Wednesday, January 10, 2007

APS’ Everitt stonewalls Rep. Heather Wilson

The APS ethics and accountability scandal has been brought to the attention of Representative Heather Wilson. She wrote a letter to APS Superintendent Elizabeth Everitt. The superintendent was asked to respond to my allegations.

45 days were allowed for the APS Superintendent to respond to the congresswoman’s office. That deadline has expired and there is no response. The allegations remain un-refuted by the leadership of the APS, and a congresswoman has been disrespected.

Previously a similar letter from the office of United States Senator Pete Domenici failed to prompt any response from APS leaders, except to stonewall.

Governor Richardson has stated on the record that APS leadership enjoys a statewide reputation for dodging accountability. A reputation so bad that the Governor had to ask voters to ignore it when they voted on a third of a billion dollar tax increase upon themselves.

Mayor Martin Chavez argues over and over again, that the lack of accountability in the APS is so profound that our public schools can only be saved by a mayoral takeover of the school board.

The entire board has refused repeatedly and individually to be held accountable to any meaningful standard of conduct. Board member and candidate, Robert Lucero argues that the board is not bound even by the diminished employee code of conduct because; they are not “really” employees. A request for public records failed to produce a board member W-2 form for examination, I presume because the box for “employer” said the APS.

The Superintendent has also refused repeatedly and on the record, to hold her self honestly accountable in either her character or her competence. She can demonstrate no system in the APS whereby she or any other administrator can be held honestly accountable for ethical or criminal misconduct. That’s why she won’t respond to a Congresswoman or to a United States Senator.

Not one Albuquerque City Councilor will defend the integrity of the APS Leadership, not even Councilor Brad Winter, himself an APS administrator; nor will the Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce, nor the Character Counts Leadership Council, nor the APS Education Foundation, nor any senior APS administrator.

The expression, the elephant in the room, refers to something that everyone can see but that no one will acknowledge. The ethics and accountability scandal in the APS goes beyond an elephant in room.

It is more like an elephant squatting on your head.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

D6,

Interesting slant on things, I can see your perspective a little better now. What throws me off right way, though, is the vindictive tone. I think, with some editing, this could be an incisive and well-documented editorial. Right now it would be classified, in my brain at least, as a spirited rant. Which is good for blowing off steam, but not for trying to get people who reason for a living to listen to your arguments. Ethics are important, seeing the real machinery underneath the brushed aluminum facade also very important. The thing is trying to get people to see what you see without your visceral reaction, without the trauma that drives you. I see a kindred Justice Seeker, someone who is humble and wants SO MUCH for others to be as well. But we can't force people into seeing things our way, it takes time and patience and quality thoughts applied to meaningful things that will HELP KIDS LEARN. Ripping apart their semi-unethical leaders, I would call them misguided pragmatists, WITHOUT DOCUMENTATION is very hard to do. Get documents, video, audio of them doing something illegal or immoral, then you can get some very abrupt and jarring perspective shifting by the whole public. Americans want CSI level PROOF now, or its just easier to keep letting whoever is running things keep running them, no matter how crappily that might be.

Don't get me wrong, I totally understand the Braveheart complex, the Don't Tread On Me motto, thinking I would have helped the Mexicans like the St. Pats, all of the tyranny hating emotion that we Americans have. IT will BURN YOU ALIVE if you let it, save that for hand to hand fighting or saving people from fires. Or if the 4th Reich tries to manifest its ugly damn Nazi head. In times when we are not warfighters anymore, when younger men carry that banner, the fire we apply must be in razor thin directed blasts, so that our souls are not scorched,and out ability to see is not compromised by too much of Righteousness' glare. Revel in the EARNED humbleness of your years, know that right thinking folk will see differently if you give them time to perceive that what you say has truth, that what you feel has meaning, and that what you intend is noble.

ched macquigg said...

I would like to establish email contact if you've any interest. It's available through my profile.

ched