The Española School Board voted Monday night to have Superintendent Eric Martinez write a letter to the Public Education Department, refuting the reasons listed for the Department’s takeover of the Board’s finances.
The Board voted 3-2, during a special meeting, to direct Martinez to write a rebuttal to the Department’s Nov. 17 claims of financial malfeasance as its reason for taking away the Board’s, and the District’s control of its money.
Board members Yolanda Salazar and Ruben Archuleta voted against the superintendent’s letter-writing directive.
After the vote, Salazar asked Martinez to put lines on his letter for each Board member’s signature.
“I’m not approving (the letter),” Salazar said. “I’m 100 percent behind (the takeover).”
After bickering between Salazar and Board Vice President Lucas Fresquez, about the decision, the District’s attorney Greg Zamora told Salazar that she could write her own letter to the Department, expressing her dissent, as well as make a public statement, but he did not recommend it.
At the beginning of the meeting, Salazar said she did not know why the meeting had been called, what the letter was supposed to be about, or why they were even there.
“I have (called this meeting) because they have only (heard) one side of the story,” Board President Pablo Lujan said, referring to the Department. “It needs to be clear, that our side of the story is being told. They said, ‘We’re coming in and taking over.’”
Archuleta asked Lujan why he wanted to pick a fight with the Department, rather than fix the problems outlined in the Nov. 17 letter.
Lujan told Martinez to include in the letter, the fact that the District provided most of the information requested by the Department, and that many of the issues were brought to the Department’s attention by District personnel.
“They’re trying to bully the District,” Lujan said.
Martinez received his own letter for alleged malfeasance and bad conduct, also dated Nov. 17.
Lujan said he had not read the letter the Department issued directly to Martinez, which stated they were going to strip him of his school administrator license if he did not fix a litany of problems in the District within 30 days.
Although Lujan claimed he had not read the letter addressed to Martinez, he extensively talked about how the superintendent had not violated procurement policies by issuing contracts for $4,999, just under the $5,000 limit that would require him to take the decision to award the contract to the Board.
The Department’s letter to Martinez accused him of violating the spirit and intention of the policy, rather than the policy, itself.
After the meeting, Lujan said in an interview, that the Department was retaliating against the District for Martinez’s decision to reinstate basketball coach Richard Martinez.
Before the meeting, Lujan and Fresquez met with Eric Martinez and interim finance director Myrna Garcia in a back room of the Española Middle School.
Garcia talked extensively during the meeting about a previous audit and the Department’s demand for documents.
District English teacher John Sena said the Board members had done little, to nothing, to fix the District’s problems.
“They’re trying to save face, but they’re not really fooling anyone,” Sena said.