Joe Baca, the former superintendent of West Las Vegas Schools, has pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor fraud charge in a corruption case involving the misuse of public money, the Albuquerque Journal reports.

Baca and other West Las Vegas school officials were indicted in 2007 by the office of Attorney General Gary King, who alleged that federal bilingual education money had been used to pay for parties and other frills.

Earlier this year the school’s former bilingual coordinator, Roberta Vigil, was found guilty of fraud over $2,500 and conspiracy to commit fraud, both felonies. She is the wife of state Rep. Robert Vigil, D-Ribera.

Baca’s plea agreement results in a misdemeanor instead of a felony, which is much more serious.

Here’s an excerpt of the Journal story:

Baca pleaded “no contest” to fraud of $250 or less, a petty misdemeanor, and agreed to pay the state $2,750 in restitution.

The fraud, according to the plea agreement, occurred between July 1, 2004, and June 30, 2006.

First District Judge Stephen Pfeffer accepted the agreement, giving Baca a conditional discharge and placing him on unsupervised probation for six months, according to the state Attorney General’s Office.