School ‘benefactor’ a ruse for personal slush fund, lawsuit alleges

Shirts for the annual Volcano Vista High School Power Puff game in 2023? Thank "Charlie."

Drinks for staff after the game the following year? Don't worry, Charlie's got it.

"Charlie" was touted as an "amazing benefactor" for the high school of more than 2,000 students on Albuquerque's West Mesa, according to a newly filed lawsuit.

As it turns out, there was no benefactor, only a unauthorized slush fund siphoned from student activity fees by the school activities director George Woods,  alleges the lawsuit filed last month by Albuquerque Public Schools.

Charlie happened to be the name of his daughter's dog, the lawsuit alleges.

Woods, who didn't return Journal phone calls seeking comment, submitted his resignation in April after APS launched an internal audit into the missing fees. Woods had been activities director since 2018, according to APS spokesman Martin Salazar.

The lawsuit, filed in state district court in Albuquerque, contends that Woods converted up to $14,600 from student fees to his personal use without APS authorization. The lawsuit also contends he signed contracts with various vendors as an APS administrator without following the school district's procurement processes.

When the need for cash arose, the lawsuit stated, Woods would pick up the tab and claim the money came from a benefactor known only as "Charlie."

During his employment with APS as a teacher and administrator, Woods "was entrusted with funds raised through school-sponsored activities," the lawsuit states. "As a result of defendant's actions, (APS) suffered damages, including loss of funds intended for student and educational programs."

Over the past decade, several employees at other district schools have been found to have tapped larger amounts of student activity funds for their own use, with at least two criminally charged and one of those convicted. 

Asked if APS has decided against pressing criminal charges against Woods, Salazar in a written response stated, "An investigation was conducted and the decision was made to proceed administratively."

APS couldn't discuss specifics of the lawsuit, Salazar stated. "APS already had strict policies in place prohibiting this type of thing. Those policies weren't followed, and a subsequent audit discovered the problem."

The audit, triggered by a whistleblower complaint, coincided with a ruling in another lawsuit filed against Woods and APS in late 2024. In that case, a federal judge in April ruled against Woods and APS in a lawsuit filed by the then-vice president of Volcano Vista's student Senate. Woods oversaw the student Senate.

In that case, filed last December, U.S. District Judge Matthew Garcia of Albuquerque found Woods and APS "likely unconstitutionally punished" the unidentified student for posting after hours away from campus a social media message criticizing Woods and the student Senate program. The judge ordered APS to undo the disciplinary measures imposed and reinstate the young woman to her student body position.

That student's lawsuit alleged in part that Woods "often had student purchase things out of pocket and `Charlie' would repay them after the fact," according to the APS audit last April.

"Defendant made multiple remarks boasting about 'Charlie' - an alleged benefactor the Defendant claimed was paying for things," states the APS lawsuit filed Nov. 11. "A witness stated that the Defendant disclosed that Charlie is the name of the Defendant's daughter's dog and the `Charlie Fund' was a cash (slush) fund."

The audit found the slush fund included fees students and their parents paid so that between 12 and 16 students could attend a summer leadership workshop at New Mexico Tech in Socorro. The workshop, affiliated with New Mexico Association of Student Councils, is a four-day, three-night leadership skills building workshop, Salazar stated. The cost was between $200 and $400 for each student.

In October 2023, Woods is alleged to have used the slush fund to reimburse a staff member for the purchase of shirts for the school's annual Powder Puff game during homecoming week. He credited a "benefactor named `Charlie' who liked to help out their program," the audit report states. The next year, following the Powder Puff game, Woods "invited the staff to meet him for drinks following the game."

"When it was time to leave, (Woods) paid the entire bill and told the staff not to worry about paying, that `Charlie,' got it," the report states. Days later, a staff member at a meeting with other school faculty was "discussing how nice it is for Senate to have this amazing benefactor, 'Charlie,'" the audit report stated. 

Woods received the "benefit of funds belonging to (APS)," the lawsuit stated. "It would be inequitable and unjust to allow (Woods) to retain benefits derived from public funds intended for education purposes."

APS seeks compensatory damages in an amount "to be proven at trial," including attorney's fees, and "punitive damages due to the malicious and reckless nature of Defendant's conduct."