Special audit: State lawmaker was overpaid by school district, wife collected unqualified stipends — Natalie Robbins, Dan Boyd, Albuquerque Journal
State Rep. Brian Baca is facing scrutiny after a recent special audit found the former Los Lunas Schools deputy superintendent was improperly paid while attending the legislative session at the Roundhouse, and may have allowed his wife to be paid for a job at the district without proper certification.
Baca, a two-term Republican from Los Lunas who is seeking reelection this year, was overpaid by $11,365 for claiming paid sick leave days while attending the legislative session in Santa Fe in 2024 and 2025, the audit found.
That’s despite a district policy that, according to the report, did not allow sick leave to be applied for time spent at the Legislature.
The special audit also found that Baca’s wife worked as a special education facilitator for the school district for nearly a decade despite not having the necessary license to hold the position.
As a result, she was paid $64,500 in stipends that she did not technically qualify for, the audit found.
During that time, Brian Baca was the administrator in charge of the district’s human relations department, which also handles licensing compliance, according to the report.
That prompted the outside firm to raise concerns about possible nepotism, though the audit’s authors said they were unable to prove that Baca — or other employees — intentionally miscoded internal records to avoid notice from the Public Education Department.
“The appearance of nepotism erodes trust in government,” the audit report stated.
When contacted about the investigation, a spokesperson for Los Lunas Schools told the Journal the district does not comment on personnel matters.
Baca, who left Los Lunas Schools at the end of June 2025, did not respond to several phone calls and emails about the audit findings this week.
He sent a statement to the Valencia County News-Bulletin last month: “I am unable to comment on the specifics of the audit at this time, but I am confident that the facts will show that, while employed with Los Lunas Schools, I acted in good faith and consistent with the approvals provided to me.”
A member of the New Mexico House of Representatives since 2023, Baca is the ranking member of the House Education Committee and also serves on the House Appropriations and Finance Committee.
‘BREAKDOWNS’ IN GOVERNANCE PRACTICES
The special audit of Los Lunas Schools was commissioned by State Auditor Joseph Maestas’ office after a request from the state’s Public Education Department.
PED spokesperson Janelle Taylor Garcia said the department sent a letter to the state auditor listing several concerns following the school district’s fiscal year 2024 audit. Among them: potential violations of the New Mexico Procurement Code, the regulatory process local governments must use to purchase goods and services; and the Open Meetings Act, which ensures government meetings are held in public view.
PED also listed concerns about “potential overreach” of the Los Lunas Board of Education into day-to-day district operations, Taylor Garcia said.
The audit’s findings were unanimously approved last month by the Los Lunas Board of Education, and the full matter has been referred to the PED, according to the State Auditor’s Office. Referrals to other state agencies could also be made.
In a statement this week, Maestas said the special audit found the school district maintains generally strong financial controls, but also identified certain “breakdowns” in governance practices and other areas that require corrective action.
In regard to Baca and other individuals cited specifically in the audit report, Maestas said the audit “presents facts based on the evidence reviewed” while highlighting specific instances of noncompliance.
The audit, which was conducted by Jaramillo Accounting Group, an independent firm, examined the school district’s finances over a nearly two-year period ending in May 2025.
The audit found that any overstepping of roles by board members and superintendents regarding procurement rules was not intentional and limited to a few instances, though auditors concluded the district did violate the Open Meetings Act when board members discussed selecting legal vendors while attending a law conference together.
Among the report’s chief concerns were potential fraud risks during which employees misused their paid leave. Specifically, the audit cited a 2024 collective bargaining agreement that stipulates that legislative leave for employees should be unpaid.
Los Lunas Schools district personnel made an unsuccessful attempt to lobby the school board to change the policy barring Baca from using paid leave for legislative sessions, according to the audit. After the attempt failed, Baca stopped using sick leave and instead used vacation leave and leave under the Family Medical Leave Act, or FMLA, until the end of his employment at the district, the report said.
Between July 1, 2023, and June 30, 2025, the report found 269 of Baca’s 425 working days were recorded as paid leave. Nearly half of them were recorded as sick days, a quarter were vacation days, and another quarter of the days were recorded as FMLA.
During the period from 2023 to 2025, the House of Representatives was in session for 93 days, and Baca used paid leave for 55. Baca used 19 sick days, 19 FMLA days and 17 vacation days, according to the audit. For six days when he was in the Legislature, he received regular pay without leave, the report found.
Nine sick days were backdated and changed to vacation days after payroll was completed, according to the audit.
The Family Medical Leave Act is a federal law that entitles workers up to 12 weeks of leave and job protection for serious health conditions or family issues. The auditors determined that while Baca’s FMLA had proper approval, his active participation in legislative sessions was at odds with his assertion that he was unable to work.
“This does not, by itself, disprove eligibility, but it warrants heightened review of certifications, restrictions and intermittent leave scheduling and documentation,” the report said.
Baca was not the only employee cited in the audit, as the report also found a former Los Lunas director of athletics was simultaneously working as an NCAA referee while employed at the district. The employee officiated 12 out-of-state games during which he did not take leave and could not have worked a full day. He was paid a total of $22,921 in officiating fees for the games, and the audit found he may have been overpaid up to $5,854 by the district during the audit period.
UNPAID LEGISLATORS
The issue of pay for public school employees who serve in the Legislature is not a new one in New Mexico.
The Albuquerque Public Schools board wrestled with the topic more than 10 years ago after a Journal analysis found former House Majority Leader Sheryl Williams Stapleton, D-Albuquerque, had been paid more than $63,000 in salary over three years while away from her job as APS coordinator of vocational education.
Stapleton was indicted in 2024 on charges including bribery, mail fraud, money laundering and conspiracy to defraud the United States. Jury selection for her trial is scheduled to begin in August.
New Mexico is the only state in the country in which legislators are not paid and serve on a volunteer basis, though lawmakers do receive a per diem payment of $247 during sessions. There are currently three legislators who work for public schools — Reps. G. Andres Romero, D-Albuquerque, Raymundo Lara, D-Chamberino, and Tanya Mirabal Moya, R-Adelino — along with several retired educators.
Meanwhile, the release of the special audit has prompted criticism from some local residents.
“I think he should step down,” said Monique Dereta, whose children and grandchildren attended Los Lunas Schools.
Dereta and fellow Los Lunas parent Rowena Tachias are the co-founders of the “Los Lunas School District Parent Discussion Page,” an online forum that has prompted several cease-and-desist letters from the district since its launch in 2011.
Dereta and Tachias sued the Los Lunas School Board and Superintendent Dana Sanders in 2021, alleging that the attempts to shut down the group were a violation of their First Amendment rights. The court sided with Dereta and Tachias.
The district and Baca were slapped with another lawsuit in May 2025, when the New Mexico Foundation for Open Government sued the Los Lunas Board of Education and Baca, its public records custodian at the time, for refusal to release public records related to an investigation into a former superintendent for alleged misconduct. The case is ongoing.
Both Dereta and Tachias said they will not be supporting Baca in the upcoming general election. His opponent in the Nov. 3 election is Democrat Katherine Gauer.
“This person has no business being a state representative,” Tachias said. “He’s like a ghost.”
Natalie Robbins covers education for the Journal. You can reach her at nrobbins@abqjournal.com.
Dan Boyd covers state government and politics for the Journal in Santa Fe. Follow him on X at @DanBoydNM or reach him via email at dboyd@abqjournal.com.
BernCo approves $4.9M for pet adoption and education center — Matthew Resisen, Albuquerque Journal
Bernalillo County commissioners this week approved $4.9 million to renovate and operate a center in the Northeast Heights that would work paw-in-paw with the county’s main shelter to educate pet owners and find animals their forever homes.
The Animal Care Services Adoption and Education Center on Montgomery, just east of Eubank, is expected to alleviate shelter overcrowding. The goal is to increase the county’s adoption rate an estimated 45%, using a home-like environment to reduce pet anxiety and option overload.
The center will also have classroom space to educate pet owners and teach crucial skills and a landing space for more than a dozen animal control officers who currently occupy a portable building when they are not in the field.
The appropriation passed unanimously on Tuesday. It was sponsored by Commissioner Eric Olivas, who was not present for the vote.
The center was approved for purchase in November with a $3.2 million appropriation. The county negotiated a sales price of $2 million for the building on Montgomery. The total investment came out to $9.1 million, with an estimated $247,000 in annual operating costs, funded through capital outlay and the general fund.
The building will have an additional 7,500 square feet of space for future development.
County engineers presented commissioners with a Plan B that would demolish the older portion of the building, should they discover substandard conditions, like mold in the walls, for example. Everyone in the chambers hoped that wouldn’t be necessary.
In a statement, Olivas said the center will bring pet education, volunteer opportunities and low-cost or free veterinary services close to Albuquerque residents.
“As an added benefit, we will revitalize a building that has been vacant for a couple of years and bring new activity to the Montgomery corridor through adoptable pets and community engagement,” he said.
The center will be in a 23,000-square-foot building that once housed a VCA Hospital. After renovations, the center will include overnight accommodations for 30 animals, group play areas, a classroom, veterinary surgery suite for spay and neuter and space for several staff members.
County officials said the South Valley shelter, which will funnel pets to the new center for adoptions, was initially built to serve 2,500 animals a year. Currently, the shelter serves 6,500 animals a year, caring for around 300 on a given day, a total that has increased steadily since the pandemic.
The county said added demand on the shelter has come from an increase in families becoming unhoused and a spike in the pet population, which is compounded by a lack of access to cheap spay and neuter services.
County Animal Care Services Director Misha Goodman said although the South Valley shelter is still the location for stray drop-offs, the new center will have 19 kennels for overflow if needed, should a hoarding case come in.
“I'm sure we'll have people knocking on the door anyway, and then we'll transfer them,” she said during an interview at the shelter on Second, north of Rio Bravo. “Primarily, what it will be is an adoption center to flow from here into there for quicker adoptions.”
Goodman said the idea is based on the philosophy of any sales business: fewer options can mean an easier choice. Additionally, placing the animals in a more home-like setting will allow them to act more naturally, with less anxious barking.
“You know, when you're walking through these kennels, how loud it is, and it's like, how do you make a decision, right? How do you choose?” Goodman said, gesturing around at the cacophony of barking and jumping dogs in kennels. “So, the idea is that completely different environments, where they can be more natural in bigger rooms, or loose in playgroups where the public can see them interacting the way that they might at home, as opposed to in a cage.”
She said the average shelter stay is around 23 days, and in a more populated area, with 124,000 residents within three miles, they expect that number to drop. The center will adopt out cats, dogs, rabbits and reptiles but — unlike the South Valley shelter — no livestock.
Goodman said another important aspect of the center will be education, a way to decrease people surrendering their pets out of frustration or lack of preparation. Even “simplistic classes” can go a long way, she said.
“Somebody's thinking about getting a pet, well, what's the right pet for you? I want to get a rabbit. OK, let's talk about what it takes to maintain a rabbit. What does that mean? Because people, again, don't always know the right diet or the right caging, or how they stink… and all those things,” Goodman said. “So, even simple little classes like that can be very helpful.”
Here’s a preview of Albuquerque’s newest Westside open space with crazy views of the city — The Paper Staff
The City of Albuquerque is about to open its newest open space and residents are invited for a preview on Friday. The 23-acre site, formerly the Poole family estate, was purchased by the City and renamed the San Antonio Oxbow Bluffs (SAOB) Open Space. It has always been important wildlife habitat on the Westside, officials say. City additions including trails and an outdoor education center are now making it more accessible for residents to use, as well.
City officials, including Mayor Tim Keller and City Councilor Stephanie Telles, will be on hand Friday morning at 10:30 to give tours and inspect the first phase of changes to the new outdoor space.
In addition to the grand opening, the City says it will be honoring the contributions of several community leaders who played significant roles in the protection of the property, including the late Suzanne Poole, a previous owner of the property, the late Dr. Joe Valles, a West Side neighborhood organizer and advocate, and Rex Funk, the first Open Space Superintendent, who helped lead protection of the San Antonio Oxbow wetlands and other significant Open Space properties.
If you go…
WHAT: Ribbon cutting and celebration of Phase 1 completion – San Antonio Oxbow Bluffs
WHEN: Friday, June 12, 2026, at 10:30 a.m.
WHERE: San Antonio Oxbow Bluffs, 5001 Namaste Rd NW, Albuquerque, NM 87120
New Mexico reports fatal plague case in Santa Fe County
—Danielle Prokop, Source New Mexico
New Mexico’s first human plague case of the year has resulted in the death of a Santa Fe County woman in her 50s, health officials said Thursday.
“We extend our heartfelt condolences to the friends and family of the woman who passed away due to plague,” New Mexico Department of Health state public health veterinarian Erin Phipps said in a statement. “This tragedy emphasizes the need for heightened community awareness and for taking measures to prevent plague infections.”
The New Mexico Department of Health confirmed it is determining that no close contacts of the woman are exhibiting symptoms.
Plague is a bacterial disease carried by rodents and often transmitted through infected fleas biting animals — including pets — as well as humans. If the infection is in the lungs, humans can also transmit the disease through coughing.
The first warning symptoms of plague are a sudden, high fever, chills and often painful swellings in the groin, armpit or neck. In a short interview with Source NM, Phipps said antibiotic treatments can greatly reduce the fatality rate of the disease in pets and people, but requires prompt diagnosis.
“Plague is one of those illnesses that can become very severe, very quickly,” Phipps said. “So anybody who experiences sudden onset of a high fever, any shortness of breath, any weakness, those are all signs that medical attention should absolutely be sought.”
New Mexico consistently has some of the highest rates of plague in the U.S. and has accounted for more than half of infections nationwide since 1970, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. State health officials documented three human cases in 2025 and one in 2024 which was fatal.
Two dogs also have been diagnosed with plague this year in Santa Fe County — and a third in Bernalillo County — none of which had a direct relationship with the human case, Phipps said.
To reduce the chances of contracting plague, NMDOH recommends avoiding contact with sick or dead rodents and rabbits; cleaning up areas where they may be tempted to burrow; using insect repellent when outside and speaking with veterinarians about flea and tick prevention for pets.
“Most human cases of plague are transmitted via fleas, either directly from wild rodents or through their dogs or cats, so it’s something that can protect both people and their pets,” Phipps said.
U.S. Sen. Heinrich decries committee’s ‘backdoor’ vote to repeal ‘Roadless Rule’ in national forests
—Patrick Lohmann, Source New Mexico
A United States Senate committee on Wednesday voted along party lines to add a legislative repeal of the “Roadless Rule,” which protects roughly millions of acres of federal forestland from road construction and timber harvesting, to a previously bipartisan bill aimed at wildfire reduction.
U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), ranking member of the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said that the “last-minute” amendment seeks to bypass the public’s opposition to the rule’s repeal.
“Americans deserve an open debate about the future of their public lands, not a backdoor effort to weaken protections that have benefited communities, sportsmen and wildlife for decades,” he said in an emailed statement to Source NM. “Make no mistake: This is just another attack on our public lands that shuts the public out of decisions about lands they own.”
Heinrich announced Wednesday that he and fellow committee member U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) would hold a news conference Thursday morning regarding the Republicans’ “latest effort to repeal the Roadless Rule.”
United States Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced last June in Santa Fe that the agency intended to repeal the rule, which has been in place since 2001. She said repealing the protections would prevent wildfires — though some recent studies suggest otherwise — and would mean more “logs on trucks” as the Trump administration seeks to rekindle a nationwide logging industry in federal forests.
The rule currently protects 45 million acres of some of the most remote swathes — including 730,000 acres in the Gila National Forest in New Mexico — of federal forestland from development.
The agency does not need a law like the one Heinrich’s committee passed Wednesday to repeal the rule, though it is required to go through an administrative process, including accepting public comments and also evaluating alternatives. According to Heinrich’s office, 99% of thousands of comments the agency has received so far have opposed the rule’s rescission.
But the legislation, which now heads to the full U.S. Senate following the committee’s 11-9 vote, would cut out that public process, according to Heinrich spokesperson Luis Soriano, and would prevent the rule from being reinstated in the future, absent another legislative change.
Committee Chair U.S. Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) sponsored the amendment repealing the “Roadless Rule” to the Wildfire Prevention Act, which otherwise establishes annual goals for federal wildfire prevention efforts, including increasing the average number of treated acres by 40% from current levels by October 2028.