Background checks would sort candidates
Just to be clear: Probing questions are not the same thing as a background check conducted, say, by New Mexico State Police. Yet four members of the Santa Fe Board of Education — the same board that requires background checks for volunteers, teachers, staff and others — don’t seem to believe that checking the records of all adults in contact with children is necessary.
We learned that Tuesday night when the board rejected a resolution from board President Steven Carrillo that would have required background checks from anyone applying for a vacant school board seat (created after an elected board member leaves). Carrillo’s resolution also would have encouraged board members and future candidates to undergo background checks voluntarily.
The resolution came in reaction to the news that the board failed to vet properly when selecting a replacement for Rep. Linda Trujillo last year after she resigned to concentrate on her work in the state House of Representatives.
The board’s choice, Rudy Garcia, has two convictions for driving while intoxicated several other arrests and has spent time in jail. Board members let down the community by not doing a better job checking his background. Garcia let people down by not being honest, too.
He says he was irresponsible when younger but has changed. Not enough to come clean about his past: “I wasn’t asked, so I didn’t bring it up,” he said.
Instead, journalists found out, first, about the two DWI convictions that were reported by The New Mexican during the June primary, when Garcia was a candidate for Santa Fe County commissioner. News of his unfortunate habit of drinking and driving didn’t stop voters from choosing him to be the Democratic nominee, however.
Then, in recent weeks, news reports of the other arrests and his time in jail (which he says he doesn’t remember) surfaced. The media did what the school board needed to have done; unfortunately, reporters did not find out the complete story until Garcia was serving as a school board member and was the Democratic nominee for the Santa Fe County Commission.
The board has a responsibility to put in place a stronger policy so that it doesn’t get snookered again. Do background checks on people seeking appointment to a vacant seat. That way, board members will have enough information to make an informed decision.
Potential board members, whether running in an election or simply vying to fill a term, do not have to be squeaky clean. But they should be honest. They should be forthcoming. And, yes, we’ll say it — we prefer school board members who haven’t spent time in jail.
If local school boards feel they can’t introduce policies to better vet members and potential members, perhaps the Legislature could take up this issue.
The janitor receives a background check. It won’t hurt members of school boards — whether in Santa Fe or elsewhere — to face similar scrutiny.
Carrillo was right to bring this resolution before the board, and it’s a shame his colleagues were not persuaded.
Let’s allow him the last word: “Since the board of education is the highest level of district leadership, both members and candidates should consent to undergo the same background check to which district employees and volunteers are subject.”