
Martinez said he could not comment on the arbitrator’s decision, saying the agreement barred him or the Academy from speaking about the case. The arbitrator’s findings contain no such clause. Martinez also said the arbitrator ruled the Academy had disseminated false allegations against him. The arbitrator’s findings contain no such assertion, either.
Martinez did provide one comment on the ruling before ending the conversation by threatening to sue the SUN.
“I’ve moved on with my life, I don’t really want anything to do with that failing school or with the politically corrupt individuals on the governing board,” Martinez said.