An illustrative example; Hector Balderas' frustration.

I write in response to this Jose Z. Garcia's post, link.

Apparently there are some issues with the Gadsden Independent Schools Audits.

"More than a year after it was disclosed Gadsden Independent School District was $3.9 million in the hole, and after failing for four years in a row to fulfill the mandatory annual audit reports required of school districts, GISD still has not caught up with its books."

State Auditor Hector Balderas has written a letter to Legislative Finance Committee and the Secretary of Public Education seeking their help. He wrote;

We have been working for months with GISD and Gibson (the GISD auditor) for this information and have been unsuccessful.

In response, he was told, those responsible, will be given yet another three and a half months to comply with Balderas' requests.

In situations like this, two questions pop into my mind;

1. who is responsible? and
2. what consequence will they suffer?

My experience is;

1. none of your business, and
2. as little as can be arranged.

If the books are screwed up, it is the responsibility of the district superintendent. One could argue, in a "buck stops here" kind of a way, the school board is responsible because their signatures are the last on budgets. In a practical sense though, it is the superintendent's responsibility to establish the standards and accountability which produce on time and accurate audits.

OK, so it is the superintendent who is responsible, and it is the superintendent who should suffer some consequence for their corruption and/or incompetence.

Why won't the legislature jump on this with both feet? Why aren't they demanding immediate compliance with any request the State Auditor makes? Is more good ol' boys covering each others asses?

So who then, is the Superintendent of the Gadsden Independent School District; a district, $3.9M in the hole?

According to their website, link, it would be one Cynthia Nava.

Why does that name sound familiar?
A little more research reveals that
Ms. Nava, is a member of the very
legislature that has just blown off
Balderas' request for their help.




The Superintendent of the GISD, is none other than
State Senator Cynthia Nava.


According to her own bio, she is a legislator with some suck;

• a Senator in the New Mexico Legislature
• entering her fifth term
• Commissioner, Education Commission of the States
  
• Co-Chair, Capital Outlay Committee Task Force
• Chairman, Legislative Education Study Committee
• member, Water/Natural Resources Committee
• member, Committees' Committee
• member, Corporations Committee
• Chairman, Education Committee

Now if the good ol' boys on the Legislative Finance Committee were inclined to blow off the State Auditor, to cover some other good ol' boy's ass, they would be doing it for someone like Senator Nava.

Why else would they be giving her a few more months
to cover up her incompetence?

And while we're at it, has she recused herself on votes sending
tax dollars to her book keeping?




photo Mark Bralley