7-16-2024 9:47am

A Charter School for Alamogordo Complete History of Effort Recapped 2024

Chris Edwards Editor

Public Comment for the publicly funded Charter School called the Sacramento School of Engineering and Science is due to the New Mexico Department of Education no later than July 16th at 5 p.m. to the following email address charter.schools@ped.nm.gov

Beginning in December of 2023 the 2nd Life Media AlamogordoTownNews.org organization has produced a series of articles as information about charter schools, the process for obtaining a license to operate and how a closed group of Alamogordo residents has operated in their quest to open “SSES” through the application process.

Our journey of reporting via this series has been in educating the public to the process and the powers behind the proposal as an effort to provide transparency to the public at large.

We ran some opinion pieces and commentary from a variety of sources provoked by the lack of transparency, the submission of a pre-application to the state PED without a public announcement, a closed non- representative founding board that worked the Main Gate United Organization within the Chamber of Commerce.

Its been alleged that the founding board abused their role of transparency to the public at large.

The founding group allegedly manipulated dialogue around local education to apply political pressure and that is what provoked our response with a series of ongoing articles and editorial commentary for the last 7 months via our series on Charter Schools.

The effort of the founding group of the local charter effort has been to turn over the school board and influence the previous election via a disinformation campaign, using a fake news site called the Sentinel, of which does not report broad information coverage.

If one scans the site 90% of the stories were crafted specifically to tear down APS leadership, administrators and raise doubt in public domain via social media manipulation, questioning the successes of efforts for improving Alamogordo Public Schools.

The collaboration in efforts most specifically targeted long term educators, administrators and former board members such as Judy Rabon, Carol Teweleit and Amanda Jewel as well as administrators such as Pamela Renteria and Colleen Tagle via a disinformation campaign to build a case for justification of a Charter School initiative. The co-conspirator in that effort was the manipulated leadership of Main Gate United as witnessed by their stated involvement.

There is a distinct conflict of interest as 3 founders serve on the Main Gate United board and the Executive Director of the Chamber is on the founding board.

The collaboration of effort has created doubt in APS successes and positive student performances; to tear down the reputations of these fine public servants, administrators and educators for personal gain.

That is why we began our series and have engaged the public in on going dialogue.

The public, and the once fine institution of the Chamber of Commerce and Main Gate United has been USED in a propaganda war to facilitate an agenda by a group of individuals who each have proven an axe to grind against the previous school board and certain administrators.

Each have and axe to grind either due to failure to garner school funding and contracts, religious bias and a hate for state mandates around Diversity and Inclusion Education mandates for staff and students, lawsuits against the district or ego stroking needed for their legacy as their influence wanes.

Then add the influence of the Mayor of Alamogordo. She also misused her position as mayor, claiming she is engaged as “private citizen Susan” also due to a vendetta against certain prior school board members and administrators within the prior school administration. To only then conduct an interview with AlamogordoTownNews.org’s radio program host Anthony Lucero where she hedges her bet concerning the Charter Initiative in comments concerning the charter school initiative. During the interview, she acts as if she is a bystander in the process verses an enabler in the fight of disinformation and propaganda propagating the false narratives pushing a position on social media and also referring to the fake news site mentioned as fact. Her interview with our media entity can be found at:

https://youtu.be/kfh3WNxCPLg?si=8R0jbnbPouh_kE0Q

She is no innocent bystander, as there are coordinated emails from charter member Lorrie Black and others to the candidates for school board and Susan that discuss the past 2 superintendents, to include the payout agreement about Mr. Moore which was forwarded to her and the candidates as a signal of glee concerning their efforts to instill chaos into APS - “Blessings, Lorrie Black.”

The mayor indignant with IPRA requests specific to her school system interference refused to turn over the confidential internal APS document that Lorrie Black forwarded concerning Dr. Moores payout. However the APS School system complied with the legal obligation thus the document as seen in the photo above.

Why would Susan refuse release? Complicity? and thus another reason for our continued coverage of this Charter Schools issue.

When there is transparency and sunlight then the public can feel confident in motives and a process.

When leaders hide behind releasing documents, behind fake propaganda sites to champion their agendas, when they don’t host public meetings with diverse groups and invite them to the table, when they will be impacted by decisions made: then questions are raised, doubt in the motives and integrity concerns peak and a sense that the taxpayer is being hoodwinked, yet again in Alamogordo is the feeling that takes hold.

Our series began with an article on December 12th when the charter group flew a trial balloon into the propaganda machine suggesting that a charter group was in dialogue led by the Alamogordo Center of Commerce affiliated MainGate United, to review the prospect of helping to map a course of action, to bring a potential International Baccalaureate World School to Alamogordo.

That program was unique and something not offered by APS and we 100% endorsed that effort.

Of course this trail balloon was floated to garner support for a charter school in Alamogordo but turned out to be a false narrative

The trail balloon was sent up by this founding group all the while they submitted a pre-application that was mirroring already existing programs and curriculum that already is in use at Alamogordo High School.

Nothing creative other than positive support for this initiative by Main Gate United verses support for enhancing already established infrastructure and programs within APS.

In our story of January 24th we discussed the pre-application filing and linked it so the public could see what was actually being proposed - Notice of Intent to Create A Charter School Filed with PED

We then ran a series of stories explaining what it takes to open a charter school or the process to funding…

Understanding the Steps to Open a Charter School in New Mexico, and Considerations

The Underfunded Quest for a Charter School in Alamogordo. What’s it cost to open a Charter School?

As we began running stories on the process the founding group via fake profiles and a fake news site then began attacking our coverage. Why? At that point we were just exploring the process and educating our audience as to what the process was. The founding group demonstrated they did not want a spotlight on the process by the broader community.

As we explored deeper we began seeing some troubling aspects to the application as presented. First we recognized a conflict of interest when a seated school board member was also a member of the founding board. As a result of our inquiries and public spotlight that school board member resigned from the board of the Charter School

Alamogordo School Board Member Craig Danekas Resigns from Charter School Board

We raised concerns about transparency and public input…

A Charter School for Alamogordo, Where is the Promised Transparency?

We ran stories to educate the public on pitfalls other cities and school districts were feeling as an impact to a charter school in their districts from nearby Las Cruces and to a small town called Riverhead…

Alma d’Arte’s Charter School Las Cruces Sparks Concerns: Implications for New Mexico's Charter System

The Lessons of Riverhead Central School District. Would an Alamogordo Charter School Result in AHS Layoffs?

We asked questions about why the broader public was not represented by the board and engaged and that raised questions by LULAC and other concerned members of the public about transparency, participation and rather the proposal was well through out, fiscally responsible and able to actually achieve the results promised…

Otero County LULAC supports public Education - Stop the Sacramento Charter School

Opinion Effects of Charter Schools on Social Integration: A Concerned Perspective by Ed Gadziemski

Charter School Hearing Hard Questions for Founders, Financials a Grave Concern

Alamogordo’s Charter School Application Failing Score in a Peer Review

We looked back at Alamogordo’s history of another charter school that existed and had its charter revoked due to financial difficulties as a warning that this project should be well funded and not only rely on public taxpayer money as that is lesson learned from a past failed charter school project in the past in Alamogordo…

Learning From the Past Failure: Alamogordo’s Lacy Simms Charter School Closure Financial Failure

And we ran perspectives from educators concerned with the application and suggesting it should be denied…

Opinion: A Teachers Perspective No to Charter - A Lack of Understanding, Conflict of Interest and More

AlamogordoTownNews.org and our sister broadcast station KALHRadio.org has provided a service to ensure citizen engagement into the process. Our aim is to educate on process, inform on the importance of public participation and inspire leaders and the public to engage in action and participate in the democratic process of governance

The decision on rather a charter is issued for the Sacramento School of Engineering and Science will now be in the hands of the New Mexico Department of Education to decide as of 5 pm this evening. The decision and further review will be ongoing this month with a decision announced at the August regular session of the NMPED board.

If the charter is granted we wish SSES luck in execution and do hope they indeed succeed as promised and that APS and AHS does not suffer as suggested. We will be reporting on the evolution as it happens.

If the charter is not granted, we hope that the lessons of transparency and broad public participation are considered and a plan of solid financial reform as a plan is implemented for a future application.

Stay tuned as this story will continue…