BY JENNIFER GUY
Superintendent
Los Alamos Public Schools

Mrs. O’Neill, 

Your recent article titled “PED Releases Some of Documents Requested by LAPS Parent Luckie Daniels …” is misleading and inaccurate. The district requests that you issue a correction. 

You state, “Daniels was offered a contract as a DEIAB Consultant for LAPS in January 2023 by Supt. Jennifer Guy who took over the top spot following the departure of Delfin.” Ms. Daniels worked as a vendor for a short term for a limited scope of work. She was not an LAPS employee or contractor. Please stop referring to her as a contractor or employee. 

You state, “The School Board at Daniels’s request hired an attorney, Treesineu McDaniel, to conduct an independent investigation into Daniels’ allegations.” Ms. Treesineu McDaniel was hired at the district’s request not at Ms. Daniels’ request. Ms. Daniels was not a part of that decision and was informed after the decision was made. The district chose to seek a 3rd party investigator in hopes of reaching a transparent, fair resolution of Ms. Daniel’s claims and develop a positive path forward. 

You state, “ Records requested under the state Inspection of Public Records Act (IPRA) have not been fulfilled in a timely manner and/or have been incomplete, resulting in conversations with and complaints to the State Attorney General’s Office.” LAPS has fully complied with all records requested in accordance with the law, within all legally required timelines. The district has not had any communications with nor complaints from the attorney general’s office. Your article implies the district is not meeting its legal obligations. This is not true. 

You ask, “ How can LAPS continue to publicly deny all the allegations in Daniels’s complaint without addressing any of the grievances cited and why does the timely release of public records remain a challenge for Daniels today?”

As we have previously stated, to the extent we are able given the pending litigation, the District denies all allegations made by Ms. Daniels and again asserts that we have responded to Ms. Daniel’s complaints and allegations, as well as to her large number of requests for information, as quickly as possible and as required by law. Your article incorrectly implies that LAPS has not met its obligations. 

I am committed to transparency and doing the best job I can to support all students in our school district. We are not trying to sweep anything under the carpet or conceal things. As you know, I cannot comment on pending litigation or personnel matters. I hope that we can sit down soon to address your other concerns. I also encourage any parents with concerns to reach out to me directly so that we can address them. I am proud of the work the district is doing and steps that we have taken to improve our service to students and families.

Amended editor’s note: LAPS continues to deny all allegations made by Ms. Daniels and insists that LAPS has responded to all her claims and allegations. Supt. Guy did not address serious issues raised in the article related to information obtained by Ms. Daniels in the IPRA request concerning LAPS indigenous students requesting counseling following a visit in 2022 by PED officials and various concerns escalated internally by PED officials to Sec. Kurt Steinhaus and PED legal counsel. Mrs. Guy also did not refer to what resources recommended by PED for follow-up by LAPS have been utilized or acknowledge the DEIAB proposal submitted by Ms. Daniels days after the PED follow-up, which was approved by Mrs. Guy. Mrs. Guy, who had the advantage of review by legal counsel for her letter, opted to address details such as the Reporter’s use of the word “contract” rather than “purchase order” (“employee” was never used) when referring to Ms. Daniels.