BMS TEACHER CHARGED WITH CONTRIBUTING TO DELINQUENCY OF A MINOR

Belen -- A Belen Middle School teacher was arrested on Wednesday on one
count of contributing to the delinquency of a minor after accusations
surfaced that he allegedly told a parent he was helping students hide drugs
before scheduled searches by police.

Tony J. Salas, 56, has taught social studies at the middle school since
August of 2000, district officials said on Thursday. He was placed on paid
administrative leave on Thursday, Feb. 17, after school officials received
a complaint from a parent who alleged that Salas told her during a
parent-teacher conference that he helped her son hide a marijuana pipe in
the bed of his truck before police brought in a dog trained to detect the
presence of drugs.

Salas, reached at his home Friday, said he had no comment. Belen Police
Department Detective Ben Sanchez said Friday that Salas has denied the
allegations.

According to a criminal complaint filed by Sanchez in magistrate court in
Belen, the parent scheduled a parent-teacher conference with Salas in
January to discuss her son's failing grades. The parent told police and
school officials that she was concerned because she knew her son had
experimented with marijuana before, and although she had done her best to
stop him, she was afraid his poor grades might be a sign he was still using
drugs.

The parent said she was anxious to meet Salas because her son said he was
"cool" and he was his favorite teacher.

At the conference, the parent alleges in the complaint, Salas first told
her that her son was failing because he was arriving to class late and
unprepared. Then, according to the parent, the conference took an
unexpected turn.

The parent reported that Salas said her son and his friends occasionally
asked him in class whether he (Salas) had ever smoked marijuana. According
to allegations in court documents, Salas told the mother that he told his
students: "I grew up in the 1970s. What do you think?" The report further
alleges that Salas went on to tell the mother that "I know when the dogs
come in."

The parent claims that Salas then told her that, on one occasion, he had
pulled her son out of class, advised him that the drug dogs were coming to
search the school and told the student to hide a marijuana pipe in the bed
of Salas' truck. The complaint also alleges that the teacher told the
parent that he had "helped" one other student by taking a bag of marijuana
from her, turning it in to the office and saying he found it on the campus
so she would not get into trouble.

The parent told police and school officials that when she confronted her
son, he told her the same story, and she decided to report what Salas had
allegedly said because she thought it set a bad example for students.

"(The mother) said she only reported this incident because she felt that
there may be other parents that are trying to dissuade their children from
using drugs and losing the battle because Tony Salas, a person of
authority, is contributing to the delinquency of minors instead of scolding
them and taking the appropriate action to stop drug use in schools," the
complaint alleges.

Belen Police Detective James Harris, the department's canine handler, said
that he has taken the drug-sniffing dog to the middle school for
facility-wide sweeps twice this year. Sanchez said officers also respond to
individual reports of possible narcotics violations at the school.

After learning of the parents' concerns, school officials placed Salas on
paid administrative leave and began randomly interviewing students in
Salas' fourth-period social studies class.

According to the complaint, several of the students who were interviewed
said that Salas had told the entire class that "if the dogs come, the
students could give their drugs to him and get them back later so they will
not get in any trouble."

Sanchez was asked to sit in on the student interviews by the school district.

BMS Principal Aubrey Tucker sent students home with a letter on Thursday
telling parents that the school had been investigating allegations against
a staff member, but the letter did not provide specifics about the case.

"Belen Middle School and Belen Consolidated School District are committed
to the safety and protection of all children," Tucker said in the letter.

Tucker also encouraged parents to contact him if they had questions and
said that the school has made arrangements for Salas' students to continue
in their social studies classes.

On Thursday, outgoing Belen Superintendent Don Duran said that he could not
comment because the issue falls under personnel concerns, but confirmed
that Salas was still on paid administrative leave pending an investigation
by the school.

Officials at magistrate court in Belen said that Salas, who was arrested on
Wednesday afternoon at his home in Bosque, posted a $10,000 cash-only bond
and was released from the Belen Police Department. An arraignment hearing
is scheduled for 9 a.m. Tuesday, March 8, before Magistrate Danny Hawkes.

Contributing to the delinquency of a minor is a fourth-degree felony and
carries a possible sentence of a $5,000 fine or up to 18 months in prison.