Deregulation has its downsides. When no one watches, no one supervises, bad things happen to taxpayers’ money.
In New Mexico, the state auditor happened upon what seems to be a serious case of fraud and embezzlement.
“ALBUQUERQUE, NM – Today, State Auditor Tim Keller released the results of an investigation into La Promesa Early Learning Center, a state charter school in Albuquerque. The Risk Review found about half a million dollars were diverted from the School into a former employee’s personal bank account between June 2010 and July 2016. Office of the State Auditor (OSA) subpoenas of bank records uncovered that the former Assistant Business Manager deposited over 500 checks written to 53 different vendors into her personal accounts by apparently signing many of them over to herself, through a process known as “dual endorsing.” The report outlines specific potential criminal violations such as fraud, embezzlement, larceny and forgery.
“After reviewing bank statements and school records, we discovered an apparent forgery scheme that funneled over $475,000 from the School to an employee’s personal bank account,” stated State Auditor Tim Keller. “As a result, hundreds of kids were defrauded of funding that should be going to their education. The accountability from our investigations enables the School to get to the bottom of past financial problems so they can continue serving their diverse students well into the future.”
“The Risk Review found that the former Assistant Business Manager for La Promesa deposited over $475,000 worth of checks that were made payable to various vendors into her personal bank account. Additionally, the employee deposited about $177,000 worth of checks that were payable to her mother, who was the Executive Director at the time, and her boyfriend, who was a vendor of the School. The checks made payable to the employee’s mother and boyfriend may also have been fraudulently dual endorsed. The former Executive Director was also responsible for signing all outgoing checks from the school, including the checks in question. Bank records indicate that the money was used by the former Assistant Business Manager to pay for day-to-day expenses, bills and loans.”
Diane Ravitch's blog 
They should rename the school “La Promesa Quebrada”
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This post illustrates how easy it is for charter operators to embezzle public funds. Charters need oversight and accountability. Fraud will continue, if no one oversees charters to ensure money is being used for the school and students. The best case scenario is for charters to operate under the public school system. They should only exist when a community finds a demonstrated need for them. No charters using public money should be for profit. Education paid for by public funds should be a public service, not a for profit business.
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Right, retired teacher. Would you be our Secretary of Education?
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These ideas are not mine; they come directly from NPE, Diane and Carol. These are the people that need to “right the ship.”
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I am an educator in this district and most folks felt that this board member should have resigned a few years ago when the same state auditor uncovered her first scandal. To have her removed she will have to be recalled. It is the hope of most that she will finally do the right thing and step down. On a more positive note, Tim Keller, the state auditor, is currently running for mayor of Albuquerque. The election is October 3, 2017. I have been making phone calls on his behalf and am happy to say that he is leading. This breaking news gave him even a larger lead. Keller has been a staunch supporter of public education. He is the only candidate running who is opposed the our Koch-funded governor’s push to have the district broken into smaller districts. A cleaver union-busting tactic.
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