The Alamogordo Sentinel has reported on several questionable actions taken by Colleen Tagle, Deputy Superintendent of Operations and Support Service, within HR. The number of instances where procedures and due process have been disregarded is jaw-dropping. It appears that this is being done to further Ms Tagle’s agenda and well-known “hit list.” Are the APS Acting Superintendent Pam Renteria, School Board President, Judy Rabon, and the rest of the members participating in this or are they simply sitting by and allowing it to happen? How can they not be aware?
Superintendent of the Tularosa Municipal Schools, Todd Lindsay submitted the following complaint against APS and Ms Tagle titled “Licensure Complaint/Report Form” to the State of New Mexico Public Education Department (NM PED) in Santa Fe, NM, and assigned PED Case# UL2022-0228. The complaint was noted as received on Sept 1, 01, 2022.
Here is a link to access the official PED complaint in its entirety. Below is Supt Lindsay’s complaint with the “APS accused” teacher’s name redacted. Please remember that Mr. Lindsay did his due diligence in investigating the teacher. APS DID NOT! This teacher was cleared of any wrongdoing and was re-issued his/her teaching license with the input from Mr Howie Morales, Lt Governor, who presumably did a background check and investigation of his own. This teacher had worked for over 20 years without ANY red flags. Further, Mr Lindsay contacted all references and had a discussion with Lt Governor Howie Morales. Mr Lindsey concluded, “…these allegations were false.” Thanks to the integrity of Supt Lindsay and his due diligence, a teacher’s career was not unjustly ended.
A few disturbing highlights:
The teacher was “asked to resign or get relieved in early spring”
Mr Lindsay received “an anonymous police report” apparently on Aug 30, 2022, that was “never completed”
Because of this notice of an anonymously sent uncompleted report, requirements of HB 128, and an abundance of caution, Mr Lindsey was forced to place this teacher on Admin Leave until the matter was further investigated.
According to Benny Borunda, APS Resource Officer/Security and perhaps the investigator, via text message to the Principal, “the investigation stopped after (the teacher) was forced to resign.”
Alamogordo police officer who works with APS, Officer Amanda Mitchell, stated “She never questioned my teacher because Alamogordo school HR dept. Colleen Tagle refused to give her the address to my teacher.”
Supt Lindsay closed with “I have a real problem having to put a good teacher on admin leave and to finish an investigation from a previous school. I feel Alamogordo Schools Colleen Tagle did not give (name redacted) due process or following State guidelines according to HB 128.
Now you see the underbelly of the method in dealing with teachers and employees at Alamogordo Public Schools. No due process, instill fear, get employee (teacher in this case) to resign then problem solved. One more name was scratched from the “Hit List” and another teacher’s career was ruined. Had it not been for Supt Linday’s due diligence, this teacher would have been destroyed because of the negligence and actions of Colleen Tagle and APS.
View the above letter in .pdf here.
These assertions against Colleen Tagle and APS are not hearsay. This and numerous additional documents present clear and convincing evidence of the means and methods used by the self-proclaimed HR Dept head to destroy employees. If the APS School Board and APS administration are not aware of these actions, that implies a lack of transparency, agendas, and a total lack of respect and care for the teachers and employees of APS. Where is the Acting Superintendent Pam Renteria? Apparently, she is in agreement as well. What about the NEA representative? Where was she?
If the APS School Board was aware of this situation, why did they allow the process to play out this way? Accusations of this magnitude against a teacher is a fatal career action. If these accusations had proven to be true, which they were not, then the School Board would be liable for allowing a dangerous teacher to be allowed to go to another school to continue the behavior they “ran him off for.” At a minimum they let the teacher remain under a cloud of suspicion. Are they not familiar with HB 128 and why it was passed with included requirements for reporting? Remember, there are two former teachers on the School Board, Judy Rabon and Carol Teweleit, who claim to advocate for teachers! Is the APS School Board ignorant of required procedures or are they “in on it?” Neither is a good look or worthy of our respect. Enough! They loved to consult with the APS attorneys when they removed a sitting School Board President, Angela Cadwallader. What about running up legal bills to redact information to hide from the public disclosures that are required by IPRA laws? THEY DON’T CARE ABOUT YOU or anyone employed by APS or this would not be allowed to continue! It is all about THEM! Are you getting the picture? They have the power AGAINST you not FOR you!
What about “Super HR Guru, Colleen Tagle?” Another “FAIL” on her part. Of course, if her goal was to “run off the teacher,” in her eyes she was successful. If you are looking at this situation objectively, this teacher was “railroaded” with unconfirmed allegations, and other schools were put at risk. This was due to an incomplete investigation leaving the teacher dangling in the wind with a ruined career. Yep, Ms Tagle has real expertise! How many teachers and employees have this happened to where no report was sent to NM PED and unfinished investigations? How many true violations of HB 128 against teachers and employees have gone unfiled? How many teachers were “run off” after being put on Admin Leave without due process by “The Woman of Power”, the “Expert in All Things” and the “Really Smart Woman of Chaparral Middle School Construction” who has not been able to accomplish this after 4 years. The scary question is “What else has Ms Tagle done that we do not know about?”……YET!
And you wonder why there is a toxic work environment at Alamogordo Public Schools! Here is ONE example!
NOTE: These documents were obtained through an IPRA request.
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