Role Models; Schmole Models

On Thursday morning next, there will three codes of conduct in the APS. One for board members, one for employees, and one for students.

The student standard of conduct is by far the highest standard the three.

The closest approximation of the student standard of conduct; the Pillars of Character Counts expressed as a "code of ethical conduct" exists in the form of a document called Making Ethical Decisions. "A comprehensive guide to ethics, values, decision-making models, rationalizations and more."

If the leadership of the APS were honestly accountable to the student standard of conduct; gradegate would not have happened; the decision to move principals without stakeholders' input would not have happened; and the scandal in the leadership of the APS PD would not have happened.

But all of those scandals did happen. They happened because the leadership of the APS has created and is defending a system that does not include their honest accountability to any standard of conduct at all; even the law.

The record of the representation of the leadership of the APS by the Modrall law firm is one of public funds being using to fund litigation whose purpose was to except the leadership of the APS from accountability to the law; even for felony criminal misconduct.

On Wednesday night, the full board will vote to accept a code of ethical conduct. The code itself cannot stand scrutiny. They will not present it for public discussion before they approve it.

In a public meeting; the board acknowledged that they cannot actually be held accountable to the code that they will pass.

Their plan is to lobby the legislature, to get them to write a law which will hold school board members accountable to the code of ethics; this despite that fact that legislators won't even vote themselves accountable to a code of ethics.

Plan two, is to lobby the State Association of School Boards to see if they will provide accountability; despite their history of many decades of refusal to do that very thing.

Which brings us to Schmole Models.

The most senior role models in the APS refuse to hold themselves honestly accountable to the same standard of conduct that they established and enforce upon students.

They are modeling only hypocrisy.

Their decision is not driven by student interests. It is driven by their own moral cowardice.

If it were not, they would offer an alternate explanation for their refusal to model accountability to the student standard of conduct.

Not one member of the board will answer the following questions on the record. And the reason that they will not; is because they are cowards.

Why will you not hold yourself honestly accountable to the student standard of conduct? Why will you not hold yourself honestly accountable as a role model?

Their position is indefensible. They will stonewall.


I have wondered most of my life, what would I do in a fire fight? Would I have the courage to return aimed fire; or would I cower in my foxhole?

You can pretend your whole life that you have courage.

Until the moment of truth; you don't really know.
That is why is it a moment of truth.

There is coming, a moment of truth for members of the Albuquerque Public Schools Board of Education. At that moment, they will either accept the responsibility of senior role models for 90, 000 of our sons and daughters; or they will not.

Their personal moral courage will be manifest in their vote.

...and will serve as an example for the students and employees in the APS.