Your tax (and tuition) dollars at work

NM Tech is being sued - and spending a substantial amount of money - to defend its refusal to release documents related to the establishment of the proposed EMRTC drop zone near Socorro, New Mexico. Kokopelli Ranch and its lawyers will argue the case in Socorro's court house on July 29th at 2:30 p.m. The New Mexico Inspection of Public Records Act requires that state institutions, such as NM Tech University, release documents, on request, to the public. However, NM Tech has thus far refused to release documents related to the proposed drop zone, citing an obscure case from the 1970's as justification (in which a request for records from New Mexico State University regarding salary information, for staff and professors who had yet to be hired, was denied).

Other suits waiting in the wings?

Other citizens groups are also prepared to litigate against NM Tech should the lawyers for Kokopelli Ranch be unsuccessful. Many citizens are concerned that NM Tech is not only skirting state law, but also using taxpayer and student funds to hire lawyers to fight the case; they argue that NM Tech should comply with the law and that the university's money could be better spent on matters relating to education, equipment, students, or faculty. Stay tuned for breaking news on this topic.