After paying more than $136,000 for services meant to address declining enrollment, the Española School Board decided to terminate the contract it has with Rio Arriba County Commissioner Barney Trujillo, to promote the District.
The Board, on April 5, voted 4-1, to end the $50,000 annual contract it had in place with Trujillo Media, to provide marketing services ultimately meant to bolster the student population. However, his efforts appear to have been futile, as the student population decreased by approximately 88 students since Trujillo began his efforts.
Because those students left the District, the move translated to a loss of at least $352,000 in State Equalization Guarantee funding based on the 2015-2016 students unit value of $4,037.75.
Acting superintendent Denise Johnston recommended the Board discontinue its relationship with Trujillo Media and instead put the $4,166 per month paid to the commissioner, toward the direct education of students.
“At this time, I don’t think this contract is needed and I would recommend these funds be re-channeled to the classroom,” she said.
Board member Pablo Lujan is a an ally and political supporter of Trujillo. He wanted assurance that the District was following the proper process for terminating contracts before they expired.
He said for all intents and purposes, his colleagues already had their minds made up and didn’t thoroughly review the contract before taking a vote.
Lujan said he believes the Board terminated the contract to get back at Trujillo for opposing the new members’ political agenda.
“This is retaliation from the new and old Board members,” he said. “I think he (Trujillo) did a good job fulfilling his contract.”
Lujan said he asked for a work session so the Board could review all the District contracts at once, but his request fell on “deaf ears.”
The District’s lawyer, Geno Zamora, from the Santa Fe-based firm of Ortiz and Zamora, said the District will send Trujillo a letter, which both notifies him of the Board’s decision, and starts the clock for the 45-day count down notice required to terminate the contract.
Board President Ruben Archuleta said he supports the decision because since he won his seat in 2015 Española School Board Election, it has been difficult to determine exactly what Trujillo does to earn his $50,000 compensation.
“I have been a Board member for two years and have yet to see the deliverables,” he said. “If we are fully staffed with teachers and we do what is right, that is marketing in itself.”
Trujillo didn’t respond to requests for comment.
District parents, teachers and administrators criticized the contract as evidence of the quid pro quo political maneuvers that sets the County apart from the rest of the state.
Approximately two weeks after the Board signed off on Trujillo’s first contract, under the original name of 2 Smooth Advertising, the County hired then-Board member Annabelle Almager as the Rio Arriba County Human Resources director.
Almager’s position attracted negative attention because, not only did she not have any Human Resources experience, she was chosen over several candidates that did.
The Santa Fe-Based attorney, Diane Garrity, who negotiated a settlement with Almager’s predecessor, Jessica Madrid, regarding her demotion from Human Resources director, said it appears Almager was hired as a thank you for the marketing contract.
“Commissioner Barney Trujillo received the $50,000 no-bid contract from the Española School Board that has caused considerable comment from the community, given fiscal issues of the school district,” the October 2014 letter Garrity wrote to then-County attorney Ted Trujillo states. “The quid pro quo appears to be the selection of Española School Board member Annabelle Ortiz-Almager, as the new HR Director for the County. Ms. Almager was a former employee of Los Alamos National Laboratory and her profile shows no experience in Human Resources.”
The New Mexico Attorney General’s Office took interest in the contract and included it in an Inspection of Public Records Act request filed with the District, but the Office’s Public Information Officer James Hallinan wouldn’t elaborate on why the contract was included in the request, or what he and his colleagues were hoping to find.