Former human resources manager sues Alamogordo Schools for wrongful termination
After she complained about Alamogordo Public Schools’ alleged misconduct in personnel and policy violations, Sharon Scott learned that she had been let go as human resources manager for the school district, just shy of nine months into holding the position. Now, she’s suing the district claiming that she was just doing her job.
Scott’s allegations against the district
A 15-page lawsuit filed in 12th District Court in Otero County named three defendants — the Alamogordo Public School District, the Alamogordo School Board and Records Custodian Rachel Burks.
In the documents, Scott accused the district of a compromised work environment where her growing concerns of alleged policy violations and unethical practices were dismissed and not properly investigated by superiors Colleen Tagle, deputy superintendent of operations, and former district superintendent Kenneth Moore.
Scott said in the lawsuit “that she had significant ethical concerns regarding Ms. Tagle's conduct, specifically about fiscal improprieties, mistreatment of personnel, and policy/Collective Bargaining Agreement violations.”
Scott outlined in the suit as an example personnel issues the placement of employees Marvin Parish and Dominic Montoya on leave after a physical altercation between the two in November 2021.
Scott said she was allegedly instructed by Tagle to alter memos that reflected $4,400 of public funds hadn’t been spent on Parish and Montoya’s leave. According to the lawsuit, Scott advised that both employees be terminated and said she wasn’t going to alter any documents fearing legal repercussions. Tagle reinstated both Parish and Montoya in January 2022.
Other alleged policy violations mentioned in the suit included the district’s failure to report incidents involving students and staff in a timely manner to the Public Education Department, proper hiring procedures that followed Collective Bargaining Agreements and improper wage increases to employees without evaluations or review.
Scott believed she was performing her job duties by reporting unethical workplace practices under New Mexico State Statue. She was placed on administrative leave on Jan. 14, 2022, and terminated in March.
“Plaintiff never was allowed to return to work. Instead, she was terminated in retaliation for communicating to her public employer her good faith belief that an action or a failure to act on behalf of APS constituted unlawful or improper acts, in violation of the Whistleblower Protection Act,” the suit stated.
What the District said about Scott’s allegations
In a court response to Scott’s lawsuit, the district denied all her allegations, particularly Scott's claim that her policy violation concerns hadn’t been investigated or addressed. It stated that an investigation was conducted for APS by an unknown individual and did not elaborate on the findings.
The defense document also claims that Scott’s allegations were personally motivated and were unrelated to her normal job duties.
The only claim the district did affirm was that Parish and Montoya were placed on leave from November 2021 until January 2022.
The Sun-News reached out to Alamogordo Schools for comment and school board president Judy Rabon. No comment was offered at the time of publication.
Scott is suing the records custodian. Why?
The standard procedure for voicing policy concerns, according to Scott’s complaint, is to file a report with the district. When she was placed on administrative leave in January 2022, Scott allegedly lost access to information and documents for her reports and was required to obtain them through public records requests.
Roughly 45 requests were unfilled at the time of filing the suit and Scott alleged that Rachel Burks, APS records custodian, had intentionally not fulfilled the requests.
However, in its responses to the suit, the district said that Scott’s records requests fell under the broad and burdensome statue and were unable to be fulfilled.
What’s next for the case?
Scott is scheduled for a deposition in February 2024. Kenneth Moore, one of the superiors Scott reported to during her employment, has been replaced after being on administrative leave since Feb. 12, 2023.
According to the suit, Scott is seeking damages for lost wages and mental and emotional distress.
The Sun-News also reached out to Scott’s lawyer, David Joeckel Jr., for comment and did not receive a response.
Ernesto Cisneros is a reporting fellow with the UNM/NM Local News Fund program. He covers education for the Sun-News and can be reached at ECisneros@lcsun-news.com. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter at @_ernestcisneros.
This article originally appeared on Las Cruces Sun-News: Former Alamogordo Public Schools employee sues over her termination
