On Tuesday, a judge ruled that the Las Cruces group "Enough" may collect signatures for a proposed recall election of three school board members. The recall alleges violations of New Mexico's Open Meetings Act and Inspection of Public Records Act.
Through the legal offices of Walsh, Gallegos, Trevino, Russo, and Kyle (Albuquerque), the school board members announced an appeal of the decision to the New Mexico Supreme Court. Here is the statement:
Board Members, Ray Jaramillo (District 1), Terrie Dallman (District 2), and Maria Flores (District 3), are disappointed with the ruling and will immediately appeal the matter to the New Mexico Supreme Court. An appeal of this decision stops the group ENOUGH from gathering signatures so that the New Mexico Supreme Court can review the decision.
The Board Members believe it is important for the public to note that by bringing these allegations under the state’s new Recall Act, ENOUGH did not have to prove that they were true. Instead, they only had to show that the allegations might be true, in a proceeding where the rules of evidence or proof did not apply and where the Board Members did not even know until the ruling came out what standards the judge would apply.
If this continues to a recall election, then the voters from the district must decide ultimately whether they believe the allegations and whether the Board member in that district should be recalled on that basis. In the meantime, the Individual Board members will continue to focus their efforts on serving students and the community of Las Cruces.