HS counselor accused of altering grades

Report alleges she changed her son’s record at Mora

An investigative report commissioned by the Mora Independent Schools superintendent says the Mora High School principal told school counselor Pauline Laumbach several times not to alter her son’s grades last year, but that Laumbach ignored those commands and was later placed on leave.

The report obtained by the Journal also says copies of Laumbach’s son’s falsified transcripts may have been sent to colleges.

The Mora boys basketball team had to forfeit several wins from last year because Laumbach allegedly also altered a transcript so a student could appear academically eligible to play on the team.

Mora Superintendent

Ella Arellano said the boys basketball coach last year, Hank Laumbach, is Pauline Laumbach’s husband.

Arellano said the state Public Education Department is investigating Pauline Laumbach, but she hasn’t heard about the investigation’s progress for a while. PED spokesperson Lida Alikhani didn’t respond to several Journal attempts to get a comment by phone call, email and text this week.

Laumbach’s attorney, Shane Youtz, told the Journal it would be a violation of a confidential settlement agreement for Laumbach to comment on the investigative report and had no comment himself. He said he wasn’t aware of a PED investigation.

Laumbach, who was placed on paid leave by Mora schools in March and later resigned, now has a job in the Peñasco Independent School District, but does not have access to student grades, according to Peñasco Superintendent Marvin MacAuley.

“She cleared her background check, has all her licenses and has no problems,” MacAuley said. “She’s been a model employee.”

The Journal obtained a copy of the investigative report that was conducted by Paul and Associates, LLC of Albuquerque. Linda M. Paul, the investigator, said in the report she has worked in public education for the past 35 years as a teacher, principal and assistant superintendent.

Laumbach had been a Mora school district counselor since August 2016 and had access to student records, according to Paul’s report. Before that, she taught business and social studies at Mora High and was the district’s athletic coordinator dating from 1996.

The report says she changed her son’s grades 20 times on 10 different occasions between Sept. 6, 2016, and March 16, 2017.

An altered transcript may have been sent to the University of Tennessee, Colorado State University, Hawaii Pacific University, the University of Texas and Butler University.

Paul’s report says that Laumbach made six changes to her son’s record on Oct. 14, 2016, and printed the son’s “official transcript” showing a 3.963 grade point average the same day. That transcript was sent to the colleges, the report says.

Paul wrote that she was saying false transcripts “may” have been sent because there’s no way to see what the son’s record was before it was changed by Laumbach.

Mora High School Principal Angelo Archuleta met with Laumbach after he began hearing that she was tampering with student transcripts in November 2016 and “admonished her to avoid any appearance of impropriety by ensuring that she was not in any way either accessing or manipulating your son’s academic record in any way,” according to the report.

But even after the discussion, Laumbach continued to tamper with transcripts, the report says. “Mrs. Laumbach changed her son’s record in January, February and March, 2017, clearly after Mr. Archuleta’s admonishment in November that she was not to access or manipulate her son’s academic records in any way.”

Archuleta met with Laumbach again March 14 and told her not to change her son’s grades, but it appears she changed them again March 16, according to the report, which says Laumbach was placed on paid administrative leave March 22.

An audit was done on the senior class following Laumbach’s leave and issues were found with three students, one of which was Laumbach’s son and another who was her niece. The report says Laumbach may have administered an exam that her niece needed to pass to meet graduation requirements. “There is a concern that the same individual taught the class, administered the test and scored the test,” Paul wrote.

The other student played on the boys basketball team that was coached by Laumbach’s husband.

“It is clear, from the district’s JMAC (a records-keeping system) records and from her own admission, that Mrs. Laumbach repeatedly changed her son’s JMAC record, even after two directives from her principal not to alter the records,” Paul wrote. “I recommend appropriate disciplinary action, up to and including termination, for Mrs. Laumbach and reporting to the PED for possible violations of the Code of Ethical Responsibility of the Education Profession.”

Superintendent Arellano confirmed that she contracted an investigation, but didn’t want to say much else about it.

“I cannot respond or give any information because it has to do with personnel matters and confidential student information. I really can’t comment on anything at this time,” she said.

Arellano did say Laumbach requested a personnel hearing, but didn’t show up and resigned instead.

Arellano said she reached out to PED in August to ask how the investigation was going, but she said she still hasn’t received a response. “I haven’t heard back from the PED in months. I don’t know if they’re understaffed or what it is.”

Peñasco Superintendent MacAuley said Laumbach currently works with students to make sure they’re taking the right college courses for the district’s dual-credit program and doesn’t have access to student grades.

MacAuley said he knew that PED was looking into Laumbach when she was hired, but he said there’s still no hard evidence that she committed wrongdoing.

“We were aware there was an investigation, but there’s nothing to say she was doing anything wrong,” MacAuley said. “Nothing’s been proven at this point. It’s a personnel matter with a previous employer. My only concern is her license, and her license is active and good. Again, we’ve had no issues.”

Player’s records

The boys basketball player cited in the report was enrolled in two classes at Luna Community College under dual enrollment during the fall 2016 semester and was failing both classes at the midterm. He had an “F” in one of those classes at the end of the semester, but it didn’t appear on his transcript, the report says.

The failing grade was not used to calculate his eligibility for basketball or spring sports. The team went 23-7 overall and 8-0 in District 5-2A last year. But Maxpreps.com now shows the Rangers’ 2016-17 record to be 10-20 and 0-8.

Superintendent Arellano said the violation was selfreported to the New Mexico Activities Association. NMAA Associate Director Dusty Young confirmed the team is on probation for two years, which he said typically means that any infraction the program commits during that time may be met with harsher penalties.

The Mora school district has faced a lot of turmoil in recent years. Former Superintendent Charles Trujillo, who resigned in November 2015, was arrested last year and charged with falsifying credentials to get higher-paying jobs.

One of his successors, Leanne Salazar-Montoya, resigned after three months on the job in September 2016 after she allegedly fired three district employees.