Mesalands approves auditor's report

The Mesalands Community College board of trustees last week approved an annual auditor’s report that refutes some allegations made by the college’s former president in a whistleblower and retaliation lawsuit.

Marty Mathisen, principal for the Atkinson & Co. auditing firm in Albuquerque, reviewed via videoconference the audit during the board’s regular meeting Dec. 15. The audit briefly addressed the lawsuit, and he also remarked about it during his presentation to the board.

The audit noted the lawsuit filed by former president John Groesbeck, who was fired in April after less than two years at his post. The audit report stated: “The college plans to vigorously contest this case.”

Groesbeck’s lawsuit includes allegations of fraudulent property leases involving the Mesalands Community College Foundation and improper appropriation of money to the Mesalands Dinosaur Museum.

Groesbeck also asserted the foundation should be a component unit similar to other colleges and universities and that overlapping management between those boards created conflicts of interest.

Mathisen said only two of seven foundation board members are members of the college’s board of trustees. He said a conflict of interest between the foundation and college board of trustees was “not definitive or conclusive.”

“The foundation and Mesalands have common Board members but the foundation does not qualify as a component unit,” the audit also states.

Mathisen said it is common for college foundations to own or lease land to the college. He said the foundation also sets its own budget and isn’t controlled by the college.

Mathisen also said he saw no problem with the operation of the dinosaur museum, noting it always has been budgeted as an auxiliary operation of the college.

“We didn’t see anything wrong with that part of the lawsuit,” he said.

An official with the state’s Higher Education Department said in July the New Mexico Attorney General’s Office and Office of State Auditor were investigating Groesbeck’s claims.

Groesbeck’s lawsuit was dismissed in late November in Santa Fe County courtroom after a judge ruled it was filed in the wrong venue. Groesbeck’s lawyers refiled it a week later in Quay County District court. Kennedy, Hernandez & Associates law firm of Albuquerque represents Groesbeck in the case.

Regarding the college’s finances in his audit report, Mathisen said Mesalands was in “very good” condition, with little to no debt and a 5.8-to-1 ratio of assets and liabilities.

The audit issued several findings, with all but one listed as a “significant deficiency.”

• The auditor could not find one of eight contracts for the college’s adjunct instructors. With the remaining pacts, the terms “were not uniform in relation to compensation terms to be paid for less than full classes. Certain contracts detailed percentage payments options to be paid for less than full classes and other contracts were silent in this area. Additionally, the College changed its policy in this area to clearly define the calculations required for final compensation.”

• The college’s electronic time record system, replaced in February, lacks a documentation procedure for the manager’s approval of timesheets. “We could not verify a manager’s review for recorded time for 2 items out of 40 in our test sample,” the audit stated.

• The college needs more safeguards for students’ personal information. Mathisen said a scheduled risk assessment in the past year was not performed because of the pandemic and staff turnover, and he suggested the college “give priority to do it.”

• The audit was filed about two weeks late, which Mathisen partly blamed on having to do his work remotely because of the COVID-19 pandemic. He said Atkinson & Co. also recently merged with another company, which prompted another review of the audit.

According to the state auditor’s website, the Mesalands audit still was under review by the agency.