Ex-Santa Fe High administrator awarded $800K in whistleblower case

Aug. 27—A jury determined Friday officials at Santa Fe Public Schools had retaliated against a former educator after she spoke up in 2017 about allegations of sexual misconduct against high school student athletes.

Jurors awarded former Santa Fe High School Assistant Principal Kelly Rinaldi nearly $800,000 in the 2020 lawsuit she filed against the district under the state's Whistleblower Protection Act.

"It was justice served," an emotional Rinaldi said after hearing the jury's verdict.

"It was a long time coming, and I did this not only for myself but for many people that have been treated wrongly for doing what was right," she said. "So it's a very happy moment for me, a very proud moment, that I stood my ground and fought for what was right. Character counts."

Attorney Jason Burnette, who represented the school district in the case, said in a phone call Friday, "We certainly respect the jury process; however, we do strongly disagree with the outcome."

Rinaldi said in the lawsuit she had drawn the ire of district administrators by insisting on an investigation into members of the Santa Fe High basketball team who had been accused of engaging in sexual activity with a teen girl and creating photos and video of the incident. Rinaldi, who later worked at the Early College Opportunities High School, also raised a range of concerns about a former principal there.

Santa Fe County jurors, who received the state District Court case late Thursday after eight days of testimony, deliberated for about five hours Friday before rendering their verdict.

They found Rinaldi had engaged in protected activity and that school district officials had retaliated against her by creating a hostile work environment and declining to renew her contract for the 2019-20 school year.

Jurors awarded Rinaldi $784,867 in damages and compensation for pain and suffering.

The award was broken down into several categories.

The bulk of the award, $528,666, was designated by the jury as twice Rinaldi's back pay plus interest from the time her contract's nonrenewal until June 30.

Jurors also awarded Rinaldi $168,699 for lost future earnings; $5,000 for the emotional distress of not having her contract renewed; and $82,500 for emotional distress associated with a hostile work environment.

The New Mexican reported in 2017 that Santa Fe police investigated sex crime allegations involving a 14-year-old girl and several boys who attended Santa Fe High, including members of the basketball team. The girl had spoken to Rinaldi about the incident and said she had agreed to have sex with three boys, who then filmed the acts without her consent, according to police reports from the time.

Rinaldi brought the allegations to then-Principal Carl Marano, who said no action needed to be taken, according to her whistleblower lawsuit.

Still, the complaint said, Rinaldi started an investigation into sexual misconduct and discrimination, which was taken over by Marano and eventually found three basketball players had engaged in sexual activity with the girl at a home, live-streamed the incident for other youth at the home to view, and later sent out videos and screenshots of the encounter.

Marano urged then-Superintendent Veronica García to impose a one-game suspension on the players involved, according to the lawsuit.

Two basketball players were suspended from the team for the rest of the season, The New Mexican reported at the time, but the district did not publicly state the reasons for the suspensions. While Santa Fe police investigated the incident, no charges were filed.

Following Rinaldi's insistence on an investigation and García's decision to suspend the players, Rinaldi's complaint said, Marano's attitude toward her changed.

"Thenceforth, [Rinaldi] was treated coldly or largely ignored by Marano and other Assistant Principals, who appeared to follow Marano's lead in ostracizing her," Rinaldi said in her complaint.

Rinaldi took a job as assistant principal at the Early College Opportunities High School in 2017-18. Her attorney, Linda Hemphill, said in her closing arguments Thursday Rinaldi had alerted district officials about problems at the school, including allegations the principal at the time was drinking on the job. She also accused the principal of disregarding students' rights and safety, and mishandling student funds.

After the principal's resignation, Rinaldi's lawsuit said, she was told by district officials she would not be promoted to head Early College Opportunities because of her reputation and history.

Rinaldi and her husband, Stephen Rinaldi, embraced tearfully after Friday's verdict.

"Now, hopefully, they will change how they operate," Stephen Rinaldi said. "But I doubt it."