Everitt promises a yearly audit of the APS Police Dept.

in order to keep taxpayers from being ripped off again.

She also said, according to the report on KRQE, that there will be no more business behind closed doors there.

Apparently, there will continue to be business behind closed doors in the rest of the APS.

As for an annual audit of her own administration to prevent taxpayers from continuing to be ripped off by the same incompetent and corrupt administrators that knowingly allowed or negligently permitted the corruption and incompetence in their Praetorian Guard;


...forget about it.

Everitt hands over evidence to the DA

Almost a half a year after having been presented with evidence of alleged felony criminal misconduct, Beth Everitt has finally decided to hand over the evidence to the DA, who's responsibility it is, to decide if criminal charges will be filed.

It is unclear from the report on KRQE, whether or not the District surrendered just the internal audit, or whether the disclosure included the results of an investigation conducted by an independent investigator. It would not come as a surprise to find out that Everitt has been less than candid and forthright in her disclosure to the DA; in order to cover the evidence trail to her desk that was uncovered by the independent investigator.

In any case, a request for public records has been filed with the District Attorney's Office. She has been asked for an opportunity to inspect and/or copy the public records surrendered by Everitt. I will continue to update you on the progress of the request.

As for the previous requests for public records made of the APS and the BCSO;

• Everitt is still stonewalling a letter of inquiry from the NMAGO regarding these records.
• Darren White is still stonewalling a letter of inquiry from the NMAGO regarding part of these records; the criminal misuse of BCSO computers by the leadership of the APS.

Kari Brandenburg, the District Attorney will now have her mettle tested.

We will see whether she has a respect for the law
that is apparently lacking in both the Superintendent of the APS, and the Bernalillo County Sheriff.

the Student Behavior Handbook is apparently on its way to the printer

despite two fatal flaws.

The first, is its ease of readability which can be objectively measured, and is far beyond the overwhelming majority of its "readers".

The second, is that it begins with a weasel clause.

"Nothing in the following is intended to prevent a ...principal or other administrator from using his/her best judgment with respect to a particular situation."

Within "the following", you will find the Minimum Mandatory Consequences for students who choose to break the rules.

The Minimum Mandatory Consequences are what a teacher relies upon when they need to convince a student that there are consequences for misconduct that are inescapable. It is where the rubber meets the road.

There is a tension in the APS, between teachers and administrators over the enforcement of discipline polices. I think it is fair to say that, in general, teachers believe that principals do not impose harsh enough consequences on students who deliberately and chronically misbehave.

When a principal fails to impose a minimum mandatory consequence; let's say because the kid has parents who are both lawyers; s/he cannot be held accountable for failing to follow the handbook; because it contains a weasel clause.

"Best judgement" is a very slippery slope. Best judgement does not require explanation or defense. It is not subject to review. It is what it is; best judgement.

The weasel clause makes the entire document meaningless; unenforceable on those who are charged with its enforcement.

There is a need for command decision making. There is no need for command decision making that is not subject to review.

The only reason to insist upon the prerogative of making command decisions without review, is to evade accountability for bad command decisions.

gradegate policy change

As a result of gradegate, Beth Everitt submitted a change for the student behavior handbook related to grade changing, for board approval. I was not able to get a copy so I can't quote it.

Marty Esquivel added some language to the proposed change.

His change provided that; the inability to prove that the District had adequately engaged parents; would not be acceptable as the sole reason for changing a grade.

The board approved his amendment unanimously.

Since Everitt has never offered any excuse for changing the grade except for the "failure" to notify parents; the grade change clearly would not be allowed according to current board policy as reflected in the Student Behavior Handbook.

Which begs the question; how much money will Beth Everitt spend fighting accountability in arbitration, for a grade change that the board is unanimously agreed, is unjustifiable?

any person or group of people who write an agenda

write policy in so doing.

When the executive committee of the board of education decided not to place; honest accountability to a meaningful standard of conduct for the leadership of the APS, on a board agenda; they in fact made a policy decision.

As a result, APS has no policy that holds the leadership of the APS honestly accountable to any meaningful standard of conduct. (If there were; it would be self evident. It isn't)

The requirements of the OMA were evaded by slithering through a legal loophole; and against the public interest.

the board needs a Parliamentarian

It was noted previously in a board meeting; that if the board is going to take seriously its dedication to Robert's Rules of Order; they needed a Parliamentarian.

The need was demonstrated at a policy committee meeting this morning.

After lengthy discussion; Gordon Rowe called the question. Parliamentary lingo for, we've talked enough; let's vote.

And then the board immediately voted on the issue.

They should first have voted on calling the question. In so far as there was no harm; it could be argued there was no foul.

But in any case, the board obviously needs a parliamentarian.

It was suggested that a board member serve as parliamentarian.

I would object on two grounds; one; there really is no Cliff's Notes for Parliamentary Procedure. Learning them would require some significant dedication of time and effort.

Secondly; there is a conflict of interest because the parliamentarian would also be a subject of a complaint regarding the violation of public procedure.

They should train or hire a real parliamentarian.

a philosophical chasm on the school board

There are currently two schools of thought on the board; three if you count riding the fence as a philosophy.

One school of thought would open every meeting to the public. Meetings would only be closed as necessary according to the law; and hopefully according to some higher standard than the law; which is only the lowest standard of acceptable conduct.

The other school of thought; lead by Robert "let's keep everything a secret" Lucero; would argue that unless you can prove you have a right to watch his conduct and competence as a public servant within his public service; the meeting is closed.

He brayed at some length about how, if the board actually followed the law; much less the spirit of the law; he would not be able to have casual conversations with other board members about issues before the board.

If he consults for a moment with Modral, it will be explained to him that the requirements of the OMA apply to meetings where decisions that affect the public interest are made; and not to his casual conversations with other board members.

Mary Lee Martin has wondered aloud, why all meetings are not open. Delores Griego said, open the meetings up to the public. I believe that Gordon Rowe and Marty Esquivel would vote to open meetings in the absence of a really, really good reason to close them.

Even Paula Maes opened up School Board Executive Council Meetings to the public, on the spot.

That sounds like a majority to me.

All that we are missing
is the paperwork and the signatures.

Everitt is stonewalling the board

Gordon Rowe and Marty Esquivel both pointed out that the school board does not yet have the truth about gradegate. They have important decisions to make in response to the truth about what happened.

They are expected to believe that Beth Everitt cannot, in the space of two weeks, put together a package of evidence and testimony that represents the truth about what happened.

That would make her incompetent.

On the other hand, if she is simply hiding the truth from the board;

that would make her corrupt.

Take your pick.

Whether or not the evidence and testimony is
in any stage of an administrative process, does not play.

The board seems willing to accept the fact that Everitt will not tell them the truth. They still have not seen the results of the investigation into corruption in the APS Police department; and by logical extension, corruption and incompetence in the leadership of the APS.

For as long as the board can pretend to know nothing;
they can escape accountability for their lack of oversight
in permitting an administration to run so out of control.

Everitt drops bombshell

The gradegate grievance is going directly to impartial arbitration; there will be no level two grievance hearing.

There are positive and negative implications. On the positive side, the teacher is guaranteed a "hearing officer" that is impartial. The obvious conflict of interest that taints all level two hearings is eliminated.

The down side, is that the lawyers from Modral get to play now.

And they don't play by the rules. They litigate to win; and
at any cost.

I have personal experience. In my arbitration I had polygraph results that exonerated me from every substantial allegation that had been made against me in retaliation for blowing the whistle on corrupt and incompetent administrators; and for my advocacy for Character Counts.

Using legal technicalities, loop holes, and legal weaselry; the lawyer from Modral kept the polygraph results from consideration by the judge. I won anyway; but not because the lawyer from Modral didn't use every dirty trick she could imagine.



I wish the teacher from Rio Grande HS, good luck.

Rigo's Rules of Order and the IPRA

They are not Rigo's rules of course. He is just a well paid flak catcher for Everitt, Maes, and Modral.

The Inspection of Public Records Act requires the immediate surrender of public records upon request.

The public records of the investigation into public corruption in the APS Police Department were requested.

Were Everitt, Maes, Modral, or whoever is actually the "leadership of the APS" men and women of character; they would surrender the records as required by the law; and as required by accountability to any meaningful standard of conduct.

They are not; and they will not.

I contacted the NMFOG.Their suggestion was to play the "legal" game. I have resisted that because it is such a hopeless waste of time and energy. Anyone who thinks that APS/Modral will ever surrender a public record against their will; greatly underestimates the capabilities of a politically powerful law firm and virtually unlimited financial resources.

Just for drill then; I will play and report. I have filed another request for records with Rigo Chavez and Darren White in which I cited specific and fatal flaws in their denials. I have forwarded copies of the request to the NMAGO; who is investigating the complaints, and to NMFOG. Copies of the complaint can be read here(BCSO) and here(APS) Ignore the post dates ; they were stuck there arbitrarily for mechanical reasons.

Setting the piece.

My request for public records prompted a response. The response was a denial based on what can only be described as an abject ignorance of the law. APS' Custodian of Public Records, Rigo Chavez, and the best of the best at Modral, would have us believe that they believe that because the body of records that I requested, contains some document that are excepted; the entire body of records is then excepted.

"...those complaints (the public records that I requested) are confidential and are not public information because thy include "letters or memorandums which are matters of opinion"

Anyone, who reads the law itself and, who is not permanently stuck on stupid, will recognize the dishonesty in that response;

"Requested public records containing information that is exempt and nonexempt from disclosure shall be separated by the custodian prior to inspection, and the nonexempt information shall be made available for inspection."

Do you really believe that neither the specifically trained Custodian of Public Records, nor the lawyers of Modral, understand what that means?

They are engaged in dishonest behavior which is not "illegal"; only by the use of legal loopholes, technicalities, and legal weaselry.



All of the perps are on the public dime. They are being paid to litigate against the public interest in order that Elizabeth Everitt and Tom Savage cannot be held accountable for the public corruption of their subordinate.


I just cannot go without saying; if the Journal or the Trib ever told the truth about the ethics and accountability scandal in the Leadership of the APS; it would be ended by public outrage. The Journal and the Trib, whoever that means, are aiding and abetting the cover up of public corruption.

If the Journal and Trib won't tell the truth;
we are all, quite possibly, screwed.

Justice delayed is justice denied - Gladstone

More than two weeks ago, gradegate erupted and a grievance was filed with the APS by the teachers union.

APS is yet to respond to the grievance.

Because there is no justification for the grade change except administrative arrogance; their position is indefensible. Unless you believe that the combined weight of APS and Modral cannot in the span of two weeks, gather the truth together; then APS and Modral are stonewalling the grievance.

Stonewalling, the only defense of an indefensible position, is remarkably effective. If the leadership of the APS can drag the process out for a long enough time; they will prevail. Time works in the favor of the accused; always. That's why APS and Modral always draw things out for as long as they can.

Having waited until school was dismissed for the summer, has made it exponentially more difficult to garner support in the fight against the corruption and incompetence manifest in the grade change.

A stonewall cannot be taken down by argument; no matter how logical, and no matter how compelling; because no argument is permitted.

The only defense against a stonewall is a large enough number of people storming the wall together. If a few hundred people showed up a board meeting to protest the injustice; perhaps the wall could be breached.

It is unlikely that that will ever happen though, because the leadership of the APS can count on the aid and abet of the Journal and Trib in covering up the delay, and drawing attention away from the issue.


A sterling example for students and staff alike.

"legally" defensible

A recent audit by the Council of Great City Schools, noted that the administration of the APS continued to engage in "unethical" behavior on the basis of "legal" defensibility.

Is this the example we wish to set for employees and ultimately for students?

It is diametrically opposite to the message given them in Character Counts training. Students are taught that their character often rests on their willingness to do less than the law allows and more than the law requires.

Is it our goal to raise children into adults who believe that legal weaselry is the path to honor and courage and character?

where is the line between the board and the administration?

The line is important. If the board strays too deeply into the administration of the District; they are micromanaging.

If they stray too far in the other direction; they are betraying the trust of those who elected them to hold the Superintendent accountable for her administration of the public trust and treasure.

While there are those who complain of micromanagement, the evidence seems to support the opposite.

The board has a responsibility to intervene when the Superintendent violates the law; even if the violation is "legally" defensible.

For example;

• The Supt. is defying the spirit of the law on the inspection of public records. She is hiding public records of public corruption in the APS Police Dept. They are being hidden only to protect Tom Savage and Elizabeth Everitt from the consequences of their failure to adequately oversee subordinate administrators.
• The supt. is hiding evidence of criminal misconduct from the Bernalillo County District Attorney.
• The Supt. is hiding evidence of mis, mal, and non-feasance in the renovation of the Uptown Administrative Complex.
• The Supt. has excepted herself from accountability to the student standard of conduct; abdicating her obligations and responsibilities as the senior administrative role model for 89,000 students and 8,000 employees.

The evidence;

the board has not met its responsibility to the community.

the cost of corruption and incompetence; the demise of Character Counts in the APS

Character Counts is a model for teaching ethics. It was unanimously adopted as the model to be used in the APS, by the board of education in the early 90s.

My personal opinion is that the model has a potential for proactively addressing discipline problems before they become problems, far ahead of any other plan considered or adopted by the APS. Although the connection might not be immediately obvious to some; its potential for improving the quality of the educational environment, raising test scores and lowering drop out rates is enormous.

The ball has been dropped by incompetent and corrupt administration of the program and its resources. Submitted as proof; the APS Character Counts website, last modified in 2003. There you will find an event calendar for last year; but none for this. You will find a leadership council page that has been under construction for years, literally. You will find a chronicle of events, the latest of which is six years old. The site is nothing, if not evidence of incompetence.

APS pays a full time senior administrator for Character Counts the equivalent of two or three teacher salaries; plus an office high up in the Uptown Complex. Her supervisor earns another three teacher salaries. His supervisor earns six teacher salaries. As many as twelve teacher salaries have been invested in Character Counts with nothing to show for it. To the extent that students are being exposed to Character Counts; the real load is being carried by those who receive no compensation at all for their investment.

At least three senior administrators sit on the Character Counts Leadership Council. The President of the Leadership Council is School Board President Paula Maes. The four have conspired to prevent the Council's attention to the fact that Maes and others have renounced the Pillars of Character Counts as the standard of conduct for public servants in their public service in the APS.

The hypocrisy of holding students accountable to a higher standard of conduct than adults, cannot be dismissed. The cost in financial terms cannot be justified or defended. The cost in terms of students who graduate without ever examining their character, without ever building their character, cannot be overestimated.

The whole thing is absolutely disgraceful. It is absolutely indefensible.

It will be the subject of continued stonewalling in order to protect those who are responsible, from any consequences for their incompetence and corruption;

for as long as Maes et al can prevent the
public discussion of their conduct and competence
as public servants.

editorial indifference transcends mere hypocrisy

The editors of both papers have touched repeatedly on the lack of accountability in the leadership of the APS. It has always been just a touch though; more of a "pretty please, if it's not too much trouble" mention of a problem that likely has a more grave and far reaching impact than any problem facing Albuquerqueans.

Perhaps I am wrong in my belief that editorials are written to illuminate and inspire readers to some action. I cannot imagine an acceptable rationale for their decision to hide in their foxhole while others get beaten up for their efforts to address a serious problem with a sensible and credible solution.

No one; not even those who will steadfastly resist a cleansing audit of the leadership of the APS; has argued, or even suggested that an impartial audit is not exactly what the doctor ordered for a bureaucracy that is riddled with incompetent and corrupt people and practices.

Even if they believed that there are no corrupt or incompetent administrators, an audit is the solution for the perception that there are. A clean audit would go far to restore a statewide, earned reputation for incompetence and dodging accountability.

There is no ethical justification for their failure to step up to the plate on the issue of addressing accountability issues in an organization that administers almost a billion taxdollars a year.

How can they repeatedly challenge public servants to stand up and be counted on the issue of ethics in public service; and then utterly abandon the two that do?

In the absence of some plausible explanation; we are lead to only one conclusion; collusion; a secret agreement for a fraudulent, illegal, or deceitful purpose.

If an editor, or anyone else, can offer an alternate explanation for the editors decision to leave Marty Esquivel and Gordon Rowe out on a limb on the issue of a cleansing audit of the leadership of the APS; they are welcome to post same as a comment on this post.

Beyond welcome; I would suggest that they have some real obligation to do so.

Guilty Knowledge of Corruption and Incompetence

There in not a single administrator in the APS, not one,
who is without guilty knowledge of the corruption and incompetence in the leadership of the APS.

There is only one way to cleanse themselves of that guilty knowledge; and that is by standing in support of an accountability audit of leadership of the APS.

There is only one thing standing in the way of their standing up; and that is their lack of moral courage.

If we truly want our children to grow up to be adults with character and courage and honor;

someone has to show them what it looks like.

Memorial Day Dishonour

For more than two centuries, Americans have offered monumental sacrifices in defense of human and civil rights. We set aside one day a year to reflect on the privileges we enjoy, bought and paid for with
the blood and suffering of countless brave souls.

Yet for some in the APS, Everitt, Maes, Lucero, Modral; Memorial Day means only that school is out and it will be exponentially harder for teachers and parents to organize in defense of their rights.

The gradegate grievance hearing could have happened before the end of the school year. The results of the investigations into the APS Police Department could have been released. Evidence of felony criminal misconduct could have been turned over to the DA. An honest accounting of the renovation of the Uptown Complex could have been furnished, ...

Their self serving behavior is shameful.

Perhaps more shameful is the behavior of the rest of the administrators in the APS, who are hiding in their foxholes rather than stepping up and fighting against the corruption and incompetence in the leadership of the APS.

Shameful is the dishonour that they tolerate and enable, this Memorial Day.



Their continuing shame is shared
by the editors of the Journal and the Trib.

instead of hiring 3 or 4 more teachers

Beth Everitt will create a new senior administrative slot.

I can't recall the name; and you can't find any relevant information on the APS website;

the assistant superintendant of curriculum
or some such.


A survey of the district's 6,000 teachers,
all struggling just to keep their heads above water;

will reveal that not one,
thinks their job just got easier in the least little bit.


In fact, if the uptown adaministrative complex
disappeared into a giant sinkhole;
most teachers wouldn't notice;
except that after a while they would run out of paper.

That, and messages left in administrative voice mailboxes would be apparently ignored.

what is the point in having laws

a District Attorney and an Attorney General;
if Everitt, Maes, and Modral can defeat them one and all,

by simply ignoring them?




All of which begs the most important question of all;

If you care about the future of the APS;
and if you have a real need for the truth in order to
exercise your rights and responsiblities as a citizen;

what is the point

in buying a copy of either the Journal or the Trib?

Beth Everitt will never submit willingly to an impartial audit of her administration

for exactly the same reasons that she will not reveal
the results of the impartial investigation of
rampant public corruption and incompetence
in the leadership of the APS Police Department;

even in open defiance of the law.

the NMPED and its Eduator Ethics Bureau add zero credibility to the gradegate investigation

for the same reason Beth Everitt has selected them to do
the investigation of her responsibility and involvement
in gradegate.

Before NMPED Secretary Veronica Garcia and her EEB can represent impartiality; the leadership of the EEB must explain why they found nothing unethical in Everitt's abdication of accountability to any standard of conduct that uses the word "ethical"; including the student standard of conduct; for which she is supposed to be
the senior administrative role model.

And then Veronica Garcia will have to explain why she refused to acknowledge the corruption and/or incompetence in the EEB; that their finding represents.

They won't; she won't; and the gradegate investigation
will proceed as though nothing were amiss.

or, business as usual, for the privileged class in the APS,
the EEB, the NMPED, and in the state of New Mexico.

Everitt let Gil Lovato slide on allegations of public corruption and criminal conspriracy

She justified it, apparently, with the argument that it was cheaper for taxpayers to give him a half a year's salary for nothing; than to fire him on the spot.

The financial savings make sense; in particular considering Lovato's body map. Had he had a chance to sell or expose it, it would have cost the District far more than the $35K that Lovato received for sitting on his butt for six months.

The more far reaching consequence though,
is, yet another senior APS administrator has evaded
accountability for their corruption and incompetence.

More importantly, the trail that leads through Tom Savage,
to Everitt's desk remains hidden from taxpayers;
and is the real reason for "saving taxpayer's money".

The problem is that, even the typical quarter million dollar "retirement package" that is normally settled on disgraced senior administrators, would have been cheap compared to the ultimate cost of hiding the corruption and incompetence that pervades the leadership of the APS;

the cost of which, in terms of financial and human resources, far exceeds a "paltry" quarter of a million dollars of hush money alone.

Synergy

According to Wikipedia;Synergy refers to a mutually advantageous conjunction where the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. A dynamic state in which combined action is favored over the sum of individual actions.

The opposite of synergy is antagonism.

The following argument is based on my education, experience, and intellect. I will bow any to controverting fact.

According to an article in the Journal; Andy Barrett has been the Principal of the tiniest school in the Albuquerque District for 12 years. He will be moving to another school in the Venegas/Everitt principal shuffle.

According to the article, no explanation was offered by the district to Barrett or his staff, to justify the move.

The parents at MacArthur Elementary School are protesting the shuffle. The teachers are against the move as well. Students are upset that their "father" figure principal is being moved. Like most all of the stakeholders in this decision; none were asked for, or allowed input in a decision that affects their interests; an egretious violation of the standard of conduct that Everitt enforces upon students; but not upon administrators.

The same thing is happening at Barcelona E.S. "It's a loss to our school" was the message carried by parents in a petition delivered to the school board.

Taft Middle School teachers are circulating a petition to keep their principal as well.

However good these men and women are as principals; they did not make their schools successful. If these schools are successful, it is because there is a synergy between the administration, staff, students, and their parents.

Pulling one piece out of that synergy will only destroy that synergy. Carrying that piece to another school will not create the same synergy.

It would be like taking the battery out of a race car; installing it in a clunker, and expecting the car to fly.

The principal shuffle makes sense only if a principal is an essential and portable element of student success.

They are not. I have personal experience with a principal who is as loathed, as Andy Barret is loved. He is corrupt and incompetent. The successes at his school are achieved inspite of him; not because of him.

The argument that, the only thing that will make a school more successful is a better leader; or even that a better leader will make a school more successful, is specious; it has the ring of truth or plausibility, but is actually fallacious. It is unsupported by any hard evidence.

The district will not listen to controverting arguments; stakeholder rights are of no consequence.

"There are no plans to reconsider the principal moves", said APS spokesperson, Rigo Chavez;

confirming the supreme arrogance of the senior administration of the APS; who will never, ever, admit they are wrong about anything;

...much less be held accountable for it.

it hardly seems fair to the decent, honest and capable administrators in the APS

to continue to let them be painted by the same brush
as the not so decent, not so honest, and not so capable administrators.


"It is not justice or equal treatment that you grant to men when you abstain equally from praising men's virtues and from condemning men's vices.
When your impartial attitude declares, in effect, that neither the good nor the evil may expect anything from you -whom do you betray and whom do you encourage?"
ayn rand



How will the one be separated from the other
except by an impartial, full scale (forensic) audit?

Everitt, Maes, and Modral will not defend

their position that the public records of corruption and criminal conspiracy, are exempt from the NMIPRA. They won't, because in the court of public opinion; their position is indefensible.

Just like Brer Rabbit wanted to take the fight to the briar patch; APS and Modral want to take the fight to District Court;

where their exploitation of legal loopholes and technicalities; where their legal weaselry will except them from accountability even to the law.



Everitt can prove this allegation false; simply by publicly defending her position that all of the evidence of corruption and incompetence is excepted from the law, by the law, and not by legal weaselry.

She can defend, on the record, her refusal to surrender evidence of public corruption and criminal conspiracy, to the District Attorney and let her decide whether or not to file criminal charges against senior APS administrators and BCSO employees.



don't hold your breath.

Likely; nothing will re-establish APS' credibility with the community.

Certainly nothing short of a cleansing audit.

So why not?

Because of the number of senior administrators and board members who will not survive the audit of their conduct and competence as public servants.



...next question?

nothing speaks louder to Everitt's culpability

• in the gradegate scandal
• in the APS police department scandal
• in the scandal of the Uptown Complex
• in the leadership's abdication as senior role models
• in the culture of retribution and retaliation against whistle blowers
• in the hiding of evidence of felony criminal misconduct from the DA
• in the hiding of public records of public corruption and criminal conspiracy in the leadership of the APS

than her steadfast refusal to surrender any evidence or records to public knowledge.


She has no reason to hide exculpatory evidence.

She has every reason to hide inculpatory evidence.

Nelinda Venegas takes one for the team

As the pressure on Everitt builds over gradegate; the administrator directly responsible for the Chinese fire drill for administrators has stepped up, kind of, to take some heat off of Everitt; and with her into her retirement.

Deliberately misleading statements in her op-ed piece serve only to illustrate the lack of character and competence in the leadership of the APS, in the handpicked team that Everitt chose to lead the district.

I won't belabor the point; I will illustrate with a single example.

According to Venegas;

"APS proactively provided this information to members of the Board of Education and to media outlets in an attempt to avoid misperceptions and rumors that inevitably arise out of large-scale change. APS has been open about this process from the beginning."

In his defense of his editorial, in an op-ed below Venegas', Journal editor Stephen Mills points out, correctly, that the

"...wholesale change ...ruled out the usual procedures of consulting with the school communities affected.

Either the process was open and above board, or not.

I think if you ask stakeholders at the affected schools,
none will remember being involved in the process
from the beginning.


Venegas is not being honest.



But then she is an APS senior administrator.

Everitt wants make up work

Arriving at the end of the school year; it appears that Everitt's assignment is not complete. She has not protected public interests from corruption and incompetence in the administration she heads.

Much like the RGHS student and parents who do not want to be held accountable for their failure to complete their assignment; Everitt also would like to walk away from this with only a plan to try to do better next time.

Robert Lucero is in agreement, insisting in return,
only that he always have a warm spot for his nose.

Paula Maes and Modral are on board as well.
But only because when Everitt goes down;
they go down too.

It is classic APS administrative unaccountability.
As soon as you get caught screwing up; promise to
get to the bottom of things.


Then you trot out Rigo to explain that everything is under control; no facts or evidence will be released because of "personnel protections"; and to extend your assurance that you intend to look forward and build on your successes.

And then you just stonewall until the heat dies down.


No APS leader will hold themselves accountable; and
no one will ever hold them accountable.


nothing changes in APS, ever.


It has to change.

Why was APS' Joseph Escobedo discouraging sign ups for the public forum?

Setting the piece;

The turnout for the public forum was slated to be huge. The news was reporting that 50 or 60 teachers from RGHS alone were expected to show up to protest gradegate.

Joseph stationed himself at the table where the sign up cards were stacked. I personally witnessed him telling a number of people that that wanted speaker cards, that there were already 15 people signed up for public forum and if each used their allotted two minutes; is was too late to sign up and expect to be able to speak.

Past practice:

Normally when there are a large number of sign ups; someone on the board suggests extending the allotted time for the forum out of respect for the public right to petition their government.

Had Escobedo not chosen to discourage people from signing up; it is quite conceivable that more people would have spoken.

The topic of the public forum was the frustration and disappointment with the leadership of the APS, and demands for Everitt's accountability and even her resignation.

do the math.

the editorial in the Trib tonight is superb

But it totally misses the point.

With regard to respect for teachers, and for the integrity of the grading process, the editor said all the right things, and said them extremely well.

On the subject of Everitt's lack of candor, unwillingness to produce any evidence for the board to examine, and the subject of the audit; the editor wrote,

"It is so disturbing because, as Board of Education member Marty Esquivel says, "None of this business passes the sniff test." He wants an independent review, as the "only way to re-establish credibility with the community.""

"No argument there..." the editor writes.

• Except for the argument from Robert Lucero dismissing the audit as "grandstanding".
• Except for Paula Maes who is running from independent audits like her reputation and her seat on the board depended on it.
• Except for the Modral law firm; anxious to avoid an audit of their relationship with the leadership of the APS.
• And except for Elizabeth Everitt who is also running from independent audits like her job depended on it.

Does this editor really not know that there is a winners take all battle on the board, over the subject of independent audits and honest transparent accountability?

There are only two kinds of people in the leadership of the APS;

Those who are willing to hold themselves accountable for their conduct and competence as public servants; and are willing to prove same by submitting to independent impartial audits of their public service.

And those who are not willing to be held accountable for their conduct and competence as public servants; and are willing to do fight against impartial audits like their jobs depended on it.

According to Ayn Rand, Edmund Burke, and countless others, there is no third type; because those who claim allegiance to neither good nor evil; side automatically with evil.

Winner take all.

If Marty Esquivel, Gordon Rowe and their supporters prevail; there will be honest accountability in the leadership of the APS, and the corrupt and criminally incompetent will be driven from the leadership of the APS.

If Paula Maes/Modral, Robert Lucero, and their supporters prevail; there will be the continued covert, often illegal, and totally unethical evasion of accountability by the leadership of the APS; even to the law. The corrupt, the incompetent, and those who will accept their incompetence and corruption will prevail, and those with real honor and courage and character will be driven out of the leadership of the APS;

and out their schools, and out their classrooms as well.


If this editor really wants to get behind teachers,
and students, and real positive reform
in the Albuquerque Public Schools;

S/he needs to get behind the full scale cleansing audit
of the leadership of the APS.


There is no equivalent gesture.

Garfield parents angry at school management

more coverage from, you guessed it, KRQE

the face of corruption

compelling public forum filmed by KRQE
but not by the leadership of the APS;
and hense will not be seen by the community members
who tune in to TalNet expecting to see the truth about
the conduct and competence of their representives
on the school board.

That the leadership of the APS continues to refuse to
broadcast the whole truth about board meetings;
speaks directly to the character of board members;
specifically Paula Maes and Robert Lucero.

And also to the character of those who have not yet
picked a side in the battle between good and evil;
between telling the whole truth, and telling just part.

Berna Facio, Delores Griego, Mary Lee Martin
the Journal, and the Trib.

if the truth were exculpatory, it would be on the table

If the evidence surrounding gradegate were exculpatory, Beth Everitt would have had it gathered and appropriately published before a single subordinate administrator went home the day the scandal broke.

There is no legal reason not to release the evidence. In fact, the law clearly requires the release.

There is no ethical reason not to release the evidence. In fact, ethically, Everitt is required to tell the truth.

In fact, the only reason the truth is not known, is
because it is not exculpatory at all;

the evidence is in fact, inculpatory;
and will be kept from public knowledge for as long as
Everitt, Lucero, Maes and Modral are able.

Darren White should recuse himself;

so should Ray Schultz. Neither will offer an honest, candid, and forthright disclosure regarding the criminal misuse of their computers by the leadership of the APS and the APS Police Department.

Yet both intend to sign off, attaching not only their own reputation, but the reputation of the Albuquerque Police Department and the Bernalillo County Sheriff's Office, to an investigation of the APS Police Department, including the possible criminal misuse of APD and BCSO computers by the APS Police leadership.

No one in the leadership of the APS, at any level, should be involved in the investigation in any capacity except for their sworn testimony.

One of the privileges of the privileged class is that if you are ever going to be investigated; you can arrange to be in a controlling position in the investigation.

The results of the previous investigations, under the control of Darren White, Beth Everitt and Modral, are still secret.



Works well for them; not so well for the public interests.

as a matter of law

Are the board members who are tacitly enabling Beth Everitt to hide from the public and from the District Attorney, records of public corruption and criminal conspiracy; even by means of legal weaselry;

guilty of any sort of mis, mal, or non-feasance
as public servants? as officers of the court?

as a matter of both policy and principle;

the leadership of the APS regards all records as confidential. It is then up to the person who makes a request for those records to prove, in court and at great personal financial and emotional cost, that they do in fact, have a right to know the truth.

It is a perversion of the law. It is Juris Mustelidae;
it is legal weaselry;

underwritten financially by unwitting taxpayers and against public interests.


Should the leadership of the APS surrender, to the District Attorney and to public knowledge, the records of alleged felony criminal misconduct in the leadership of the APS and its Police Department?


From the IPRA;

The Inspection of Public Records Act is intended to provide the public with access to information about governmental affairs. Open government -- that is, the public's access to government actions -- is a crucial aspect of a functioning democracy.

As opposed to the position of the leadership of the APS and Modral;

Open government; public access to government actions, is an anathema; and hiding public records is a crucial aspect of remaining in power.

even against public interests.

KRQE and Jessica Garate continue to school the rest

Teachers take grade dispute to APS board. 10pm news

justice delayed; is justice denied

It has been almost two weeks since the gradegate scandal become public. To date, the public records of the scandal are still under lock and key in the uptown administrative complex.

It really doesn't take two weeks to complete even the most thorough investigation of corruption and/or incompetence on the scale of gradegate; it is just that delay works to the advantage of those seeking to evade accountability for their conduct and competence as public servants.

Beth Everitt has already created a considerable advantage in her defense, by dragging this out past the end of the school year, and the opportunity for RGHS to organize effectively.

APS/Modral has the where-with-all to delay justice,
and to deny justice, indefinitely;

thanks to the secrecy that surrounds APS' administration of public power and resources, and the unwitting and unlimited financial support of taxpayers who believe that their taxes are being spent educating their children; instead of enriching Paula Maes and the Modral law firm.

and thanks to the continued aid and abet
of the Journal and the Trib.

despite the fact that the Journal had two reporters at the board meeting

neither reported upon the most important story from the meeting.

A proposal has be advanced for a full scale audit of the APS. A cleansing audit would go a long way toward the elimination of corruption, incompetence, and the practices that enable them, in the leadership of the APS.

The audit would go a long way to restoring public confidence and trust in an administration that forfeited the support of 95% of Albuquerqueans, according to a nonscientific KRQE poll of viewers.

The most monumental battle in the history of the school board is looming, and neither reporter picked up on it. Either that, or whomever at the Journal decides what truth will be told; decided not to tell the truth about a full scale independent and impartial audit of Beth Everitt's administration of the APS.

Despite the obvious need for, and the obvious benefits of, an audit; it is opposed by the powerful and less powerful who have records of corruption and incompetence to hide from an audit.

The Journal will keep the battle over the audit a secret, apparently.

The secrecy over the audit battle benefits only those with the most to gain if the the idea of an audit simply fades away. Secrecy benefits those whose argument against an audit is indefensible by any means except stonewalling.

The secrecy is a betrayal of those with the courage to stand up for transparent accountability in the APS.

Shame on the Journal;
really, shame on them.

Paula "let's get in a teacher's face" Maes apologized

sort of, but for her choice of words only.

Not for her lack of respect for teachers
and others of the great unwashed.

APS and City to Hold Community Forum on Campus Security

according to an APS newsrelease .

It is part of the Council of Great City Schools "thing".

Paula Maes says that Beth Everitt has only done one thing wrong

and that is nonsense.

1. gradegate
2. hiding public records
3. abdicating as the senior role model for students
4. enabling a culture of fear of retribution and retaliation against whistleblowers.
5. removing from the employee code of conduct the phrase;

in no case shall the standard for adults be lower than the standard for students.

6. spending public resources to the Modral law firm against the public interests.
7. reckless spending on the uptown complex
8. withholding evidence of alleged felony criminal misconduct from the District Attorney.
9. ...

It really isn't about the number of things;

It is about being the chief administrative officer
of a culture that tolerates and enables administrative misconduct.

Paula Maes says that Beth Everitt should not be fired over gradegate.

All the time refusing to tell any of the truth, all of the time refusing to release any of the evidence, the public records surrounding gradegate.

Assume for the sake of argument that it really takes weeks to conduct a hearing that establishes the truth about the actions and behavior of a handful of people. It doesn't of course; but just for the sake of argument we'll pretend there is some reason to postpone the hearing indefinitely.

All of the public records related to the situation are still public records; and they are still subject to the IPRA. There is no exception to the IPRA for public records that have yet to be used as some part of some administrative process.

The teacher who asked, at the public forum,
to see the letter that changed the student's grade;
actually has a legal right to see it.



Too bad his legal rights mean squat;
to APS/Modral.

my report on the board meeting

It was an odd meeting; there were a lot of people there because they were worked up about gradegate. An equal or greater number were there to pay their respects for young APS graduates who have lost their lives in service to their country.

Two powerful and unrelated emotions awkwardly sharing a space.

The public forum was powerful, really powerful.

Those who were not there, missed a number of eloquent and powerful speakers.

Those who will watch the board meeting on TV will miss them as well. Paula Maes doesn't want the cameras rolling when constituents "get in her face".
and they did.

The public forum is a unique opportunity for citizens to petition their government face to face. That which happens at public forum is the stuff of public records. An incontrovertible videotape record of the public forum is obligatory.

If there were a videotape you could see how the board behaves during the public forum.

Marty Esquivel arrived after the public forum; due to circumstances beyond his control.

Robert Lucero never once looked up from his "paper work" except to get up and walk over to chat with Paula Maes on and off the dais. Five times he left the dais, three times he left the room entirely. If a person were trying their hardest to be rude; they could do no better than this. Paula Maes rarely looks up. Gordon Rowe is paying more attention. Others come and go.

On the whole it is pretty disgraceful, and speaks to the fundamental disrespect that some of these people, mainly Maes and Lucero, have for the great unwashed.

The "fireworks" began when it was time for open comments from board members.

During comments, Beth Everitt released her latest version of the investigation of the gradegate. I will wait until I read hard copy of the parameters before I discuss it. On its face, it sounded reasonable. Albeit it would require the presupposition that there exists a public servant who can conduct an impartial investigation of the APS; and I will concede that premise; begrudgingly.

The awkwardness crept into the business, when board members Gordon Rowe and Marty Esquivel had to preface their controversial demands for impartial audits of the leadership of the APS; with an appropriate display of respect for the other business of the evening, the acknowledgement of price of freedom in terms of fallen APS graduates.

Marty Esquivel can speak for himself, and I have no record; but it is my recollection that he said that he was willing to take a look at Everitt's proposal for the investigation; but if it didn't meet the sniff test; he would continue to insist on an independent and impartial audit. Independent even of the NMPED; whose Secretary is on the record in defense of Beth Everitt based solely on Everitt's version of events.

Mr. Esquivel proposed that the Council of Great City Schools, or some other qualified agency, do an impartial audit of the entire administration of the APS; including the board itself.

The real opposition to such an audit, beside Everitt's, will come from Maes and Modral who really, really need to keep the public records of the relationship between APS and Modral, from public knowledge.

Joining them will be Robert Lucero. He announced that he is willing to forgive Everitt her past sins and judge her on how she behaves from now on.

Robert Lucero's nose is so far up Beth's tiny hiney
that if she doesn't start skipping every now and then,
he can't breathe.

So far the teams in the school board battle between good and evil are matched.

Marty Esquivel and Gordon Rowe will stand for transparent accountability in the administration of the public schools, and,

Paula Maes/Modral, and Robert Lucero, will stand for the continued covert, sometimes illegal, but always unethical evasion of accountability to any meaningful standard of conduct, even the law.

Rooting for team evil, will be every board member and administrator in the APS who has a record of corruption and or incompetence, that will be exposed by a cleansing audit;

...and no one else.



yet to pick a side in the battle between good and evil;

Mary Lee Martin, Berna Facio, and Delores Griego,

the Journal, and the Trib.

it ocurred to me that I have been wrong for quite some time.

I have been pointing out the the public forum had been moved off of the public record. The correct interpretation I think, is that the public forum is a public record. In so far as public servants are engaged in public service any record of the meeting created by those public servants is a public record.

For example, if you asked the leadership of the APS to provide the public record for the last public forum, you would get this;

I. Public Forum began at 5:00 p.m. Several people spoke about the gun issue (whether APS Police should carry weapons). Young Woman United spoke about PED standards. Two people spoke about Horizon Academy South and one in regard to public forum.

It hardly has the impact of a videotape of the young woman who pleaded with the leadership of the APS to walk the talk on Character Counts.



It's just that the Modral law firm, dba on the board as Paula "let's get in a teacher's face" Maes, doesn't think it is a good idea to create a videotape, and therefore incontrovertible record of the forum.

In particular they do not want a camera on Maes' face when some one asks her;

• As a senior role model for 89,000 of this communities sons and daughters; are you willing to hold yourself honestly accountable to the student standard of conduct?


• As the President of the Character Counts Leadership Council; will you hold yourself honesty accountable to The Pillars of Character Counts?

They do not want her stonewalling to be on the broadcast version of the board meeting. So she ordered that there will be no more videotaping of her stonewalling on the issue of her personal accountability as a rolemodel.


And for the students in the house;

her personal example is one of what, exactly?

if a bond and mill levy election were held it would fail

and for all the wrong reasons, said Tom Garrity.

Tom Garrity used to be an APS superintendent. He has personal interest in helping to deflect any attempt to audit his conduct and competence as a superordinate administrator to Gil Lovato and the APS Police Department.

He is half right; a bond or mill levy would surely fail.

But it would be for exactly the right reasons.

the Council of Great City Schools Review

of the APS Police Department begins today; I think.

Remember the "discreet" bond and school board election?

It appears the "review" will be "discreet" as well.

We don't know what the scope of the review is. Nothing has been posted on the APS website; which is still nearly worthless as a reference source on any issue; which is itself, an issue.

Has the scope of the review been narrowed or deflected away from the alleged felony criminal misconduct involving the Bernalillio County Sheriff's Office and the leadership of the APS?

Do Darren White and Beth Everitt have a common interest in not looking into the circumstances of the criminal misuse of computers assigned to Darren White?

Is it the same reason that they won't release the public records of the investigations into the APS Police Department.

Is it the same reason that they will not turn over to the DA, evidence of alleged felony criminal misconduct.

How can Darren White still be part of the "review".

His refusal to surrender the relevant public records cannot be misconstrued.

The APD's Chief Ray Schultz; also leading the review, refuses to respond as to whether or not his own computers had been criminally misused by the leadership of the APS.



Somebody is damned by the record. And nobody is doing any investigating' except those who are implicated; and will make every possible effort to keep the record and the truth from being exposed.

An independant impartial audit threatens only those whose personal conduct and competence as a public servant; needs to be kept secret.


If silence gives consent; then
all names are suspect, but two;


Marty Esquivel and Gordon Rowe.

KRQE and Jessica Garate are setting the bar

for KOB and KOAT in coverage of the APS ethics and accountability scandal.


Teachers press Everitt on grade change.
APS cops lose access to criminal checks
Teachers press Everitt on grade change
Grade-change flaps gets outside look
APS's Everitt discusses grade changes
Outside probe of APS grade shift urged
APS given F in Communications 101

Gordon Rowe steps up

According to the Journal, Board Member Gordon Rowe has stepped up on the issue of honest accountability for APS administrators.

It is a courageous move. In doing so he has stood behind and beside Marty Esquivel.

Two against;

every board member and administrator in the APS who opposes an impartial audit of their conduct and competence as a public servant.

Long odds?

Yes, but they're twice as good as they were yesterday,
when it was one against all.




This is the part where community demonstrates in support of two public servants who are actually serving the public interests, against formidable opposition, and against the odds;

and justice carries the day.

Bring a kid; show them what courage and character and honor in public service looks like.

the cost of a fullscale (forensic) audit of the administration of the APS

pales in comparison to the cost of not doing the audit.

Losses from corruption and incompetence are enormous.

As but one example; consider the recent corruption scandal in the APS, M&O division. The losses were calculated to be around $150K; but reliable estimates put the figure at closer to $500K.

In any event, chalk up $150K to corruption alone.

A year and a half later, we learned that the loss to taxpayers had not been reimbursed by the district's insuror; because an APS administrator had missed a filing deadline.

Chalk up another $150K to incompetence alone.

Surely an audit can be had for less that $300K?



The same folks that brought you the M&O corruption and incompetence losses; are all still there.

No heads rolled. They never do.


That's the problem.

Elizabeth Everitt insists on Veronica Garcia investigation

Beth Everitt has decided that any investigation of her (administration) will be done only by NMPED Secretary Veronica Garcia.

Is that her decision to make? ...no.

Is she going to get away with it? ...remains to be seen.


The instant that the shit hit the fan on the grade change;
Beth Everitt called Veronica Garcia and asked for exoneration from allegations of corruption or incompetence.

and Garcia provided it; on television.

Now, according to Journal, Garcia says "her statement last week was based on information provided by Superintendent Elizabeth Everittt, and that she was careful not to state an opinion."

But in fact; she did state an opinion; "APS followed policies properly" "APS did not do anything wrong"
and in fact; she did base her opinion on
"information provided (only) by ...Everitt".

This is the manner in which the privileged class excepts itself from accountability.You cover my ass; I'll cover yours.

The Educator Ethics Bureau would benefit from an audit.
Its leadership would not.

The Bureau cannot be relied upon to even to keep teachers with records of misconduct from teaching again simply by moving. It can provide no evidence that it has ever acted against a senior administrator against their will. In fact, the proof, proves the contrary.

If Beth Everitt has the integrity that she says she has, there would be evidence.

• The senior role model for 89,000 students would be accountable to the same standard of conduct as a student.
• The results of the investigation of public corruption and criminal conspiracy in the leadership of the APS, would be public; as required by the law.
• She would commission an immediate, impartial, full scale (forensic) audit of the administration of the APS.

If this bothers you at all, please plan to attend the board meeting. You would be best advised to show up around 4:30. Earlier; if you want to explore the humble existence of the administrators that call the uptown APS administrative/retirement complex home.


You will be looking for evidence that "excess space" in the building is being rented out to defray the cost to taxpayers, of the buying the new building.

As promised by the leadership of the APS,
when they first sold the scheme to taxpayers.

The leadership of the APS refuses still;
to provide an honest accounting of their administration
of public resources, in that building's renovation.

does the NMPED inspire your confidence?

It shouldn't.

What would make you think the the NMPED is substantially different than any other government bureaucracy in NM? any less corrupt? any less incompetent?

NMPED Secretary Veronica Garcia, has announced that she will conduct an investigation of grade gate. This despite the fact that she already announced on TV, that in her opinion, everything was done above board.

I have personal experience, as a complainant, with the NM Educator's Ethics Bureau, and with Veronica Garcia. The public record will substantiate my allegation that they handled an investigation of ethical misconduct against Beth Everitt, inappropriately.

You be the judge;

It was my argument that Beth Everitt had behaved unethically when she excepted herself from accountability to the student standard of ethical conduct.

Granted the question is a tad philosophical;
it is never the less, a simple question.

The Educator Ethics bureau investigated it for many, many months and concluded that Beth Everitt had done nothing unethical in abdicating her responsibility as the senior administrative role model for 89,000 students. When asked for the public records of their investigation, they were unable to even one record that indicated that they had asked even a single question of Beth Everitt, or anyone else in the leadership of the APS.

Garcia was asked to intervene, and ignored the request. She has already covered up for Beth Everitt once; why would you not expect her to do it again?

Garcia is prepared to guide the investigation into Everitt's conduct during gradegate. She say's it could take her a month. Why? How long does it take to get the truth out of six people? A real investigation should take closer to 30 minutes, than thirty days. So why will it take thirty days? ...three days to let it die down in the news; and twenty seven days of added insurance.

And the outcome?

Let's give the magic eight ball a little shake.


You guessed it; ..."innocent on all counts."

APS cops can no longer run background checks

According to this piece on KRQE.

The situation, which puts APS Police officers, staff, and students at some increased risk; follows the alleged criminal use of BCSO computers by APS leadership to do illegal background checks.

By way of follow up; apparently neither Beth Everitt nor County Sheriff Darren White has forwarded the evidence of alleged felony criminal misconduct to the District Attorney; taking it upon themselves to determine whether or not criminal charges should be filed by the DA's office.

There is no evidence so far, that District Attorney Brandenburg has expressed any concern with the usurpation of her prerogative to determine whether or not a crime has been committed.

Both the BCSO and the leadership of the APS have denied requests for the public records of the alleged felony criminal misconduct; including a request made by the KRQE news team.

Both Everitt and White are the subjects of complaints filed with the NMAGO over their refusal to surrender public records to public knowledge.

A fine example for children, being set by both.

because in the harsh glare of public scrutiny;

Beth Everitt can write a policy that prevents corrupt grade changes;

mitigates in no way; the fact that
before there was public knowledge of the corruption,
there was no policy in place to prevent it;
nor the willingness to create one.

Jounal editors wonder;

Is there any reason not to pursue the path of transparent accountability in the APS?


...the answer is no.


Having resolved their boggle; perhaps now the editors will actually stand up beside and behind Mr. Esquivel and his most worthy goal, like they really believed in them. There was a time when editors stood up to be counted. There was a time when editors would have been less confused about the value of honest accountability in public service.

Stop with the roundabout rhetorical questions;
we are past the point where they serve any purpose.



The only thing that matters now is attendance at the board meeting.


Journal readers wonder; Is there any reason for the editors not to pursue the path of transparent accountability in the APS?

if instead of the APS Grievance Process;

the grade change complaint was submitted to a principled resolution;

an impartial third party would have considered all of the evidence, by a process that gave no advantage to anything but the truth, and according to an agreed upon set of principles, such as the Pillars of Character Counts. And it would have been done a week ago.

Instead, Everitt's involvement in, and responsibility for
the grade change will be determined by a subordinate,
in a hearing closed to the public,
and with no incontrovertible record.

The student standard of conduct demands the principled resolution of conflicts.

In order to evade accountability; in order to avoid the principled resolution of complaints against them; the leadeship of the APS excepted itself from accountability to the student standard of conduct.

The leadership of the APS will not be held accountable to any meaningful standard of conduct by a system overwhich they have no control. And they will not be held accountable against their will. They will not be held accountable, even to the law.

integrity

strict adherence to moral and ethical principles; soundness of moral character; honesty.

Beth Everitt,

" ...having integrity in this administration is critical for me."

and,

“The most important component of my administration is the integrity of the work we do."

Is it critical enough, Ms. Everitt, for you to hold yourself honestly accountable to the student standard of conduct?

or to surrender the public records of the corruption and incompetence in your publicly funded, private police force?

or to surrender an honest accounting of the administration of public resources in the renovation of the uptown complex?



Is integrity in your administration critical enough for you to commission a cleansing audit of your own administration?



A good leader accepts personal accountability;


...a great leader demands it.

the agenda for the board meeting

contains neither of the "hot" issues of the last meeting.

Paula Maes did not put the issue of arming the APS Police on the agenda. Nor did she put the issue of the APS Police itself, on the agenda.

The public has a right to know what Paula Maes has done in the intervening three weeks; beside enabling the leadership of the APS to deliberately evade the requirements of the Inspection of Public Record Act.

Because Paula Maes pushed the public forum off the agenda, and because neither issue is on the agenda, it is impossible for a community member to speak on the record on either issue.




Paula "let's get in a teacher's face" Maes and the Modral law firm are denying a citizen's right to petition their government. They are doing that in order to evade accountability for refusing to surrender evidence of public corruption and criminal conspiracy in the leadership of the APS.

If there is a reader who can refute or rebut any of this;

I would suggest that, you have both an opportunty and
some obligation to do so.

accountability to voters

In theory; corruption and incompetence in public service are controlled by voters at elections. History suggests otherwise. The extent of the corruption and incompetence in public service suggests otherwise.

By the Journal editors own admission, public concern right now is 7.5 on the Richter scale.

Do the editors really believe that Paula "let's get in a teacher's face" Maes, and her husband's law firm are worried about reinstalling her on the board, years from now?

They are more concerned with hiding the public record of the relationship between the APS and the Modral law firm. They are more concerned with an audit.



There is only one solution; public demonstration.

Public demonstration is the final resort for those who would wrest back control over power and resources that are fundamentally their own.

The truth is; if enough people show up at the board meeting; the citizens of Albuquerque will regain control over the administration of their public schools.

And there isn't a damn thing the editors can do
to stop it.

no crying wolf; this

Marty Esquivel asked for your help today.

He was on KKOB's Jim Villanucci Show. I didn't know that he was going to be on; so I missed most of the hour.

I heard enough though.

I heard him ask the people of Albuquerque for their help. He asked them to write to their representatives on the board and ask them to support impartial independent audits of the APS administration.

Letters to board members are fectless. Do you think that there is one of them that doesn't understand the question?

The question is; will there, or will there not be honest accountability to a meaningful standard of conduct for the leadership of the APS?

Marty Esquivel says yes.

Leading the no's; Paula "let's get in a teacher's face" Maes. Supporting her will be her husband's not inconsiderable law firm, the beneficiary of millions of dollars worth of litigation on behalf of the interests of the leadership of the APS; and against public interests.

Joining them will be every board member and administrator with a reason to resist an audit of their conduct and competence as public servants.

And the editors.

Marty Esquivel is new to all of this. He is offering to be held honestly accountable for his conduct and competence as a public servant.

And thinks every other leader in the APS should do the same.

Cleansing audits of the leadership of the APS will never happen; if Marty Esquivel doesn't get some backup.

This just might well be the most politically important thing that you will ever be able to do. It would be a shame to miss it.

Tell your boss you need to leave a half hour early.
Tell him why, maybe he'll be there too.

Time for a Change Rally
at the boardmeeting
Wednesday 5pm

(except that Paula Maes doesn't want any one of her constituents "getting in her face" on the record; so the public forum starts early, so as not to be on the record.)

it is not a "grade changing controversy"

It is a, corrupt and incompetent leadership and administration controversy;

passing, as a relatively unimportant
grade changing controversy.

It is a better controversy than one over, say;
corruption in a publicly funded private police force.

It is a better controversy than one over, say;
the refusal to surrender public records
of public corruption and criminal conspiracy.

It is a better controversy than one over, say;
Everitt's relentless refusal to submit to an impartial
(forensic) audit of her administration of the public schools.

APS Superintendent Takes Action to Assure Integrity of Grading

The entire news release is posted on the APS homepage.

In the news release, Beth Everitt writes,

"I have called Dr. Veronica Garcia, secretary of the New Mexico Public Education Department, to request that she conduct an independent review of the processes surrounding the recent situation at Rio Grande High School. I am requesting this to assure the public that the integrity of the education that students receive remains intact."

The only problem with this plan is that NMPED Secretary Veronica Garcia has already issued an opinion in support of Everitt. Having made up her mind, how can she now do an independent review?

Just so you know, when the NM Educator's Ethics Bureau blew off an investigation of a complaint against Everitt, Garcia refused to acknowledge the complaint about the Ethics Bureau's shoddy work. here, here, and here.

This is only a problem because the supposed review will distract focus from the fact that Everitt is refusing to surrender the public records of the Lovato investigation; a much more important issue.

Student Behavior Handbook Changes

Under discussion/action items on the agenda for the board meeting, there is listed; " Student Behavior Handbook Changes". In contrast to the other action items; this one does not have a link to a reference document; you can't find out what the changes are.

Begging a question which may not be rhetorical.

If they are about to remove the Pillars of Character Counts as the student standard of conduct;

...will you do anything to stop them?


Update; the appropriate documentation has been linked.

The situation remains the same with respect to the student standard of conduct. The students will continue to be held to a higher standard of conduct than the leadership of the APS.

...by their own deliberate choice.

the agenda for Wednesday's board meeting

from the aps board of ed; boardbook

the scope of the "cleansing audit" in APS

When your mother taught you how to wash your hands; did she teach you to clean under only one fingernail?

Or did she teach you; you need to clean under them all. ?

the fact that Sheriff Darren White and APS Superintendent Beth Everitt

will not surrender evidence of alleged felony criminal misconduct and criminal conspriracy, to the Bernalillo County District Attorney Kari Brandenburg, is one thing.

The fact she won't ask to see the evidence; is another.

standing atop the tip of the iceberg; alone

"the tip of the iceberg"; or, "you ain't seen nothin yet"

Marty Esquivel has renounced any possible membership in the privileged class. He wants to draw the curtains open and let the sun shine on public service in the leadership of the APS. He wants transparent accountability;

Kryponite for which the privileged class has no antidote.

The privileged class in the APS and the community are aghast. If he prevails, it will be at the cost of most of their privilege. They cannot oppose him, at least not on the record. But make no mistake; they are opposing him.

To date, no other member of the privileged class has endorsed a cleansing audit of the leadership of the APS; not one.

Not Marty Chavez who will criticize the lack of accountability in the leadership of the APS when it suits his personal interest; but when it comes right down to it, he will leave Mr. Marty Esquivel alone atop the tip of the iceberg.

Not Terri Cole, outspoken ally of Mayor Chavez when it suits her interests. She and the Chamber of Commerce have apparently abandoned their advocacy of Character Counts; and any obligation to stand up in defense of its principles.

Not one city councilor.

Not one member of the board of education.

Not one APS senior administrator.



Anyone who stands alone against the privileged class is doomed to failure ultimately. The conflict is just too one sided; the playing field too uneven. If the person who stands alone cannot at some point get someone to stand with him; ultimate failure is inevitable.

It takes courage to stand alone. It takes courage to be the first to stand up. But courage does not win the day; not by itself; never has, never will. By itself; it is only the difference between suffering battle wounds in your chest, or in your backside.

Power wins the day. The power that belongs fundamentally to the people, is being used against their interests. The leadership of the APS has usurped control over the power that was entrusted to them.

There is only one way that the people can regain control over their power. They need to show up somewhere
in person, en masse, and take it back.


Unless you are prepared to let Mr. Esquivel stand alone against Paula "get in a teacher's face" Maes, the rest of the leadership of the APS, and the Modral law firm; you have to do something.


"Somebody should do something" most often means
Somebody else should do something.


It is time to get past that. There are dues to pay.


Find a way to get to the "Time for a Change" Rally Wednesday.

It won't be easy. Most people will likely have to ask for time off work.

With the continued cooperation of the editors, most people won't even know that there is meeting; a meeting that they need to attend.



If enough people show up Wednesday; if enough people stand up beside and behind Marty Esquivel;
there will be transparent accountability in the APS.



Whether or not enough people show up
is up to you.

the Journal and Trib should be at the rally

Their reporters should be reporting on the "Time for a Change Rally". They should report on attendance and the underlying issues.

Their editors should be challenging their readers to attend.

APS "Time for a Change" Rally

APS Board Meeting
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
5:oo pm
6400 Uptown Blvd.

pass it on

really..., pass it on

the grievance hearing

There will be a grievance hearing as a result of administrative interference in the assignment of grades.

The subjects of the hearing are; public policies and public servants within the scope of their public service.

The hearings will be closed to the public;
against public interests.

There will be no incontrovertible record of the proceeding. The leadership of the APS will not allow participants in grievance hearings to tape record the hearing. The public record of the meeting will be created by an APS administrator's hand written notes.

sidebar

I filed a grievance against this practice. I reasoned that my contract, which said that my rights as an American citizen remained intact, guaranteed my right to take personal notes by whatever means I chose; even a digital recorder.
The leadership of the APS denied the grievance without a hearing; in blatant violation of the negotiated agreement between the district and teachers.
The leadership of the union rolled over. The negotiated agreement does not protect teachers from a denial of their grievance without a hearing, and it does not enable teachers to record meetings in which they are a stakeholder participant.

There is only one reason to prohibit public knowledge of public records.

Those who oppose the exposure of the public record
do so because they are damned by it.

Beth Everitt has had evidence of felony criminal misconduct in her possession for months.

She refuses to surrender that evidence to the Bernalillo County District Attorney.

She refuses to surrender that evidence to public scrutiny.

It is evidence of public corruption and criminal conspiracy in the APS Police Department.

By logical extension, it is evidence of public corruption and criminal conspiracy in the entire administration of the APS.

Beth Everitt will not surrender the public record because

she is damned by it.

quite a few people wrote letters to the editor

It is obvious when you read letters to the editor in this morning's Journal, or if you listened to talk radio over the last week or so;

the community is upset, really upset with the leadership and administration of the public schools.

Horrifying; is the realization that, by writing letters to editors, and by calling in to radio talk shows, they have traveled their only avenue of redress;

as victims of public corruption and criminal conspiracy in the leadership of the APS.