The Base" Chaos, Staff Instability, State Investigation Lead to Questions

The former boys and girls club now, "the Base" faces serious allegations from staff and former staff members.

AlamogordoTownNews.org and the NewMexicoConservativeNews.com teams received a series of emails last fall and into the spring, and instant messages from several staff members and former staff members of the Otero County Boys and Girls Club with allegations of misconduct, harassment and a toxic work environment created by the CEO.

After multiple requests from former staff, our news team initiated an investigation which has taken several months to complete. The news team sent a request to the board of directors, the executive director for their feedback. We begin the story with the response from the CEO, Pamela Cisneros.

"Please see our response to your inquiry. - All these allegations have been brought to the attention of the CEO and Board of Directors during our transition and have all been addressed. Furthermore, we have, and continue to be, transparent in our transition and operations, and have the full support of the community. We have had a wonderful transition to The B.A.S.E. of Otero (Before and After School Enrichment). Our Winter Wonderland raised the most money we have, we have had record enrollment, our staff is happy and healthy, our car show was the biggest ever, one of our donors made the biggest donations they have ever made, and we are gearing up for our busiest summer program ever. We hope that whatever is chosen to be published will include our incredible strides in being the best after school program in Otero County." - Pamela Cisneros

This is the response from multiple allegations that have been made by staff and former staff members to include:

"Bias and Neglect Toward Members:

The CEO has withheld certain club members from attending field trips due to personal bias. One member was only allowed to attend a single field trip this summer, and parents were never informed about injuries sustained at the club. In one case, an injury was reported directly to the CEO, who claimed to have contacted the member’s father and said the father instructed not to call unless the child complained. This was later confirmed to be untrue, as the father stated he was never contacted.

Refusal to Follow Safety Guidelines:

The CEO has blatantly refused to comply with CYFD guidelines, disregarding the requirement for cleared background checks for staff working with children. On multiple occasions, staff members without completed background checks were sent on field trips, or instructed to hide when CYFD inspectors were on-site.

History of Retaliation and Misconduct:

The CEO has previously been sued for firing a whistleblower, proving her willingness to engage in unethical or illegal actions without consequence. Additionally, the CEO has had inappropriate one-on-one conversations with club members, including a discussion of sexual topics with a teenage girl. (Investigated and substantiated by the state of New Mexico)

Misuse of Authority and Close Relationship with the Board President:

The CEO has an unusually close relationship with the Board President, which compromises the accountability process."

Another individual that is a former staff member asserted that the CEO..

"Failed to Address Safety Concerns:

Despite repeated complaints about gym temperatures reaching over 90 degrees, which caused dehydration and dizziness among children and staff, the CEO refused to take action. CYFD ultimately shut down the gym indefinitely after a deadline to resolve the issue was ignored."

Former staff members further allege that there has been significant staff turnover of over 20 staffers over the last year. There were allegations that the Board of Directors has ignored staff complaints as per above.

Another former staff member stated that a board member had said, "we know there are issues but our CEO is phenomenal at fundraising and garnering grants."

Thus is the board putting money first?

Another allegation that was made was that the Center is no longer affiliated with the Boys and Girls clubs of New Mexico as a result of inappropriate behaviors by the Executive Director that were not properly addressed nor investigated properly by the board or an independent entity. The organization rebranded itself "the Base."

In followup the AlamogordoTownNews.org team sent an email inquiry to the district level boys and girls club which did admit that the the Otero County facility located at 201 Dale Scott Avenue, Alamogirdo is "no longer affiliated with the State Boys and Girls club organization" but would not give further details due to "privacy concerns."

Former staff members also alleged an investigation by New Mexico Early Childhood Education and Care Department was conducted. Staff alleged the findings proved wrongdoing by the ED. Yet again, the board of directors failed to act and address issues. As a result more staff turnover. Several staff members resigned in protest for the board protecting the ED.

We contacted the New Mexico Early Childhood Education and Care Department with an inquiry into any investigations into the Otero Boys and Girls 201 Dale Scott Blvd. The ECECD provided documentation that an investigation did indeed occur. The findings substantiated the staff allegations of misconduct.

What follows are investigative interviews by the NMECECD which did find the allegations filed as substantiated. The state also released internal investigative documents to follow...

The New Mexico NMECECD substainiated the allegations and cited the Boys and Girls club now operating as "the Base."

Commentary: 

After much debate from our editorial advisory committee, and counsel, we debated rather or not to move forward with the story. The board unanimously agreed that this story should be made public and to ensure a copy of the state investigation was made available to the public to read. We make no judgment as to the findings nor the operations of "the base."

What we do know as a fact is there are very limited opportunities for children in Alamogordo for safe play spaces with an educational component.

Alamogordo has a long history of a strong Boys and Girls Club tradition and the disassociation with its historical roots is dissapointing, given almost 50 years of affiliation with the Boys and Girls Clubs Association.

The Alamogordo Boys & Girls Club was established in 1977 and had served the community for almost 50 years, in providing after-school programs and other resources for children. The Rotary Club of Alamogordo, New Mexico sponsored the club, initially. The charter banquet was held on June 23, 1977, at the Holloman Air Force Base Officers Club. The club was then established as the Boys and Girls Club of Otero County. The club began with 25 charter members and a rapid membership growth.

The Alamogordo Boys and Girls Club under Ms. Cisneros in 2023, received state recognition for its professionalism and program offerings garnering as visit in 2023 from the Lt. Governor. 

"Lt. Gov. Howie Morales, a former teacher, visited the Club and played with the children including handing out snacks during snack time.

The visit was to see after school programs in action after $20 million was added to the state’s budget to help after school programs like Boys and Girls Club.

“We’re very thankful for the after school funding,” Boys and Girls Club of Otero County CEO Pamela Cisneros said. “We have kids who definitely couldn’t be here without it… It’s changed our program completely because of the kids that we can help. So we’re seeing kids that wouldn’t have been able to afford to be here before that really need us. They need that tutoring, the athletic time, the social time.”

The Base in Alamogordo has students from ages 5 to 17 from different schools including those in Alamogordo Public Schools, students from private schools and some who are homeschooled. A safe and engaging environment is critical to our community.

Our hope is whatever issues existing during the last year smooth themselves out, that the board is doing its job in providing strict oversight and accountability, and that the staffing turnover and negativity are in the past so that the organization remains a safe institution of which Alamogordo should be proud. 

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