College reports theft of $200,000
Funds are missing from Northern New Mexico College
SANTA FE — State Auditor Tim Keller confirmed Wednesday the theft of an estimated $200,000 at Northern New Mexico College, which is based in Española and El Rito.
A high-level employee in the college’s business office resigned in connection with the missing money, according to a statement from Keller’s staff. The statement said cash was stolen and checks were not deposited “that deprived the college of additional funds.”
In an interview, Northern President Richard J. Bailey Jr. said college officials had reported to the State Auditor’s Office and the State Police financial irregularities turned up because of work on an ongoing state audit.
Bailey confirmed that school administration had received the resignation of Henrietta Trujillo, head of the college’s business office.
The college issued a formal statement saying it had reported the irregularities “immediately” upon discovering them and will fully cooperate with the investigation. The statement said college officials “will answer all questions as the ongoing investigation allows.”
Keller said in his news release, “These were hundreds of thousands of dollars that should have been serving students and faculty, not the personal benefit of an employee. We are working quickly to help bring accountability to the matter, and we appreciate the cooperation of the College and law enforcement. The discovery presents another opportunity for the College to right the ship by implementing policies and procedures to keep this from happening in the future.”
Bailey came to Northern in 2016 after the college had been experiencing years of financial problems, late audits, layoffs and reduced class offerings, amid staff turmoil and political infighting.
Bailey, a former Air Force pilot and military educator, said that if the college hadn’t made efforts to get “full control” of its financial status, “we may have never discovered this. So in some ways this is evidence of us moving forward as a college.”
The investigation was referred to at the Roundhouse on Wednesday morning, before any news releases had been issued.
The Senate Rules Committee was considering its recommendation concerning the confirmation of Gov. Susana Martinez’s appointment of Rosario “Chayo” Garcia, president of the NNMC Board of Regents, to another term on the board.
Domingo Sanchez III, the college’s vice president for finance and administration, told the committee that NNMC’s 2016 audit is late because the State Auditor’s Office had decided to “pare back the layers of the onion” and address allegations about the school that had been unresolved for years before Bailey’s hiring.
He said there was “an issue of fraud at the college” from the 2012-2013 time frame that he couldn’t go into detail about, but that the senators would “start hearing more about” it in the news media.
Senators wanted to know why there hadn’t been more oversight of the college administration during years where its required state audits repeatedly were late and its finances became such a mess that it is on high-risk or monitoring status with state and federal government agencies. Nancy “Rusty” Barceló stepped down as NNMC’s president in 2015 after serving five years.
Bailey told the committee that in the past, “I think there was a potential lack of robust communication between the president and the board.” He said he has established a “very robust dialogue” with the college regents.
State Sen. Richard Martinez, D-Española, who supported Garcia’s confirmation before the committee, said former Northern provost Ricky Serna previously “ran the whole show,” “ran amok” and “fired a lot of people.” He also said Barceló “was never there” and that “she never cared.”
Serna, reached by telephone later, said Sen. Martinez’s comments were inappropriate and that he had already reached out to the senator and intends to address what Martinez told the committee “directly” with the senator.
NNMC evolved from a two-year school to a four-year institution in 2005. During its recent troubles, it shut down its historic El Rito campus, but Bailey has plans to start a post-high-school college preparatory program there.
Last year, NNMC paid out more than $500,000 to settle whistleblower lawsuits filed by two former employees. One of the suits alleged misuse of federal funds.
Bailey told the Journal Wednesday that he expects the financial investigation to end up with the local district attorney’s office.
“All of this is about the college moving forward,” he said. “And I will say that everyone at this college is optimistic about the fact that we are moving forward together in ways that are helping our students.”
The Rules Committee endorsed Garcia’s reappointment for her regents position Wednesday and the full Senate approved it later in the day.