Santa Fe board authorizes legal counsel to proceed in Lily Taylor litigation after executive session

After a closed executive session on March 13, the Santa Fe Public Schools Board of Education voted to authorize board legal counsel and the board president to proceed with actions discussed in executive session in the pending litigation Lily Taylor v. Santa Fe Board of Education, et al.

Board member Dr. Gonzales moved the motion, reading into the record: "I'll move that we authorize legal counsel and board president to proceed as discussed in executive session regarding pending litigation, Lily Taylor versus Santa Fe Board of Education, et al, number NO23-CV-00821-MV-JHR." The motion was seconded and passed by voice vote.

The board first announced the executive session earlier in the meeting, citing NMSA 1978, Section 10-15-1(H)(2) for limited personnel matters and Section 10-15-1(H)(7) for threatened or pending litigation. The board reopened the public meeting after the executive session and moved directly to the authorization vote. President Abeyta called the voice vote and declared the motion carried.

The board did not discuss details of the litigation in public or provide additional factual findings beyond the citation of the case number and the formal authorization. The motion authorizes the district’s legal counsel and the board president to take the next steps described during the executive session; those next steps were not read into the public record at the time of the vote.

The litigation is recorded in the meeting as case number NO23-CV-00821-MV-JHR, captioned Lily Taylor v. Santa Fe Board of Education, et al. The board’s action authorizes counsel to proceed consistent with the scope discussed in executive session under the legal exemptions cited.