In a story posted yesterday at The Taos Horsefly website, editor Lydia Garcia put forth some tough questions about educating or lawyering-up. She quotes Taos Municipal School Board President Lorraine Coca-Ruiz as saying things were a mess when she first arrived. Apparently, all the contentiousness at TMS has been running-up lawyer fees at breakneck speed.

The article reports that the Board’s law firm, Cuddy and McCarthy, was paid more than $89,000 for school year 2009 to 2010. Already for this school year, legal purchase orders total another $100,000 and then some.

Besides the money going out the door, there is a question about whether this client-attorney arrangement violates New Mexico’s open procurement policy.