Taos board approves up to $59,999 for expanded accounting services amid finance overhaul

The Taos Municipal Schools board on Oct. 9 approved an amendment to a general accounting services agreement with Lisa Downey, increasing available compensation to an amount not to exceed $59,999 to provide bookkeeping, training and Visions configuration support for the district’s finance office.

Dr. Rainier Martins, the district’s new finance director, told the board the district’s financial management software, Visions, is not fully configured and the office has struggled with payroll processing, inconsistent time-sheet practices and documentation problems that contributed to previously reported audit findings. "One root cause is that our system, since it looks like decades, was not correctly configured," Martins said. He said he had met with Visions (Tyler Technologies) representatives and sought a consultant to help reconfigure the system, train staff and create written procedures and manuals.

Martins explained that the existing contract work with the proposed consultant includes payroll accounting review, configuration of Visions users and security, process improvement, staff training and assistance with audit findings and reporting. He described concrete operational fixes he has begun to introduce: a written payroll manual, standardization of time sheets into an electronic workflow and electronic signatures through DocuSign to reduce lost paper and improve segregation of duties.

Superintendent Antonio Layton Jr. and other board members supported adding short-term capacity to the finance office; the district’s legal counsel reviewed the contract. Several board members raised questions about contractor selection, scope, and whether other vendors were solicited. Martins said the contractor is experienced with school finance, has worked with the district previously and that virtual work will be used to limit travel costs. He asked for the board’s support to add expertise while the finance office recruits permanent staff for accounts payable and an internal-audit/ procurement role.

Board members approved the amended agreement by roll call: Board member Concha voted no; Board member King voted yes; Secretary Trujillo voted yes; Vice President Sprague voted no; President Flores voted yes. The amendment passed 3–2. The contract is effective on execution and runs through June 30, 2026, per the amendment, and staff said they will continue to seek longer-term hires to reduce contractor dependence.

Martins said his midterm goal is to end reliance on external contractors for core payroll and purchase-order work and to have in-district capacity to run finances without an outside bookkeeper. The board requested periodic updates on finance office progress and on the Visions reconfiguration outcome.