APS Examines Communications; dancing around the truth

An article in the Journal covered the Strategic Planning Session meeting of the APS school board.

School board members and administrators spent Saturday morning zeroing in on "communication goals" for the district.

APS' Diego "Dicky" Gallegos admitted that the district's own data suggests people are unhappy with how complaints are resolved, and that there is room for improvement. He went on to suggest that the problem stems from the lack of a "defined way to do it";

which is nonsense.

The crux of the problem is not the lack of a system; but the lack of a code of ethics to which the board and administration are actually accountable. Two people communicating ethically, do not need a systematized manner in which to do it.

Interestingly enough, at the session, the board members also discussed adopting a code of ethics; but not apparently, as a method of improving communications.

Several years ago, the board was asked to create a policy that required administrators and board members to respond to questions by telling the truth. More than simply "not lying", telling the truth according to the student standard of conduct;

Honesty in communications is expressing the truth as best we know it and not conveying it in a way likely to mislead or deceive. There are three dimensions:

Truthfulness. Truthfulness is presenting the facts to the best of our knowledge. Intent is the crucial distinction between truthfulness and truth itself.

Sincerity. Sincerity is genuineness, being without trickery or duplicity. It precludes all acts, including half-truths, out-of-context statements, and even silence, that are intended to create beliefs or leave impressions that are untrue or misleading.

Candor. In relationships involving legitimate expectations of trust, honesty may also require candor, forthrightness and frankness, imposing the obligation to volunteer information that another person needs to know.

The motion was killed by board member Robert Lucero.

The leadership of APS will dance around telling the truth for as long as they can. They will pretend to be honest, without actually being honest, for as long as they are able to get away with it.

Submitted as proof;

if Beth Everitt and the board had any real interest in telling the truth; the community would have

• an honest accounting of the resources consumed by the renovation of the Uptown administrative complex,
• the whole truth about gradegate, Everitt would have submitted to an interview by the NM PED and she would have answered questions on the record,
  
• the truth about the scandal in the APS PD,
• the truth about the leadership's abandonment of accountability to the student standard of conduct and their abdication as role models for students.
• the truth about the relationship between APS and the Modrall law firm,
• the leadership of the APS would comply with the Inspection of Public Records Act,
  
• and there would be a cleansing audit to establish the truth about corruption and incompetence in leadership of the APS.
  

We don't of course; which makes any talk of honesty in communications by the leadership of the APS; just talk;

...intended to create beliefs or leave impressions that are untrue or misleading.