Complaint alleges Gallup-McKinley Schools superintendent violated state ethics laws

Yahoo

29-04-2025

(Image via New Mexico In Depth)
Gallup-McKinley County Schools Superintendent Mike Hyatt is under scrutiny for alleged violations of state procurement and government ethics laws, following a complaint filed Monday with the New Mexico State Ethics Commission.
Submitted on behalf of Stride, Inc. and its online education subsidiary, K12 Virtual Schools, the complaint alleges Hyatt sought a $235,000-per-year salary as Stride's Vice President for Academic Innovation, while the company had an active contract with the school district—and when he was not hired for the position, Hyatt sought to terminate that contract.
K12 provides online education for the district's Destinations Career Academy of New Mexico.
This story was originally published by New Mexico In Depth.
'Superintendent Hyatt is apparently knowingly and willfully abusing his public position, at the expense of ~4,200 New Mexico students' who are enrolled in online schooling, the complaint alleged.
In an email to New Mexico In Depth, Monday, Hyatt refuted the allegations, saying the company, not he, behaved in 'illegal' and 'unethical' ways, because of inadequate student-teacher ratios for their online courses.
'We have recently found out the illegal [and] unethical practices of Stride and how they are profiting and increasing revenue by breaking the law in our online program,' Hyatt wrote. 'We notified them of their wrongdoing and had previously notified them to not break the law when it comes to students teacher ratios.'
The ethics complaint letter alleges that Hyatt potentially violated the New Mexico Government Conduct Act (GCA) and state procurement code. 'The GCA has specific prohibitions against a public officer or employee seeking employment with a contractor who has a contract with the public officer or employee's employer,' according to the complaint. 'The Procurement Code similarly prohibits an employee who is participating directly or indirectly in the procurement process to become, or to be, while such an employee, the employee of any person or business contracting with the governmental body by whom the employee is employed.'
The complaint was filed by attorney Laura E. Sanchez of the law firm Rodey, Dickason, Sloan, Akin & Robb, P.A., in Albuquerque.
The New Mexico State Ethics Commission declined to comment on the complaint or its investigation plans. On Monday, Deputy Director Amelia Bierle told New Mexico In Depth in an email that the Commission does not comment on alleged ethics violations before investigations are concluded.
Gallup-McKinley signed an Educational Products & Services Contract with K12 in June 2020. Hyatt was district superintendent.
According to the company's complaint letter, Hyatt applied for the company's VP position on December 11, 2024 and was initially interviewed on Jan. 21, 2025.
On Feb. 21, the company's senior vice president of schools, Adam Hawf, spoke with Hyatt by phone to let him know he had not been hired.
'Mr. Hawf called Superintendent Hyatt, as opposed to issuing him a formal letter, due to the sensitivity of the relationship and fear that Superintendent Hyatt would adversely affect the District's relationship with the Contractor,' the complaint letter states.
In his email to New Mexico In Depth, Monday, Hyatt confirmed, 'I applied for a job there in 2024.'
Less than a month after the call with Hawf, at a routine monthly meeting with the company on March 10, Hyatt's demeanor had become 'completely different than it had been in past meetings,' according to the complaint letter. '[T]he meeting was hostile […] instead of amicable and collaborative.'
On April 1, Hyatt sent a breach of contract and termination letter to the company, citing several alleged contract breaches, including inadequate student-teacher ratios, teacher licensure, and problems with student achievement in Destinations Career Academy students. Three days later, Gallup-McKinley issued a request for proposals to find a new contractor.
The termination letter violated a 45-day 'cure' period for contractual disputes, the company contends. The complaint further alleges that Hyatt directed the district to issue the new request for proposals for virtual education services while Stride's contract was still in effect, potentially violating its exclusivity provision.
Hyatt knew previously about student-teacher ratio concerns, according to the complaint letter.
'Superintendent Hyatt's conduct after he was denied employment … shows that he is potentially abusing his authority, and not acting in the public interest,' the ethics complaint states. 'He was aware of the alleged student-teacher ratios and the licensure issues prior to submitting his application for employment with the Contractor. He also served as a positive reference for the Contractor with the New Mexico PED [Public Education Department] on February 6, 2025 and for Ohio as recently as February 25, 2025, despite knowledge of the concerns he later raised in the letter to the Contractor on April 1, 2025.'
The firm submitted 18 supporting documents with the ethics complaint, including emails and correspondence, the termination letter, and the request for proposals.
The company has tried to address Hyatt's concerns within the 45-day 'cure period' set out in the contract but has been hindered by Gallup-McKinley since receiving the termination letter, according to the complaint. Examples include the district delaying teacher criminal history fingerprint clearances and refusing to sign off on teachers' license extensions.
'Out of desperation they are attempting to deflect the harm they have done […] and are trying to create a narrative that I by myself am trying to break a contract for personal reasons,' Hyatt wrote in his email to the news organization. 'Nothing could be further from the truth.'