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State Rep. Brian Baca is facing scrutiny after a recent special audit found the former Los Lunas Schools deputy superintendent was improperly paid while attending the legislative session at the Roundhouse, and may have allowed his wife to be paid for a job at the district without proper certification.

Baca, a two-term Republican from Los Lunas who is seeking reelection this year, was overpaid by $11,365 for claiming paid sick leave days while attending the legislative session in Santa Fe in 2024 and 2025, the audit found.

That鈥檚 despite a district policy that, according to the report, did not allow sick leave to be applied for time spent at the Legislature.

also found that Baca鈥檚 wife worked as a special education facilitator for the school district for nearly a decade despite not having the necessary license to hold the position.

As a result, she was paid $64,500 in stipends that she did not technically qualify for, the audit found.

During that time, Brian Baca was the administrator in charge of the district鈥檚 human relations department, which also handles licensing compliance, according to the report.

That prompted the outside firm to raise concerns about possible nepotism, though the audit鈥檚 authors said they were unable to prove that Baca 鈥� or other employees 鈥� intentionally miscoded internal records to avoid notice from the Public Education Department.

鈥淭he appearance of nepotism erodes trust in government,鈥� the audit report stated.

When contacted about the investigation, a spokesperson for Los Lunas Schools told the Journal the district does not comment on personnel matters.

Baca, who left Los Lunas Schools at the end of June 2025, did not respond to several phone calls and emails about the audit findings this week.

He sent a statement to the Valencia County News-Bulletin last month: 鈥淚 am unable to comment on the specifics of the audit at this time, but I am confident that the facts will show that, while employed with Los Lunas Schools, I acted in good faith and consistent with the approvals provided to me.鈥�

A member of the New Mexico House of Representatives since 2023, Baca is the ranking member of the House Education Committee and also serves on the House Appropriations and Finance Committee.

鈥楤reakdowns鈥� in governance practices

The special audit of Los Lunas Schools was commissioned by State Auditor Joseph Maestas鈥� office after a request from the state鈥檚 Public Education Department.

PED spokesperson Janelle Taylor Garcia said the department sent a letter to the state auditor listing several concerns following the school district鈥檚 fiscal year 2024 audit. Among them: potential violations of the New Mexico Procurement Code, the regulatory process local governments must use to purchase goods and services; and the Open Meetings Act, which ensures government meetings are held in public view.

PED also listed concerns about 鈥減otential overreach鈥� of the Los Lunas Board of Education into day-to-day district operations, Taylor Garcia said.

Its findings last month by the Los Lunas Board of Education, and the full matter has been referred to the PED, according to the State Auditor鈥檚 Office. Referrals to other state agencies could also be made.

In a statement this week, Maestas said the special audit found the school district maintains generally strong financial controls, but also identified certain 鈥渂reakdowns鈥� in governance practices and other areas that require corrective action.

In regard to Baca and other individuals cited specifically in the audit report, Maestas said the audit 鈥減resents facts based on the evidence reviewed鈥� while highlighting specific instances of noncompliance.

The audit, which was conducted by Jaramillo Accounting Group, an independent firm, examined the school district鈥檚 finances over a nearly two-year period ending in May 2025.

The audit found that any overstepping of roles by board members and superintendents regarding procurement rules was not intentional and limited to a few instances, though auditors concluded the district did violate the Open Meetings Act when board members discussed selecting legal vendors while attending a law conference together.

Among the report鈥檚 chief concerns were potential fraud risks during which employees misused their paid leave. Specifically, the audit cited a 2024 collective bargaining agreement that stipulates that legislative leave for employees should be unpaid.

Los Lunas Schools district personnel made an unsuccessful attempt to lobby the school board to change the policy barring Baca from using paid leave for legislative sessions, according to the audit. After the attempt failed, Baca stopped using sick leave and instead used vacation leave and leave under the Family Medical Leave Act, or FMLA, until the end of his employment at the district, the report said.

Between July 1, 2023, and June 30, 2025, the report found 269 of Baca鈥檚 425 working days were recorded as paid leave. Nearly half of them were recorded as sick days, a quarter were vacation days, and another quarter of the days were recorded as FMLA.

During the period from 2023 to 2025, the House of Representatives was in session for 93 days, and Baca used paid leave for 55. Baca used 19 sick days, 19 FMLA days and 17 vacation days, according to the audit. For six days when he was in the Legislature, he received regular pay without leave, the report found.

Nine sick days were backdated and changed to vacation days after payroll was completed, according to the audit.

The Family Medical Leave Act is a federal law that entitles workers to up to 12 weeks of leave and job protection for serious health conditions or family issues. The auditors determined that while Baca鈥檚 FMLA had proper approval, his active participation in legislative sessions was at odds with his assertion that he was unable to work.

鈥淭his does not, by itself, disprove eligibility, but it warrants heightened review of certifications, restrictions and intermittent leave scheduling and documentation,鈥� the report said.

Baca was not the only employee cited in the audit, as the report also found a former Los Lunas director of athletics was simultaneously working as an NCAA referee while employed at the district. The employee officiated 12 out-of-state games during which he did not take leave and could not have worked a full day. He was paid a total of $22,921 in officiating fees for the games, and the audit found he may have been overpaid up to $5,854 by the district during the audit period.

Unpaid legislators

The issue of pay for public school employees who serve in the Legislature is not a new one in New Mexico.

The sa国际传媒官网网页入口 Public Schools board wrestled with the topic more than 10 years ago after a Journal analysis found former House Majority Leader Sheryl Williams Stapleton, D-sa国际传媒官网网页入口, had been paid more than $63,000 in salary over three years while away from her job as APS coordinator of vocational education.

Williams Stapleton was indicted in 2024 on charges including bribery, mail fraud, money laundering and conspiracy to defraud the United States. Jury selection for her trial is scheduled to begin in August.

New Mexico is the only state in the country in which legislators are not paid and serve on a volunteer basis, though lawmakers do receive a per diem payment of $247 during sessions. There are currently three legislators who work for public schools 鈥� Reps. G. Andres Romero, D-sa国际传媒官网网页入口, Raymundo Lara, D-Chamberino, and Tanya Mirabal Moya, R-Adelino 鈥� along with several retired educators.

Meanwhile, the release of the special audit has prompted criticism from some local residents.

鈥淚 think he should step down,鈥� said Monique Dereta, whose children and grandchildren attended Los Lunas Schools.

Dereta and fellow Los Lunas parent Rowena Tachias are the co-founders of the 鈥淟os Lunas School District Parent Discussion Page,鈥� an online forum that has prompted several cease-and-desist letters from the district since its launch in 2011.

Dereta and Tachias sued the Los Lunas School Board and Superintendent Dana Sanders in 2021, alleging that the attempts to shut down the group were a violation of their First Amendment rights. The court sided with Dereta and Tachias.

The district and Baca were slapped with another lawsuit in May 2025, when the New Mexico Foundation for Open Government sued the Los Lunas Board of Education and Baca, its public records custodian at the time, for refusal to release public records related to an investigation into a former superintendent for alleged misconduct. The case is ongoing.

Both Dereta and Tachias said they will not be supporting Baca in the upcoming general election. His opponent in the Nov. 3 election is Democrat Katherine Gauer. 

鈥淭his person has no business being a state representative,鈥� Tachias said. 鈥淗e鈥檚 like a ghost.鈥�

Natalie Robbins covers education for the Journal. You can reach her at nrobbins@abqjournal.com.

Dan Boyd covers state government and politics for the Journal in Santa Fe. Follow him on X at @DanBoydNM or reach him via email at dboyd@abqjournal.com.