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IRWIN S. MOISE (1906-1984)
LEWIS R. SUTIN (1908-1992)
FRANKLIN JONES (1919-1994)
RAYMOND W. SCHOWERS (1948-1995)
GRAHAM BROWNE (1935-2003)
NORMAN S. THAYER (1933-2018)
STEPHEN CHARNAS (1934-2018)
MICHAEL G. SUTIN (1935-2019)
ROBERT G. HEYMAN (Of Counsel)
NOE ASTORGA-CORRAL
LILIANA BENITEZ DE LUNA
ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO 87110
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ROBERT J. JOHNSTON BENJAMIN E. THOMAS
CHRISTINA M. LOONEY L. CURTIS VERNON

June 30, 2021

VIA EMAIL ONLY: egallegos@wabsa.com

Elena Gallegos
Walsh Gallegos Trevino Russo & Kyle, P.C.
500 Marquette Ave NW
Suite 1310
Albuquerque, NM 87102

Re: Workplace Investigation

Dear Ms. Gallegos:

This is my report of the investigation which was initiated by the Las Cruces Public Schools
(LCPS) upon the resignation on June 3, 2021, by email, of LCPS Board member Terrie Dallman
(Dallman). Dallman’s resignation was effective immediately and, in her email, she made claims
of harassment directed toward her and cited what she described as a lack of Board communication
and lack of Board direction as factors contributing to her resignation.

I. OVERVIEW

Work on this project began on June 8, 2021 and, as noted, considered the claims in Dallman’s
June 3, 2021 resignation email. No additional formal written complaint was submitted by
Dallman. Nevertheless, LCPS determined that the contents of her resignation email warranted
investigation. The events which led up to Dallman’s resignation all related to the recent LCPS
search for a new Superintendent. This search began in April and ended on June 1, 2021 with the
selection of Ralph Ramos (Ramos) as Superintendent. Ramos served as Interim Superintendent
following the death of Superintendent Dr. Karen Trujillo on February 25, 2021. As part of the
Superintendent search, the Board received and approved an initial Superintendent Search Plan
(Search Plan) on April 6, 2021 and a revised Search Plan on May 4, 2021. The Search Plan
provided for the creation of a Superintendent Search Advisory Committee (Advisory Committee)
representing multiple categories of interested parties.
June 30, 2021
Page 2

Due to out-of-town absences by both Dallman and me, work on this matter extended through
the end of June. A total of five interviews were conducted by phone and several of those
interviewed subsequently were called again for clarification of various points. Documents
reviewed and considered included applicable LCPS policies and materials related to the
Superintendent search. Additional documents, in the form of emails, were received from Dallman
and witnesses interviewed.

II. ALLEGATIONS BY DALLMAN

Dallman’s June 3, 2021 resignation email was sent to Superintendent Ramos and copied to
Sean Barham, Chief of Staff and to you in your capacity as outside counsel for LCPS. Dallman’s
email was brief but stated that “[d]uring two recent Board events gross displays of harassment
(bullying, misogynistic comportment) directed at me coupled by lack of Board communication
and lack of Board direction are contributing factors for resigning.” Dallman also felt that lack of
transparency and mismanagement of the Search Plan caused confusion.

Dallman’s claims primarily were against Board President Ray Jaramillo (Jaramillo).
Applicable LCPS policies which warranted this project included LCPS Policy AC-Non-
Discrimination which prohibits discrimination and retaliation and promotes non-discrimination
and an environment free of harassment. LCPS Regulation AC-R-Non-Discrimination, Equity and
Cultural Proficiency, implements Policy AC.

In a June 26, 2021 email from Dallman to me, Dallman identified additional policies which
she felt were applicable to her resignation. She alleged Jaramillo violated LCPS Policy BAC-
Board Member Code of Ethics and LCPS Policy GBKA-Whistleblower Policy.

The provisions of Policy BAC which Dallman cited were:

• Section II(D). A Board member will render all decisions based on the available facts
and the Board member’s independent judgment, and refuse to surrender that judgment
to individuals or specific interest groups.

Regarding this provision, Dallman alleged that Jaramillo aggressively and assertively tried to
get the Board to be unanimous when it voted for a new Superintendent.

• Section II(F). A Board member will maintain a working rapport with other members
of the Board and . . . will respect and encourage the right of other Board members to
hold and express their individual views and opinions.

In addition to the above-alleged conduct, Dallman claimed that Jaramillo got defensive and
pointed his pen at her during the closed Board discussion on June 1, 2021.

• Section II(S). A Board member will not let any personal or business interest interfere
with the Board member’s duties as a public official, and the Board member shall fulfill
June 30, 2021
Page 3

all requirements of NMSA § 22-5-4 (2003) . . . and other duties and obligations
imposed by law in a professional manner and to the best of his/her ability.

Regarding Section II(S), Dallman did not identify any personal or business interest of Jaramillo
which she felt interfered with his Board duties.

LCPS Policy GBKA provides a means by which officers and employees of LCPS can report
instances of illegal or improper conduct. An unlawful or improper act means a practice, procedure,
action or failure to act on the part of a public employee that: (a) violates a federal law, a federal
regulation, a state law, a state administrative rule or a law or any political subdivision of the state;
(b) constitutes malfeasance in public office; or (c) constitutes gross mismanagement, a waste of
funds, an abuse of authority or a substantial and specific danger to the public.

Dallman cited as “illegal and improper” conduct the manner in which the Advisory Committee
was asked to provide its impressions of Superintendent finalists to the Board. Dallman stated that
Jaramillo failed to provide a means by which the Advisory Committee’s input could fully be
received and considered by the Board.

When interviewed, Dallman stated that she wanted the Board to recognize they mismanaged
the Search Plan and improperly refused to delay the process. Dallman also wanted a public
apology from Jaramillo and the Board. She wanted it made clear that her allegations were about
the process and not about the fact that Ramos was selected as Superintendent.

III. CHRONOLOGY OF KEY EVENTS

The timeline for the Superintendent search was condensed and considered a matter of urgency
by the Board. Events relevant to this project included:

• February 7, 2017: Dallman elected to the LCPS Board.

• 2020: Dallman served a one-year term as Board President.

• February 25, 2021: LCPS Superintendent Dr. Karen Trujillo died unexpectedly in a
pedestrian accident.

• March 1, 2021: The Board unanimously approved Ramos as Interim Superintendent

with a term through June 30, 2021 or until the Board hired a Superintendent.

• March 8, 2021: The New Mexico Public Education Department cleared public schools
to reopen fully and stated its hope that there would be a full reentry of students state-
wide by April 5, 2021. The Board then set a goal of having a new Superintendent by
June 30, 2021.
June 30, 2021
Page 4

• April 6, 2021: The initial Search Plan, which was developed by administration staff
with Board input, was approved by the Board on a 4-1 vote.

• April 12, 2021: The Board announced the eight members of the Advisory Committee.
Jaramillo and Board member Maria Flores (Flores) also served on the Advisory
Committee.

• May 4, 2021: The Board unanimously approved a revised Search Plan with extended
deadlines to accommodate Dallman and one other Board member.

• May 11, 2021: The Board held a lengthy meeting in executive session to review
applications for the Superintendent position. The Board selected four applicants for in-
person interviews. Over the following days, Board members individually conducted
reference checks of the four applicants and the full Board held in-person interviews of
the four and selected two finalists, Ramos and Dr. Oscar Rico (Rico).

• May 25, 2021: A set of sixteen questions from the eight Advisory Committee members
was compiled. This set included two questions from each Committee member.

• May 26, 2021: A Zoom forum was held with the two finalists who were asked the
questions submitted by each member of the Advisory Committee. All Board members
observed the forum virtually.

• May 27, 2021: The full Board interviewed Ramos in-person followed by a lunch with
him.

• May 28, 2021: The full Board interviewed Rico in-person followed by a lunch with
him. An executive session of the Board was held after the meeting with Rico and
Dallman left this meeting somewhat before other Board members.

• May 29, 2021: Jaramillo sent an email to the Advisory Committee members, copying
Flores, asking that they all reach out to Board members to express their thoughts and
feedback.

• May 29-31, 2021: Over the three-day Memorial Day weekend, all Board members,
including Dallman, individually received feedback from one of more of the Advisory
Committee members.

• June 1, 2021: The Board met first in executive session and then in open session. In
the open session, Dallman made a motion to table action on the Superintendent vote
until more input could be received from the Advisory Committee. This motion failed
for lack of a second. A motion then was made to select Ramos as Superintendent. This
motion was seconded and adopted on a 4-1 vote with Dallman voting against the
motion.
June 30, 2021
Page 5

• June 2, 2021: Ramos began his contract term as Superintendent.

• June 3, 2021: Dallman submitted her email resigning from the Board effective that
day.

As noted, this investigation began the week following Dallman’s resignation from the Board.

IV. INVESTIGATIVE RESULTS

The interviews conducted and the documents reviewed warrant the following investigative
results:

• The Board reviewed and approved both the original and the revised Search Plans. The
Search Plan was revised, in part, to accommodate the needs of Dallman and one other
Board member. To the extent that the Search Plan was unclear regarding how Advisory
Committee input would be provided to the Board, any Board member, including
Dallman, could have suggested further revisions to the Plan.

• Section 3.1 of the Search Plan provided that the Advisory Committee “shall advise the
Board on two important issues related to the search: the criteria desired in a new
superintendent and the impressions the finalists make on the committee members
during the forum(s).” Section 3.5.4 of the Search Plan provided that “[t]he work
product (i.e. finalist responses) from the Forum will be considered by the Board as the
Board makes its selection.”

• When interviewed, some Board members described how executive sessions of the
Board can include strong debates and differences of opinion as a Board member
advocates for his/her position on a particular issue.

• One such debate among the Board members occurred when Jaramillo supported one of
the four semi-finalists applicants. Dallman and other Board members disagreed with
Jaramillo’s choice and Jaramillo dropped his support for this applicant to be made a
finalist. Jaramillo stated there was a strong debate among the Board members,
particularly by Dallman, on this issue.

• Following the interviews and lunches with the two finalists, in an executive session of
the Board on May 28, 2021, Jaramillo and another Board member, urged that there be
a unanimous vote for the ultimately-selected Superintendent candidate. Some Board
members felt that this would send a strong message of support for the new
Superintendent to the community and various constituent groups.

• In the May 28, 2021 executive session, Dallman resisted Jaramillo’s urging that there
be a unanimous vote. Dallman described Jaramillo’s statements as being assertive,
aggressive and demanding regarding a unanimous vote. Dallman also stated that she
June 30, 2021
Page 6

said to Jaramillo that she was not going to let him bully her or words to that effect.
Jaramillo denied that she used the term “bully” or “bullying” and no other Board
member recalled Dallman using these words. Jaramillo and other Board members did
recall Flores saying to Jaramillo that Dallman had to vote her conscience and that if the
vote was 4-1, then that’s the way it would be.

• No other Board member besides Dallman considered that any discussion or comments
by Jaramillo during the May 28, 2021 closed session of the Board constituted
harassment, bullying or inappropriate conduct by Jaramillo. One Board members
specifically stated that she did not think Jaramillo was “over the line” when he asked
for a unanimous vote and stated it was his right as Board President to do so. Another
Board said Jaramillo did nothing inappropriate at this meeting. When interviewed,
Dallman stated she felt other Board members were just “covering” for Jaramillo.
Dallman left the May 28th executive session before it ended and some Board members
recalled that she appeared angry when she left.

• Dallman was considered by some Board members as having a strong personality. Other
Board members also recalled previous statements by Dallman that she didn’t like
aspects of Board service and that she wanted to resign. Dallman denied that she ever
previously mentioned resigning from the Board.

• Over the May 29-31, 2021 Memorial Day weekend, Dallman was not contacted by any
other Board members although she stated that she expected to hear something and was
waiting for instruction from Jaramillo. Dallman did not attempt to contact any other
Board member over this three-day weekend. As a former Board President, she was
familiar with appropriate lines of communication among Board members.

• The May 29, 2021 email from Jaramillo to the Advisory Committee members was
copied to Flores but not to the other Board members. This was not necessary since
Jaramillo’s email was a request to the Advisory Committee members asking that they
reach out to Board members to express their thoughts and feedback on the two finalists.

• Over the three-day Memorial Day weekend, Dallman was contacted by two of the
Advisory Committee members. One of these Committee members favored one of the
finalists and one Committee member favored the other finalist.

• An executive session of the Board was held on June 1, 2021, prior to the open Board
meeting. Jaramillo stated that Dallman arrived at this meeting “angry” and sat away
from other Board members. The Board members discussed input from the Advisory
Committee they had received and it was revealed that all Board members had had
contact with one of more Advisory Committee members. Two Board members had
contact with a majority of the eight Committee members and one Board member had
contact with three of the Committee members. Dallman and another Board member
had contact with two Committee members.
June 30, 2021
Page 7

• The June 1, 2021 executive session of the Board was the other event during which
Dallman claimed behavior in violation of LCPS policies occurred. When interviewed,
Dallman acknowledged that she was not really participating in the discussion during
this meeting and that Jaramillo noted that she was not participating. Dallman stated at
this meeting that she did not get to hear from the Advisory Committee and made
reference to the “ball being dropped.” Dallman claimed that Jaramillo then challenged
her by saying “who dropped the ball?” all the while pointing his pen at her. This caused
Dallman to tell Jaramillo not to point his pen at her. Jaramillo acknowledged that
Dallman made the comment about his pen and stated that he was talking with his hands
and had his pen in one hand. Other Board members did not find this exchange
objectionable but felt that Dallman was angry. One Board member stated that the
discussion was respectful all the way around.

• As a result of the Advisory Committee members’ activities over the May 29, 31, 2021
weekend, Board members, other than Dallman, felt that a majority of the Advisory
Committee supported Ramos for Superintendent. When interviewed, Jaramillo stated
that some Advisory Committee members were concerned about stating their preference
in a public setting. This was not required by the Search Plan in any event.

• The Search Plan was followed in terms of the establishment and composition of the
Advisory Committee, the setting of criteria for the new Superintendent, advertising,
screening of initial applicants, selecting and interviewing semi-finalists, conducting
reference checks, selecting finalists, conducting forums of the finalists, the Board
interviewing the finalists and the Board selecting a new Superintendent. The spirit and
intent of Section 3.1` of the Plan were carried out in that each Board member received
input from one or more Advisory Committee members. As its name implies, the
Advisory Committee did not have an actual vote in the Superintendent decision.

• When interviewed, some Board members stated that during 2020, COVID and the fact
that the Board met only virtually, hurt the cohesiveness of the Board. Two new Board
members were not able to work face-to-face with other Board members until the
Superintendent search. This lack of cohesiveness may have contributed to the strong
debates which occurred during the Superintendent search process.

• There is insufficient support for a finding that Jaramillo engaged in harassment,

bullying or “misogynistic comportment” in any of his dealings with Dallman during
the executive sessions on May 28 and June 1, 2021. What transpired appears to have
been strong debates and, in the past, Dallman initiated such strong debates.

• Regarding any claimed violation of LCPS Policy BAC, at the end of the Superintendent
search Dallman did not, in fact, surrender her independent judgment nor was she
required to do so. Policy BAC also requires that a Board member maintain a working
rapport with other members and respect the right of individual views. Based on the
June 30, 2021
Page 8

interviews done, only Dallman became angry and during the May 28 and June 1, 2021
executive sessions and, by her own acknowledgment, did not participate in the June 1st
closed Board discussion. She was not prevented from making a motion to table action
on the Superintendent vote until more input could be received from the Advisory
Committee; however, other Board members were within their rights in not seconding
her motion. Regarding the portion of Policy BAC which provides that no Board
member will let any personal or business interest interfere with his/her duties, no such
interest of Jaramillo, or any other Board member, was identified by Dallman.

• Regarding LCPS Policy GBKA-Whistleblower Policy, no conduct identified by

Dallman rises to the level of “illegal or improper” conduct as defined by this Policy.

• Although Dallman felt that you should have “done something” during the executive
session strong debates on May 28 and June 1, 2021, based on the interviews of other
Board members, there was no reason for you to have done anything.

Given the above investigative results, no recommendations are necessary in this project beyond
what is suggested below in the Conclusion.

CONCLUSION

Dallman’s requests in this project were that the Board recognize they mismanaged the Search
Plan and improperly refused to delay the process, and that Jaramillo and the Board publically
apologize to her. Given that there is no finding of mismanagement or improper conduct, no such
acknowledgment is warranted. Nevertheless, the Board might discuss how, in future searches, the
work of a body such as the Advisory Committee is more fully utilized. Whether there is any form
of apology given to Dallman over any confusion surrounding the search is strictly up to the Board.
Dallman was, however, on the Board from 2017 through June 3, 2021 and served a one-year term
as President. She should receive whatever acknowledgment is given to any other member who
goes off the Board if this has not already been done.

Thanks you for the opportunity to assist you on this project. Best wishes.

Very truly yours,

SUTIN, THAYER & BROWNE

A Professional Corporation

By /s/ Barbara G. Stephenson

Barbara G. Stephenson
Albuquerque Office
BGS