Lack of credentials sparks school security shake-up
Four guards were never licensed through state; contractor taking action
Santa Fe Public Schools has begun replacing more than a third of its security guards this week after discovering they did not have the proper state certification for the job.
Superintendent Veronica García said four of the seven guards removed from the district’s high schools and middle schools Monday were never licensed through the New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department to work as security guards — a certification process that includes a background check and proof of training — and the other three had recently allowed their state licenses to expire.
So far, the district has brought in five new security guards to replace them, García said.
The guards, among about 20 unarmed security personnel stationed at local schools, were employed through the district’s annual contract with Rio Rancho-based AJF Enterprises, which has been providing security services for the district since 2012. The district renewed the company’s contract in August for more than $556,000 to cover the current school year.
But García indicated school officials may consider other options in the future. “We are re-evaluating how we provide security for the schools,” she said.
An anonymous tipster informed the district last week that at least one AJF guard did not have the proper state licensure, García said. School officials then asked AJF to conduct an investigation of all of its employees who are assigned to the schools, and the company confirmed seven of them either were not licensed at all or did not have a current license.
None of the security guards removed Monday had faced claims of improper actions toward district personnel or students, García said, but one of them did recently fail to show up for work without informing a supervisor.
Art Famiglietta, the owner of AJF Enterprises, said in an interview earlier this week that the situation with his company’s unlicensed guards is “not acceptable, and we are taking action on it.”
“I’m diligently working with the school district, and the issue on hand is being corrected,” he said, adding that he is working with his employees to ensure they obtain or renew their required state licenses.
“It does happen occasionally,” Famiglietta said of the lapses.
But, he said, “I want to do whatever it takes to make sure this does not happen again.” Famiglietta declined further comment, saying he did not “want to tarnish the investigation.”
Unarmed security guards have been a constant presence in the district’s high schools and middle schools for at least five years, often stationed at the entrances or roaming the halls, as part of a broader security improvement effort that began in 2012.
Since then, the district has been upgrading its surveillance cameras, setting up monitoring rooms for guards, ensuring that exterior doors are closed and locked at all schools and requiring all visitors, including parents, to sign in and out while on campuses.
The district has not had any serious security violations since the fall of 2014, when Santa Fe police SWAT officers descended upon Ortiz Middle School after the principal reported finding a handgun in a student’s backpack. Though it appeared to be a real firearm, police later said the gun was a racestarter pistol.
An after-school incident in August at Aspen Community Magnet School — in which an unidentified, barechested young man wearing a dust mask entered the building and lurked in the bathroom and halls — raised alarm among students and staff.
The intruder, who appeared to be a teen, was wearing a backpack and carrying what appeared to be a white sheet under one arm. He changed clothes inside the facility, security camera video shows, and left without harming anyone or causing any damage. The district placed a security guard at the school the following day.