A Bernalillo High School student’s family received a $1.8 million jury verdict this week after proving school officials failed to prevent a violent assault despite receiving evidence of persistent bullying and threats.
The verdict, delivered Wednesday in Sandoval County’s 13th Judicial District Court, found Bernalillo Public Schools liable for failing to follow New Mexico’s mandatory bullying prevention laws before a brutal October 2023 attack that left a 15-year-old student with a concussion and lasting injuries.
Court evidence showed the victim’s parents, Richard and Valerie Ortiz, repeatedly warned Bernalillo High School Principal Alyssa Sanchez-Padilla about escalating threats from two other students through social media messages. The threatening communications, which included promises of violence and graphic language, were provided to school officials weeks before the assault occurred…