New finance director begins review; board tables July financial reports for further analysis

Dr. Rainer Martins, Taos Municipal Schools’ newly appointed director of finance, attended his first board meeting Aug. 20 and reported an initial review of the district’s July financial reports. Dr. Martins told the board he had begun examining expenditures and identified items that require cleanup, including a missing fiscal‑year rollover that affects initial balances in the current reports. He said he spent time with program staff to correct budgeting errors and would follow up on fund‑by‑fund reconciliations and OBMS/Visions entries. Board members asked whether the director had completed a full review; Dr. Martins said he had begun the work and would need time to complete reconciliations and to request any necessary rebudgeting from program managers. Secretary Trujillo and others recommended a finance committee or quarterly review session so the board can review detailed financials with the director. Given the outstanding issues and the director’s need to complete reconciliations, the board voted to table the July 2025 financial reports to the next meeting to give Dr. Martins time to complete his review and prepare a cleaned set of reports. The motion to table carried unanimously among members present. Dr. Martins said he would provide supplemental materials —including a chart of accounts with fund descriptions— and work with staff to correct rollover and encumbrance reporting so the next packet presents reconciled figures. What’s next: The finance director will complete reconciliations, provide a fund‑description chart of accounts, and the board’s finance committee will convene to review the corrected reports before the board receives them again.