“…in no case shall the standard for adults be lower than the standard for students…”

That phrase and expectation used to be part of the APS employee standards of conduct. It is a powerful premise. It recognizes the inherent power in leading by example. It recognizes the obligation of role models. It justified morally, the authority of adults over children.

When the Leadership of the APS lowered the standard to which they would be held accountable, they did so be removing that phrase from their code of conduct. No longer would they be held accountable to the student standard of conduct; the Pillars of Character Counts; a widely recognized, accepted and respected code of ethical conduct.

They removed that expectation for only one reason. There is only one reason to oppose honest accountability; to avoid the consequences of misconduct.

A number of board members and senior administrators are the subjects of legitimate allegations of ethical and criminal misconduct, including felony criminal misconduct. Using taxpayer support of “education”, they paid lawyers to manipulate the law to escape the principled resolution of those allegations. They are not accountable even to the law, the lowest standard of acceptable conduct.

Were they accountable to an ethical standard of conduct, they would not be able to pervert justice to their interests. That is why they are fighting so hard to escape honest accountability to the student standard of conduct; an ethical standard.

They are like the school yard bully telling their victim, "So what, what are you going to do about it?" They are so powerful that they cannot be held accountable for their misconduct; unless they can be held accountable to an ethical standard. In a court of “ethics”, their power cannot be used to escape accountability. There will be a principled resolution of the allegations made against them.

But they will not be held accountable to an ethical standard; not as the role models for 98,000 of our sons and daughters, and not as the stewards of hundreds of millions of tax dollars. Because you can’t make them.

There is no other reason to do what they are doing. If there is another reason what is it? Why won’t they answer the question, “Will you hold yourself accountable, honestly accountable, to the same standard of conduct as students?

There is only one reason to oppose honest accountability and that is to avoid the consequences of misconduct. There is no defense of their action unless there is some other legitimate, and ethical, explanation for their refusal to be held accountable to a higher standard of conduct.

“All that is necessary for evil to prevail in the world, is for good men to do nothing.” Burke

They will prevail unless people stand up for what they believe in. They will prevail if YOU do nothing.