Editor:
Re: editorial “Asleep at the Wheel,” Rio Grande SUN, page A7, Aug. 20, 2009 and “$2.2 Million Stolen from Schools,” page A1.
I have lived in Rio Arriba County for the past 16 months, having retired from Tennessee. In past years I have served on school boards.
In “Asleep at the Wheel” the editor is self-critical of the SUN’s failure to maintain watchdog status on the Jemez Mountain School District. Nothing could be further from the truth. Each week I see an article regarding happenings of public and and/or private schools in Rio Arriba County. These articles are factually written without bias and with excellent grammar, syntax and organization.
So, hold on, Mr. Editor. Stop with the self-criticism and self-deprecation. Give yourself a break. If those individuals knowledgeable of such nefarious behavior by school administrators are “afraid” to come forward, then how are you to know of such behavior? Individuals knowledgeable of the either and failing to report such share a portion of that behavior by their sin of omission.
Roses to the Rio Grande SUN for the excellent paper it is and will continue to be.
The fault of the $3.3 million theft rests squarely on the shoulders of the school board. As any new school board member soon learns, a school board is autonomous within its own right.
That is:
1. Every employee of the system, including the superintendent, serves at the pleasure of the Board; (editor’s note: indirectly yes but the superintendent hires/fires)
2. The Board is responsible for the oversight of all administrators, meeting such dates in a timely fashion and maintenance of board issues and federal funds (if any).
3. The board is responsible for the successful liaison between administrators, faculty and students—not in the latter order;
4. The board is responsible for a successful conclusion to any complaints from administration, faculty and students; though perhaps not to everyone’s satisfaction.
In this case the board was sadly bereft in allowing Ms. Borrego such enormous responsibility without proper oversight, secondarily to allow audit reports to be submitted in such an untimely (late) date.
If Ms. Borrego is guilty of such egregious and amoral behavior against the parents and children of Jemez School District, she was not alone in such behavior. Also remember, Ms. Borrego is innocent until proven guilty.
Accomplices should be found and charged accordingly. Justice should be swift for such amoral and nefarious behavior toward the students. Should federal funds be involved I would call for Gov. Richardson to ask the FBI to investigate the matter.
So, fellow citizens, what happens next? Is an independent auditing firm hired to investigate the matter for hundreds of thousands of dollars—adding financial insult to financial injury? Will the state department of education investigate?
Wake up, Jemez. Get interested in the education of your children.
Stan Sanders, M.D.
Lyden