Have you ever worked at a job where the rules were not defined? Where the rules were fluid and took you off guard? Where rules were applied depending on who you were or if you were on the “hit list” because you were not “favored” at the time?
This is the work environment of EVERYONE at APS except the “favored” ones or the ones who “kiss up” in order to stay out of jeopardy with the “career executioner.”
At this point, the preferred method of dealing with employees is fear and intimidation which is a toxic work environment. Principals, educators, maintenance, and janitors live in fear when Colleen Tagle arrives on the scene. Why is SHE there? Usually, her appearance is to put someone on Administrative Leave and call for an investigation. Her favorite disciplinary move is for “Insubordination (undefined) or “Not living up to your contract-(undefined.)” This move is usually to strike fear in the heart of the targeted person to “run them off” or encourage them to quit with the possibility of termination. THIS IS NOT RIGHT! Employees have seen this play out too many times and it embeds fear. The stories of these occurrences are endless.
A person’s job is their ability to be independent, support a family, and have a home. The threat of losing their job unjustly is a very scary and unsettling event. If a person has worked for many years and is close to retirement and is faced with the above consequences, without warning, this can be devastating and heartbreaking, not to mention how the person will be able to get by financially and repair their damaged career or even get another job if they are licensed.
There are supposed to be policies and procedures that list the progressive scale of discipline that generally starts with verbal counseling up to termination. If you fall under the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) the employee is allowed a union representative present during all disciplinary events. This representative is supposed to speak up and protect the rights of the employee against the employer (in this case APS). So what would make a union rep remain quiet during one of these meetings between employer and employee? Prior to one of these meetings, the union rep should know the incident in question and where the lines are according to the CBA. So once again, what is the union representative doing other than just listening and not advocating on behalf of the employee? Are they afraid as well or are they in agreement with the APS agenda and their “hit list?” Does the NEA representative know Ms Tagle believes “teachers are a dime a dozen?” What total disrespect plus she is seriously incorrect.
What about the employees who are moved around on a whim and often without their agreement? What about the positions that are filled or created without posting the position? What about the side agreements to give people more salary in an illegal fashion by changing their status. That change of status prevents them from getting overtime where they would make more money. How many agreements have been made like this?
What about job descriptions and the qualifications with salary ranges for each level? Does Ms Tagle, personally, have a job description and qualification standards with listed salary ranges for her position as well? Was that position posted? What other positions are handled like this? Was there a special job with a real job description and attached qualifications on Mr Renteria’s new position and was his position posted as well?
If any of these disciplinary actions have occurred with an employee, there should be adequate documentation in the employee’s file with the employee’s signature on each disciplinary event. No employee signature or notation of refusal to sign – it did not happen.
Also, How many titles does Colleen Tagle hold at one time? How can she be (officially or unofficially), the Deputy Superintendent of Operations or Deputy Superintendent of Support Services AND Director of Human Resources at the same time? Is she making other people think she is the Director of HR or is she stating she is in that role?
The Human Resources department in any organization or company is a special category of departments. It initiates, maintains and stores all manner of an employee’s confidential information. Supervisors can call on HR and the union rep to provide guidance on disciplinary procedures and documentation. In this case, the Superintendent. This is confidential information and not for the purpose of manipulation of agenda or creating a hit list. Yes, there are times when an employee is not a good fit for one reason or another. Because of that the employer will choose to terminate that person during the probationary period or with documented cause. A good organization builds up employees by giving them chances or additional training and may even utilize a Performance Improvement Plan (PIP) to help guide the employee to success. It is easy to get rid of employees but smarter people/organizations build great employees!
But remember, the HR department is NOT your friend. They are supposed to operate objectively but still work for the powers that be. An HR department should NEVER have a layer of authority between the Superintendent/CEO. This is to prevent the twisting of information or influence other than direct information from Human Resources. If there is a layer of authority such as the Deputy Superintendent of Operations, that placement is totally inappropriate and should be a big warning! Human Resources is not supposed to “run people off” at the direction of the Administration or an employee who is driving an agenda. It does not mean they can make up or ignore procedures as they go. They cannot put employees on Admin Leave without the Superintendent’s signature.
The Human Resources department or ANY Deputy Superintendent cannot decide to put an employee on Admin Leave, just to be nice, without a reason delineated in policy. That is theft of government funds and misappropriation of funds at the least. Decisions must be based on objectivity and not emotion. Every employee should be treated the same under similar circumstances according to policy. HR is not a benevolent aunt or uncle because it is using taxpayer funds.
It appears that Colleen Tagle, the maker of chaos and fear, is not educated/trained in the operations of Human Resources or certified by SHRM, the gold standard of Human Resources. Maybe that explains the many problems. Human Resources cannot pick winners and losers nevertheless this is happening along with lying to employees about what will happen to their jobs, then saying something else to other colleagues. Once again, THIS IS NOT RIGHT! There is no trust or confidence in how different situations play out, much to the fear and intimidation of the employees. TOXIC WORK ENVIRONMENT! HOSTILE WORK ENVIRONMENT! When employees live in fear and have to look over their shoulders waiting for the “executioner” to appear, that is not a healthy work environment. Alamogordo Public Schools and the School Board need to wake up and pay attention to the lawsuits and complaints, then rectify the issue by telling the Superintendent to investigate and fix it. Negligence? Incompetence? Or don’t want to be bothered by the underbelly of employee complaints. Is it better to deny or ignore until a lawsuit is filed? The School Board thinks so otherwise they would ensure this MAJOR issue is resolved immediately. Maybe they like it operating like this?
APS will never be a good place to work because of this one department and the person, Colleen Tagle, who is driving this evil nonsense just to throw her “power” around. Any employee in authority who likes to demean “lower level” employees in front of their coworkers, is misguided and dangerous. She has no respect for others except the ones from whom she is trying to gain more power or look good. It’s all a front. Open your eyes School Board and Superintendent. A person/society is judged by how it treats others in a much lower position, not by who they are pretending to “suck up to” with promises of their success.
Colleen Tagle is not the Director of Human Resources! In her position as Deputy Superintendent of Operations, she is supposed to oversee the departments, not bypass the supervisors, not issue edicts or call department meetings of employees without their supervisor informed or present. If Ms Tagle wants to call a meeting then she should be paying attention at that meeting instead of messing with her phone and answering text messages. She called it then she must participate and stay through the meeting. There must be a reason and respect of the supervisor when she does. This does not happen either. Running over employees, throwing her weight around and creating chaos while totally disrespecting the chain of command. Oversee does not mean to direct employees within a department who do not report directly to her.
One of her favorite phrases – “No one gets to Ken (Supt) except through me.” Garnering support and convincing others that she is indispensable by protecting them or taking care of their issues. The problem is, that she has messed up so many projects, misled many people in APS as well as the public, and wasted untold taxpayer funds by being the “Queen” instead of accomplishing her assigned tasks. Where is Chaparral? She is directly to blame for the whole fiasco because she knew better than anyone. She thought she could ram through the vision of the “Crown Jewel” or “luxury” school but met her match with NM PSFA. There are guidelines and laws for obtaining funding. She is the one who has Alamogordo and APS over a barrel.
For once, look at all of the lawsuits, complaints, and EEOC cases filed. To be sure the same theme is involved in each one. Misleading lies and promises that are never meant to be fulfilled. That is the state of APS and the Human Resources department and employees at this time – and has been for several years – yes, even in the past when Colleen Tagle was in charge of HR. She is a liability in more ways than one to APS and the community.
