Coca-Ruiz Celebrates 10 Year Anniversary with Breakthrough

Lorraine Coca-Ruiz

Ten years ago, the Taos County Treasurer stood up on her footstool and alerted the public to the unorthodox machinations of the County Commissioners, who, at the instigation of the County Manager and County Finance Director, were spending money, moving it around via illegal memos. The general fund was down to some $300 said Lovely Lorraine Coca-Ruiz that hot August day. The big guys and their buddies laughed at Lovely Lorraine. But the New Mexico State Department of Finance (DFA) of the Local Government Division showed up and backed up the canary’s claims. Lorraine had the last laugh.

Jump ten years forward, and Ms. Coca-Ruiz, Chair of the Taos Municipal Schools (TMS) Board, along with board members Arsenio Cordova and Stella Gallegos, has rescued the Taos Municipal Schools from fraud, loss of government grants, and who knows how much pilfering? Instead of hissing and filing lawsuits, at the meeting on Wed. June 16, 2010, the “new” and reborn administrators quietly cooperated with the board–thanks to the state auditor’s report, which backs up Coca-Ruiz’s and Cordova’s suspicions.

While Superintendent Weston grows more enigmatic by the week, Mr. Spinelli, the (Jan. 1, 2010) new finance director responded to questions from the board about the state auditor’s devastating report: seven years of incompetent record keeping—millions of dollars spent without documentation (bid sheets, RFPs, notes and contracts since 2003), no inventory of assets, etc. Spinelli admitted that TMS hadn’t followed general rules regarding the procurement code: documenting purchases, maintaining a paper trail—the acceptable checks and balances, even the retention of document seems like a problem for TMS.

At TMS, the violations are so vast, it appears that following the rule was the exception. While the school board has the power to hire the superintendent and approve or deny budget items, the elected officials have no authority over hiring, firing, or qualifying teachers and administrators. They cannot supervise Special Ed, maintenance, bus contractors, or curriculum. Indeed, they don’t really have the power to reach in and require the finance department to shape up without seeking outside assistance.

The state legislature screwed the schools in 2003 via HB 212. Everyone knows it and takes advantage. It’s a tragic situation for kids. We don’t know if the three musketeers can save the schools but–unlike previous boards– they are fighting the good fight.  And it ain’t over yet.

Below, Gene Sanchez, a budget gadfly, who famously called out town hall for their corrupt construction—no bid swimming pool project—writes in support of Coca-Ruiz and her gnarly colleagues.

Gene Sanchez

President Lorraine Coca-Ruiz,
Members of the board.
Superintendent Weston,
And members of the community.

For the record I’d like to thank board members, Lorraine, Arsenio and Stella for having the courage to withstand all of the slander that has been directed at them for trying to move our school system forward.

Because they asked questions of the former superintendent, questions that should be asked in keeping with their responsibilities as school board members, and as honest people, they have been vilified as racists, micromanagers, liars and on and on it goes, energized by biased, slanted reporting in the Taos News and the local radio stations. They have even been sued for their efforts in trying to bring accountability to the school district.

The Board was systematically denied requested financial documents, which they are entitled to in order to monitor accountability. The denial of these documents garnished enough suspicion by these three board members to warrant a due diligence study.

With the support of the newly elected Stella Gallegos, the three members were able to move some things forward such as the hiring of the IDEAS’ company out of Santa Fe of Santa Fe, to do an Independent Program and Project Analysis of the Taos Municipal Schools.

The vote was three in favor and two against.

Department heads claimed that their departments were operating in keeping with state mandates, however every department resisted any cooperation with Ideas and company.

When the Ideas report was released, it was immediately labeled as bogus, untrue, full of lies and misinformation. One school board member declared the study as nothing more then a witch-hunt. This attack was especially brutal from the employees at the administration building, the superintendent at that time, and the interim superintendents with the exception of Alfred Cordova.

I believe the acting superintendent and the administrators were shaken when the board members pursued the forensic audit on the finance department. I assume that they felt comfortable with the destruction of the Ideas’ report.

This time the vote was four in favor and one against.

Now we have the audit and low and behold, what does it reveal? That the Ideas report was right on. The truth always prevails.

At the school board meeting of June 9, the same member who called the Ideas report a witch hunt commented on the Moss Adams report and I quote – “I agree 100% that everything in this report makes a lot of sense”.

I assume that this board member has reversed his position and now is in support of the Ideas study.

The board and administrators must realize the severe gravity of the finding of the Moss Adams’ audit. It is a lot more than just a recommendation to adjust paperwork. It is a very damaging report that in fact is not complete. I’m going to read the second to last paragraph of the audit.

“We were not engaged to, and did not, conduct an examination, the objective of which would be the expression of an opinion on the procurement controls and activities of the Taos Municipal Schools. Accordingly, we do not express such an opinion. Had we performed additional procedures, other matters might have come to our attention that would have been reported to you.”

With the money available this is all they could produce.

However if you study the Moss Adams audit you will see that the auditors were very limited in what they could accomplish due to an overwhelming lack of documentation in the finance department.

How is it that documents that are one or two years old could not be found?

This is a severe red flag issue that needs to be pursued by the state auditor or by expanding the Moss Adams contract. As a taxpayer I want to know where the money is going.

My question is what is the administration going to do to turn our schools around?

Insanity as defined by Albert Einstein is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

Yet the same administrators who have put our schools in a successful race to the bottom receive salaries up from 8.4% in 2008 to 10%of the salaries budget for the next fiscal year. Our enrollment and graduation rates are declining and their salaries are rising. The state average for administrative salaries is about 5.4%. Why is it that the Albuquerque School System, the largest in the state, has an administration salary of 5.4% compared to our school’s 10%.

Is the administration going to deny the report and go on doing the same thing over and over again or is it going to take a serious look at the IDEAS report and the Moss Adams Audit?

The State Auditor has suggested that he may have monitors present at the school, but that is not going to solve the problems because the problems outlined in the Moss Adams audit can still be carried on undetected unless those responsible for such a damaging audit are made accountable.

The school board, all five or you, must work together and realize the serious need to monitor the activities of the finance department, yes, even micromanage if needed, until the results are better on how our tax money is spent.

Teachers must be more accountable. The unions need to reevaluate their charter, which will allow the unproductive teachers to be dismissed, and parents must be encouraged to get involved with the education of their children by reinstating the Parent, Teacher, and Student Association and become active members. This is going to require a full hands-on cooperative effort.

Mr. Enrique Velaquez,
Dr. Weston and
Mr. Spinelli,

As new members of the school system I offer my sincere support in your efforts to turn our educational system around and make it what it can be; a school that offers the best it can for the students.

Thank you for allowing me to voice my concerns, and opinions.

Gene Sanchez