APS students at risk, taxpayers on hook
KUDOS TO N.M. Attorney General Hector Balderas for exposing and highlighting the inexcusable negligence and perhaps arrogance of the Albuquerque Public Schools in failing to complete background checks of over 2,200 employees hired prior to 1999 — and as many as 4,000 employees total — who lack these background checks. This begs the question of why it has taken so long and why our children have been placed at risk to possible child molesters. The liability issue here is huge and it is we, the taxpayers, who end up paying the price when the district is sued for damages.
I’m a security professional who settled in Albuquerque in 1978. I had two kids in the APS system at that time. I immediately asked APS administrators how their employees were vetted and was surprised to learn that there were no background checks being made. Myself and many others in my professional societies “rang” the bell of APS administrators to include school board members for 20 years before they finally began to conduct background checks on new hires. Industry had been doing these checks for years and it was negligent for APS to take so long and pay so many lawsuits before they finally saw the light, Now we learn that after almost 20 more years more than 2,200 APS employees who were on board in 1999 still lack these checks.
The epitome of APS vetting negligence was exposed in the recent hiring and firing of assistant superintendent Jason Martinez, who was pending serious criminal charges in Colorado and never should have been hired by APS. The fact that he was not subjected to a background check prior to hiring again illustrates the negligence of APS, regardless of circumstance.
There is little wonder why many prospective employers looking to move to or start a business in Albuquerque are scared away because of the foolishness in our school system, which goes well beyond the background check issue. It’s unfortunate for the thousands of employees in the systems who work hard every day to do their job and help our kids but are seriously burdened with an inefficient bureaucracy that fails to provide the needed effective leadership.
DAVE COULIE
Albuquerque