Superintendent Moore was named acting Superintendent on July 15, 2021. Ken Moore was placed on Administrative Leave with pay on February 12, 2023, following an Executive Session by the Alamogordo Public School System without a reason given for this declaration. This was followed by the School Board selecting Pam Renteria as Acting Superintendent and not Interim Superintendent. Renteria was the only person credentialed at that time to qualify for the position in the APS district.
In the August 2023 School Board meeting, Judy Rabon brought up the question of whether the school board should proceed with the attorneys regarding the Moore situation. It was a vague topic, undefined for the record then successfully voted on.
What happened with Supt Moore and what led up to his sudden fall from grace? We still do not know. This gets detailed and in the weeds so read carefully. There are so many strings to this.
Supt Moore was the APS high school principal prior to his selection as Superintendent. This coincides with two coups. The first one was the operation to turn the principals against Supt Jarrett Perry for his stance on transgender bathrooms and athletes and Critical Race Theory placed in the curriculum. The second coup, detailed in a previous article, was the surprise removal of the School Board President, Angela Cadwallader to install Judy Rabon as President in an agenda-driven maneuver. Once both actions were taken, the school board could force their agenda on the community in the background. Not in the open or discussable. Now it is important to understand the thoughts of the School Board President, Judy Rabon. At the last Community Forum on February 21, 2023, following the placing of Supt Moore on Administrative Leave, a question was presented about decision-making. Judy Rabon, President of the School Board: “This is an elected position and we were elected by the people, and in doing so our responsibility is to absolutely listen to our constituents but the decision because you voted us into this position to make that decision. So it might not be a perfect system but that’s the system that we have.” “… You know we’re a non-political board. School districts are non-political.” (Time stamps 34:39 and 36:35) So is Rabon saying once she gets elected she makes the decision SHE wants instead of her constituents? Also, when someone keeps repeating a sound bite or phrase ad nauseam like “we’re a non-political board” there is a reason. Usually, it makes people think the opposite of what is going on. They can repeat “non-political” but the same “players” are the first to bring up a political stance or agenda. Don’t listen to the words. Watch the actions. Back to the Moore saga.
Since Moore was placed as Superintendent, he openly verbally attacked a community member at a meeting. Multiple complaints were received by the school board from attendees concerning his outrageous accusations. He worked to “sneak in” Social Studies that included CRT elements. He felt he needed to use “guerilla tactics” to accomplish this. Moore had made a name for himself in this arena to the point of being asked to be the keynote speaker in June 2022 at the conference in Albuquerque, NM called “Building An Equity Bridge.” During this time he even accused his other superintendent colleagues around the state of being in the KKK for not being at that conference. Watch the undercover video. This video was “embargoed”, and not available for release since a news agency was scheduling it for release on their channel. Finally, permission was given to be freely released on February 8, 2023.
Supt Moore gave a graduation speech on May 27, 2022, that was shocking in delivery and content; however, that was evidently okay with the School Board members in attendance and the Secretary of NM PED Steinhaus on the stage as well. In spite of this and his “lapses in judgment” in a public meeting making public, unfounded accusations, the APS School Board accepted his behavior and renewed his contract with a statement from Rabon saying it would NOT be a 3-year contract. Was this because he was willing to push their agenda secretly? Nothing makes sense in this entire professional arrangement.
Although Judy Rabon, School Board President, stated to a community leader that Moore’s contract would be for 2 years it was actually written for 3 years. Now we are paying the price. When will we get leaders who do not lie and make false accusations? They lie with impunity. Article 1 – Article 2. These people are supposed to be examples to the community. Unfortunately, that is not so.
Since the non-political, apolitical APS leaders have made their stance firm, let’s clear the air. The Flickinger lawsuit was based on APS’s refusal to let the Flickinger provide free “non-political” services to APS. Moore and Rabon brought in politics with their accusations of political connection of the Flickinger and the supposed teachers’ concerns, by Moore, that the Flickinger was Republican. They are not. It is a performance venue. What difference would it make? Are teachers hired because of their political views? Do they only do business with “their own political kind?” How scary it must be for them. Who is pushing this nonsense? Stop with this! It does not matter what your political views are if you are not trying to cram it down everyone’s throat. Stop. This is causing division in our town. Is it more important to hire or work with someone according to their “politics” or how competent the person is? The latter is preferred. Have we turned into a 3rd world community?
To continue…In the middle of the Flickinger fight, Moore made a very interesting and revealing comment by text message to GB Oliver on October 31, 2022. “We’re the hired hitmen that execute the wishes of board members who may or may not know what they’re doing. God be with us”
At another outburst at the Center of Commerce on November 1, 2022, Moore said “My teachers are concerned it is the Republican Party (Flickinger) and loudly, standing and declaring “I’m a Republican” with his arm raised straight up. Well, as of recently, it was discovered he was a registered Democrat. Moore and the School Board have refused to work with Maingate’s Education Committee to assist and support the school system in town and at Holloman.
On January 19, 2023, a lawsuit was filed by Flickinger Performing Arts Center and Lorrie Black against the Alamogordo Public Schools and School Board.
On February 8, 2023, the undercover video was released. Because of the huge backlash from the video, the APS School Board called an Executive Session to determine if any action would be taken against Supt Moore. Had they coordinated or instructed Moore to carry out certain tasks only to possibly be revealed by him? They announced Moore had been placed on Administrative Leave with pay and Pam Renteria would be Acting Superintendent. No reason was given for this action. On February 23, 2023, another undercover video about Chaparral Middle School lying to parents, was released.
NOW THE SETTLEMENT
This brings up so many questions and motives. The short version. Moore resigned and was paid out for a 3-year contract that ended June 30, 2025, of which he only worked EIGHT MONTHS! On top of that, he was given an additional $200,000 and a professional reference listed as Exhibit A in the settlement papers. That is a total of $527,000. Over half a million dollars for 8 months of work with unseemly incidents occurring on a regular basis. Where is the integrity or ethics? Why did the School Board pay him over and above his contract buyout? Was this a form of “hush money” so he would not reveal all of the instructions and collaboration to push their agenda? On top of that, the money comes out of the APS budget as stated in the settlement. Just consider the history, actions, maneuvers, and decisions made by Supt Moore and the School Board to arrive at this point. Why would anyone on the School Board give Moore such a “glowing” professional reference after THEY placed him on Administrative Leave (Exhibit A)? What are they basing their decisions on? This does not pass the smell test at all. If there were a genuine reason for placing Moore on Administrative Leave based on his actions, why did the School Board shrivel and not stand against his actions instead of giving him the “farm.” Does that sound right? He either did wrong or he didn’t. This appears to indicate there is something to hide in this saga. Unfortunately, the community is financially penalized by this move by the School Board. The duel between two proven, documented liars, Rabon and Moore, who was the winner? Who had the most to hide?
What is next? Word is Pam Renteria will be or has already been secretly hired as Superintendent of Alamogordo Public Schools because she is the only in-house credentialed person in the APS district. This will supposedly be announced at the Community Forum on September 21, 2023. She will be the next “puppet.” Ms Renteria is considered a nice person but we need a LEADER. If the APS School Board is truly concerned about the academic condition of our schools, why aren’t they doing a search for an outside Superintendent instead of more of the same failed policies? Sorry, not buying this. Consider all of the above, connect the dots then answer for yourself and realize the taxpayers, parents, and students in this district are fooled and cheated. The School Board has never stated why he was put on Administrative Leave. What are they covering up? Who has the most to hide here? Think about it!
