Monday, March 31, 2008

Maes Modrall Re-election?

There is a secret election planned for Wednesday afternoon.

By secret, I mean that the only people who know about it, are the players.

Unless a stakeholder makes a habit of following the agendas on the APS website, they do not know that the APS BoE will be electing executive officers for the next year;
president, vice president, and board secretary.

It is important to Paula Maes that she maintain control over the board's agenda; in order that she be able to keep an accountability audit from public discussion.

She can count on Mary Lynn Roper, Tommy Lang,
Michelle Donaldson,
and the news director at KOB
who lacks the courage even to identify themself,

to keep the public in the dark about the election
and about the possibility of auditing corruption and incompetence out of the leadership of the APS.

All of which begs the question;
who is greater betrayer of the public trust?

Paula Maes and the Modrall,
for enriching themselves at
taxpayer expense;

or Tommy, Michelle, and Mary Lynn;
who are helping them hide the truth from stakeholders?

As much contempt as I have for Maes Modrall;
I confess more, for Tommy, Michelle, and Mary Lynn
and the yet to be named coward at KOB.

Friday, March 28, 2008

"... because the realtors in the AHS area, would have my neck."

Tom Savage, then Albuquerque High School Principal,
on why he could not simply tell AHS stakeholders the truth
about incidents that were disrupting the educational
process at AHS and other schools. link and link

A reader recently wondered, why Tom Savage still has a job.

It was Savage's job to oversee the APS Police
Department,
when the scandal broke there,
and it has been Tom Savage's job to oversee
the APS Finance Department, which has now
quietly lost track of millions of tax dollars.
So why does he still have a job?

If you look up good ol' boy in any dictionary,
you will find Tom Savage's picture.

And good ol' boys simply don't loose their jobs
over screw ups.

In particular they don't loose their jobs
if they are any good at all at keeping the details secret
from stakeholders.

When Tom Savage was told in the nineties that
stakeholders have a right to know the truth about
what is going on in their schools, Tom Savage
said he wasn't going to tell the truth in deference
to local realtors.

When the scandal was breaking in the APS Police Dept,
the first official act of superintendent Tom Savage
was to order APS employees to keep their mouths shut.

And now, with a scandal involving the failure to keep
records on the spending of millions of tax dollars;
in a department overseen by Tom Savage, he and
the leadership of the APS have managed to keep
the whole scandal of the incompetence and corruption
in the APS Financial Department "secret" from the public.

Tom Savage still has his job because,
from the perspective of the leadership of the APS,
Tom Savage is not a screw up, he is in fact doing

a great job.

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

The APS Finance Committee met last night.

They met to discuss and take action upon an independent
audit of the APS Finance Department;
an audit that was so critical of the department that the
State has intervened directly.

We are talking about spending a billion tax dollars a year
and having no way in hell
of making any sense at all, of any of the records.

and

By the deliberate decision of those involved;
you have no idea what transpired at the meeting.


So I will tell you.

No good ol' boy was identified, and none will be held
accountable for even as colossal a screw up as this.

Half of APS Students don't know what "stealing" is.

In this morning's Journal; nine APS students were asked if
(music) piracy is stealing.

The correct answer is yes.

Half of the high school students interviewed for the piece,
gave the wrong answer. Even among those who answered
correctly, there was equivocation that indicated that they
really didn't understand "stealing" at all.

Please note that they were not asked if they had ever
pirated a song; but only if they knew it was "stealing" if and
when they did.

The decision that a child makes on whether or not they
will steal something, rides on two issues;

1. understanding of the principle of "stealing", and
2. the moral courage to resist the temptation to steal.
Whether or not a child can resist temptation
has to do with "parenting".

Whether or not they even know what stealing is;
has to do with schooling.

And when the leadership of a school system is all about
excepting themselves from accountability to the rules;

it shows in the product; 90,000 of our sons and daughters
who are confused about an issue as simple as stealing.

You end up with high school students;
half of whom think piracy is not stealing.

The leadership of the APS has renounced their obligations
as role models of the student standard of conduct;
a standard that speaks unequivocally about stealing, and
about honest accountability to standards that prohibit it.


Sometimes it is just about role modeling.

Monday, March 24, 2008

Mayor Marty Chavez, DUI? Again?

There is some speculation going on
over on the Eye on Albuquerque link

The informed speculation is that Mayor Marty Chavez
has been arrested for DUI by the NMSP.

And that the arrest was not his first.

Nor his second.

And that they are all being covered up
by the good ol' boys in both police departments;

and at the Journal.

Pure speculation.

But suppose just for the heck of it, that some morning
you read in the Journal; that
the DUIs and the cover up are all real.

Would it surprise you?


When the dirt comes out on Paula Maes Modrall
and the good ol' boys in the APS,

is it really going to surprise you?


Do you not believe in the existence of
a privileged class?

the APS Board Finance Committee will meet illegally today at 5pm

having failed to post the agenda* on their website
24 hours in advance of the meeting.


Inadvertently, of course.




They will be discussing, presumably,
the chaos in APS' Financial Department.

Chaos so great, that the state is now overseeing APS.

No good ol' boy has yet stepped up to accept accountability
for the chaos, nor has one been individually identified,
nor will one ever be.

It's just not the way they roll.


*(I don't know for a fact; that they have not taped the agenda to a wall
God knows where, and thereby "complied" with the letter of the law.)



post note; the agenda has magically appeared on the APS
website (10:47) eleven minutes after this post was posted.
The post time was actually 10:36 our time; not 9:36.


Finance Committee Meeting
Monday, March 24, 2008
5:00 PM
Albuquerque Public Schools DeLayo-Martin Community Room






I. Call to Order
A. Approval of the March 24, 2008 Finance Committee Agenda and the Minutes of March 10, 2008.
II. Consent Calendar Items
III. Other Finance Matters (Discussion/Action)
A. Discussion/Action/Update Regarding Meyners and Co. Report and Recommendations
B. Discussion/Action/Update Regarding Budget Process
IV. Future Agenda Items
V. Adjournment
A. Next Finance Committee Meeting will be held on April 14, 2008, at 5:00 p.m. in the DeLayo-Martin Conference Room.


And who says they don't read D6?

Covering the news for Paula Maes.

Paula Maes is the President of the APS School Board.
She has some skeletons in her closest.

She wants very much for them to stay out of the news.

For example; she wants the idea of
an immediate impartial audit of the leadership of the APS
to stay out of the news, and away from stakeholders.

The idea of auditing out, the corruption and incompetence
in the leadership of the APS is an idea that would spread
like wildfire among APS stakeholders.

Maes alone,
can't keep the ethics and accountability scandal
in the APS leadership from seeing the light of day.

So who helps Maes, to keep the truth from stakeholders?

As powerful as she is, she couldn't keep the Journal from
telling the truth against their will.

You can't just email the Journal, KRQE, KOAT, and KOB TV
and ask them for the name of the person who's decision it is
that, the truth not be told.

They won't answer.

There is no one at the Journal, nor at KRQE, nor at KOB,
nor at KOAT who will step up and say;

"I take responsibility for not assigning an investigative
reporter to the issue of the ethics and accountability
crisis in the leadership of the APS."

Two possibilities exist; the first that I am, in fact,
just a crazy old shop teacher, disgruntled former employee,
and none of my allegations warrant even an investigation.

The other possibility is that my allegations warrant attention
and attention is being withheld deliberately and dishonestly.

If the person who is individually responsible for the abject
betrayal of the public interests, and of their reader/viewers'
interests, were not ashamed of what they have done,

why won't they defend themselves?

I don't cc every post to them; but they cannot say that
they have not been informed. If they are unaware of
this blog, it is by their own deliberate choice.

Paula Maes,
President and CEO of the NM Broadcasters Association.


Monica Armenta
"... has very strong ties to this community,
having worked in TV news for more than 20 years."

Mary Lynn Roper, KOAT
Secretary of NM Broadcasters Association.

"As the leader of KOAT 7, she’s serious about the
station’s commitment to the community.
"We need to understand the community.
We need to always be aware of the power we have
to do a world of good."
Michelle Donaldson, News Director, KRQE

Still unknown. News Director, KOB TV
If you can believe it, I can't find the actual identity of
KOB TV's news director anywhere on their website.

If Mary Lynn Roper is not covering Paula Maes'
enormous ass (metaphorically speaking),
there would be some good and ethical
alternative explanation for Roper's failure to investigate
and report upon the truth.

and she would share that reason with stakeholders.

Why would she be "slandered" on a daily basis
if the truth exonerated her?

And Thomas J Lang, and Michelle Donaldson,
and whomever at KOB TV and KKOB radio.

Stonewalling is like pleading the fifth;
they may think they're getting away with something,

but for all the protection that stonewalls offer,
they are transparent,
and everyone knows what they did anyway.

Saturday, March 22, 2008

Marty Chavez Piles on, on APS Crises

Mayor Marty has finally summoned the courage to climb on
the top of the pile of the people piling on
the APS Financial Department debacle.

He is again floating the idea that he is just the good ol' boy
who should appoint at least several of the good ol' boys
that sit on the APS Board of Education.

He has not yet summoned the courage to demand an
impartial full scale, forensic audit
of the leadership of the APS.

Likely, because he could not survive such an audit
of his own house.


Mayor Marty Chavez
is currently under close scrutiny by
a local blog over allegations that;

The mayor might have been driving under the influence,
driven into a parked car, and then fled the scene.

The APD 's goodest ol' boy, Chief of Police Ray Schultz
is being implicated in the cover up of the hit and run.

You really should check it out. link

Paula Maes admits Deceiving Voters

According to APS School Board member, Robert Lucero,
there is currently a "full blown crises" in
APS' Financial Department.

Paula Maes disagrees, saying
"... the district has know about the situation for a long time."

Maybe the "district" knew about the crises,
but voters did not.

During the time Paula Maes admits awareness of the crises
in the APS Financial Department, she and the good ol' boys
went to voters at least three times;

one mill levy,and one bond issue, totaling $500,000,000
and the (re)election of 3 good ol' boys to the school board.

She and Thomas Lang, Mary Lynn Roper, and
Michelle Donaldson

kept the crises secret from voters.

I was running for the board at the time, and
couldn't get one inch of press for my campaign platform
which was that the leadership of the APS was corrupt and
incompetent and needed to be audited.


By her own admission;

Paula Maes
has known about the problems for a long time
and has done nothing.



And that's a bad thing, right?

APS Finance Department "devoid of policies and procedures,"

according to the independent accountant; Meyners & Co.

School Board Member Robert Lucero says the mess in APS'
Financial Department is
a full blown crises.

Paula Maes says, Robert Lucero is exaggerating,

and that the
more than sixty serious problems pointed out
by the auditor; including the fact that the department
apparently has
no written policies and procedures,

is
"... a situation the district has known about for a long time."


What? ??


Q. Then why wasn't it fixed?

A. Because the problem cannot be fixed except that some
good ol' boys' heads must roll;

and that will
never ever, ever happen
while
Paula Maes and the Modrall are running the APS.

She has said so herself.

Friday, March 21, 2008

The School Board will meet in Secret Tomorrow.

Note; this post is rewritten under the same title.

I have been called to task by a reader; for the title.

The school board will meet tomorrow, in a "closed" meeting,
not a "secret" meeting.

There is a difference between a secret meeting;

a meeting that takes place without stakeholders
knowing that the meeting took place.
and a closed meeting;
where the stakeholders know the meeting will take
place; but are not invited to attend.

The secret part;
the actual public service performed by public servants
being paid for their public service during the meeting.


Although I am not entirely convinced that
I have used the word incorrectly in the title,

I am happy to accept accountability and the responsibility
to acknowledge the complaint, and offer clarification.


The meeting is a "closed" meeting, not a "secret" meeting.
NOTICE OF MEETING
BOARD OF EDUCATION
ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO
Notice is hereby given that the Board of Education,
City of Albuquerque will hold a Closed Meeting
pursuant to Section 10-15-1 (H) (2) NMSA
1978 (limited personnel matters)
on Saturday, March 22, at 9:00 AM in
the DeLayo-Martin Community Room.
The purpose of the meeting is to
discuss the contract for the new Superintendent
of the Albuquerque Public Schools. (my emphasis added)


Public servants will gather together
within their public service;
to discuss the contract of another public servant;
an expression of the terms of public service.

Paula Maes/Modrall will conduct the entire discussion of the
terms of Winston Brooks' public service in secret from
stakeholders.

Stakeholders have nothing to say about a contract that
does not require the senior administrative role model
of the student standards of conduct and competence;

to be actually accountable as a role model at all.


The very worst thing any public servant can do
is anything they do in secret.


She and they, are not required by the law
to conduct the entire meeting in secret.

I would be surprised if the law actually required any of it
to be conducted in secret.

At most, the law allows the secrecy.

The code of ethics that would apply to this meeting,

had not Paula Maes and the good ol' boys
excepted themselves from accountability to it,

would be the student standard of conduct.
Students are required to model and promote
a standard of conduct that requires from them;
"... more than the law requires, and less than
the law allows."
The student code of conduct,

were they still accountable to it,

would require them to be candid, forthright and honest
about the terms of public service of
the senior most administrative public servant in the APS.

They will not show you a contract that requires
Winston Brooks to be honestly accountable as a role model
of the student standard of conduct.
(not even for the eight measly hours a day that he is
the senior most administrative public servant in the APS.


If the secrecy was ethically justifiable;
they would justify it.


APS' Executive Director of Communications
(and poster nazi link), Monica Armenta

could come up with a way of communicating
that justification to stakeholders.

Couldn't she?


And yes,
there are circumstances that ethically justify secrecy;

these simply are not them.

Winston Brooks said;

We shouldn't believe that APS' problems are rooted in corruption.

May we at least believe that they are rooted in incompetence?

And does it not follow;

guilty knowledge of continuing incompetence is corrupt?



There is corruption in the leadership of the APS.



And it will not end
until the reign of Paula Maes and the Modrall
ends.

The reign of Paula Maes and the Modrall
will end the day that the results of an impartial
audit of their stewardship of the APS becomes public.

That is why Paula Maes in on the record stating;

She will not allow any audit that's purpose is to expose
individual corruption and incompetence in the leadership
of the APS;

especially her own; and that of the Modrall.

Pete Domenici looks dirtier by the day.

and will say nothing in his own defense.

He has been accused of abandoning his founding child
Character Counts! to be raped by Paula Maes Modrall,
the antithesis of Character Counts!
incarnate.

He will say nothing
in defense of the Pillars of Character Counts!,
as a standard of conduct and competence for role models
of the Pillars of Character Counts!

He will say nothing
about the Character Counts Leadership Council

a still secret, now even secreter that
their website has disappeared,
group of Albuquerqueans whose names remain secret
organized for the purpose of
securing tens of thousands of dollars in federal grants
the proceeds of which have been spent in ways that the
council refuses to document,

even in violation of the law.

If he were concerned; wouldn't he say;
thanks for the heads up, I will look into it.


If there was smoke, but no fire; wouldn't he say;
thanks for your interest;
I have investigated your allegations and
found them to be without substance.


If there was fire,
and the Senator has been playing with matches;


... wouldn't he stonewall?

Character Counts! heavy hitters?

link

The Albuquerque Character Counts page on web
has been pulled down;

I would assume out of embarrassment,
or upon the advice of their lawyers;
in order to hide evidence.

In any case,
there will be a Character Counts Conference at
the Marriott, Thursday and Friday, April 17 & 18.

It strikes me that holding the Character Counts
convention in Albuquerque,
the home of APS' Character Counts Gate,
is a little like the Baptists holding a convention in
Las Vegas, Nevada.
But, I digress.

During this convention of the heavy hitters in world of
character and courage and honor;

will they even discuss the fact that the local
character counts leadership has renounced the
Pillars of Character Counts
not only as their personal
standard of conduct, but as the standard
of conduct and competence for their public service
as well?

I assume that at ninety bucks a head,
there will be some heavy hitters there.

What does a heavy hitter look like in the world
where character counts?

We don't know.

So far they look like Paula Maes, the President of
the Character Counts Leadership Council,
who has renounced the Pillars of Character Counts
as her standard of conduct and competence as the
senior most role model of the student standard of
conduct.


So far they look like Pete Domenici
a United States Senator,

who is ignoring cries for help from his founding child.

So far they look the Character Counts Leadership Council
a bunch of cowards who refuse to identify themselves.

So far they look like Mayor Marty Chavez
who will attend functions as one the founding fathers
of Character Counts!

but who hasn't balls enough to stand up to Paula Maes
and Modrall.


Will we ever see one?

Is there even one "leader"
with the courage and the character to hold themselves
accountable for their courage and their character

for eight measly hours a day?

Winston Brooks' Hit and Run

APS Superintendent Winston Brooks was in town yesterday.
And then left without answering important questions.

We still don't know if he will be the first APS superintendent
in history who will be honestly accountable as a role model.
of the student standard of conduct.

The Journal wrote nothing about his visit,
KOB and KOAT have no links to coverage.

KRQE has the only link I could find. link

It would appear that honesty is not the man's strong suit.
I think it is fair to say that;

  • he is impressed by APS' national reputation for "greatness"
  • and he is prepared to come in and make sweeping changes.


May I assume that you understand,

a school system in need of sweeping changes is not likely
one which enjoys a nation wide reputation for greatness,

and/or

A school system with a national reputation for greatness
is likely not one in need of sweeping changes.

He is talking out of both sides of his mouth
before there is even a need to deceive stakeholders.

Winston Brooks could have simply said;
"I'm getting the lay of the land,
and I'll get back to you when I have a plan."

More importantly, aren't we already paying someone else
to shine us on about our schools?

Isn't it Monica Armenta's job
to be deceiving stakeholders into believing
that their school system enjoys a nation wide
reputation for greatness?

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Winston Brooks' Standards of Conduct and Competence will be determined in secret

by Paula Maes-Modrall and the good ol' boys in the APS.

Or,

the standards of conduct and competence,
and the manner in which he will be held accountable
to those standards will be determined by stakeholders

and implemented by their public servants on the board.


Your call.

on; The Absolute Lethality of Standards, Accountability, and Proof of Both

Power corrupts;
absolute power corrupts absolutely.
socrates

Yes but,

Absolute accountability is absolutely fatal
to corruption (and incompetence).
macquigg

LD100*;

  • meaningful standards of conduct and competence
  • principled resolution of complaints of violation of those standards, and
  • transparent proof of the process for the principled resolution of complaints.


Paula Maes-Modrall,
and the good ol' boys
in the APS;
board members and senior administrators and
in the media:
Thomas Lang, Mary Lynn Roper, and Michelle Donaldson
will do everything they can to keep this subject from stakeholder discussion.

Paula Maes-Modrall, and the good ol boys in the APS
will do everything they can to keep
  • senior administrative standards of conduct and competence
  • senior administrative accountability, and
  • an accountability audit of the leadership of the APS
off the table.

Like their careers, and their reputations, and time out of jail
depended on it; off the table.

Or,
  • senior administrative standards of conduct and competence
  • senior administrative accountability, and
  • an accountability audit of the leadership of the APS
would be on the table now;

during the hiring of Winston Brooks;
the senior most administrative officer
the senior most administrative role model, and
the senior most public servant in the APS
and who will be paid
more than a quarter of a million tax dollars a year
for his public service in those capacities.





Lethal Dose 100; the amount of something
required to kill 100% of test subjects,
100% of the time

"But it is time to move past the blame game."

James Jimenez; the governor's spokesperson
on the NM DOT debacle.

It is a magic phrase.

If offered at the right time; it separates good ol' boys
from real accountability for their incompetence and
their corruption.

Never mind if the conditions that led to Humpty
falling of the wall are ever explained, defended, or
even acknowledged.

All a good ol' boy ever has to say is;

I will glue Humpty back together again.
(so there is no need to play the game
of placing blame and assessing meaningful consequences)





The "blame game" is not a game.

It is the process by which the same mistake
does not get made again, and again,

... and again.



It is the process that separates good ol' boys
from lifetime employment in jobs for which they are unqualified.


Worth reflecting upon;
you never hear a victim say;

... it is time to move past the blame game.

you hear it only from the perpetrator.



(or their PR guy who taxpayers paid
to write a letter to the editor of the Journal,
who dutifully published it.)


Humpty wiki link

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

APS' Perfect Storm

There is the chance

to profoundly change the future of the APS
in an incredibly positive way for ever.


Winston Brooks;

could find himself the first superintendent in the history
of the Albuquerque Public Schools

honestly accountable
to meaningful standards of conduct and competence

by a system over which he has no undue influence and
powerful enough to hold him accountable to those
standards of conduct and competence;
even against his will.


instead of

Winston Brooks being accountable to good ol' boy standards,
and only to other good ol' boys.

The only down side is for those good ol' boys
whose record of public service
cannot withstand the first APS accountability audit.


And if the second annual audit is not clean;
there would then be a down side for Winston Brooks.


...which is as it should be.

If I were willing to stand up for what we believe in for two minutes

would you at least stand up behind me?

If I held up a poster that read;

Will you take questions, including follow up questions,

and provide candid, forthright and honest responses

  • about administrative standards of conduct and competence
  • administrative accountability,
  • an administrative audit, and
  • administrative role modeling of the student standard of conduct
yes or no?


would I be the only one standing up, again?




PS
Nobody on their side will take any pictures.
I would like to post some if anyone were willing to step up.

Stay anonymous; just post them in a comment
and I will figure out how to copy them on to the internet.

You be the judge; Marty Esquivel off to the darkside?

The following is an exchange of emails between
board member Marty Esquivel and myself.

They began under a subject line of;


absolutely on the record

Mr. Esquivel,

Would I be writing the truth?,
if I wrote that during the 2(?) hours
Winston Brooks spent being interviewed by you and the board;

the subject of a full scale accountability audit was not discussed?
the subject of administrative standards of conduct was not discussed?
the subject of admiistrative standards of competence was not discussed?
the subject of administrative role modeling was not discussed?

And further,

As my representative,
I would like hear your explanation of the need
to keep the questions and the answers secret from public knowledge.

As always I am on a deadline.
I am trying to get this done before I am completely spent
emotionally and intellectually.

gfytaa
macq
To which he replied;
I'm on my own deadlines, Ched. Sorry.
To which I replied;
what does that mean, exactly
are you asking for time
or telling me to forget about a response all together.
To which he replied;
It means that I'm in the middle of writing a brief and I'll get back to
you when I can.

At this point, I believe that it is fair
to regard this as stonewalling.

And to proceed under the assumption that it is;
in the absence of controverting proof.


Stonewalling violates the standard of that Mr. Esquivel and every other member of the leadership

tells our children is a worthy standard of conduct
at least for students;


even if not for their most senior role models.

cc to Esquivel upon posting.

Winston Brooks said; "I will have town meetings."

or words to that effect.

At the first of those meetings I will attempt to ask him

Will you tell stakeholders the truth about administrative standards, accountability, and role modeling?

and,

Will you stand for follow up questions?


Former APS Superintendent Linda Sink will neither
tell the truth, nor stand for follow up questions.


His options will be;

  • to have me illegally arrested again, rather than allow the record to hear the question,
  • allow the question and then answer dishonestly in order to hide the truth, or
  • he will actually tell the truth.


If he intends to tell the truth anyway;

why won't he just tell it now?


Why do the masters, have to spring out of a bush
to ask their servant a legitimate question
face to face?

There is only one reason
for Winston Brooks to ignore this challenge.

It is the same reason that
he has ignored every previous challenge.

It is not because he has not read my many posts
about his moment of truth.

However "the messenger" is regarded,
by him and others,
this is about the message
and not about the messenger.

And he cannot explain or defend having chosen
not to hear the message.

I stood feet from of him,
holding a large and easily read poster sized reminder;
three times, in public.

He heard the question. He is hearing the question.


He is stonewalling in response.


Stonewalling violates the code of conduct that
he will be paid $1,500 dollars a day to enforce
upon 90,000 of our sons and daughters in the APS;

because stonewalling is unethical;

because it is just a coward's way of lying.

because it is the only defense of an indefensible position.


Even Monica Armenta and her million tax dollar PR budget

can't invent any cover for Paula Maes Modrall et al that is
less ignominious than hiding

behind stonewalling.


Every student who is paying attention and who comprehends
that which is going on;

is being taught that rules are for fools;

and not, and instead of;

being taught that their character counts.



Now is the time
for all good men to come to the aid of their country.

What will it take; to get the subject on the table?

Paula Maes, Modrall and the good ol' boys in the APS,
do not want

  • administrative role modeling;
  • administrative standards, or
  • administrative accountability
to be the subjects of public discussion.

Even during the hiring of Winston Brooks.

Winston Brooks
will become;
APS' senior most administrative role model, and
APS' senior most administrative officer.


Why won't Paula Maes Modrall defend her insistence that
these subjects not be part of the public process:

How can Thomas J Lang hold his head up again
after helping her keep this all covered up?

How can Mary Lynn Roper hold her head up again
after helping Paula Maes Modrall cover up the ethics and
accountability scandal in the leadership of the APS?

How can Michelle Donaldson hold her head up again
after helping Paula Maes Modrall;

the President of the Character Counts Leadership Council
the still secret organization,
organized to do who knows what,
under the name and reputation of a
United States Senator, Pete Domenici, but
without attaching their own names and reputations.

continue to cover up APS Character Counts Gate.

even through the hiring of
a quarter of a million dollar a year public servant?


What will it take to get the subject on the table?

Paula Maes Modrall, moved the public forum off the public record to keep these questions off the record.

Monica Armenta and her crew, are paid and spend a million tax dollars each and every year; to keep questions about these issues off the public record.

And Paula Maes is sure getting her money's worth.

Paula Maes Modrall has ordered the APS Praetorian Guard
to illegally arrest me, rather than
to allow me to put these issues on the table.

The broadcast record of regular meetings of the APS
Board of Education, were deliberately falsified
before being broadcast to stakeholders
in order to deceive them about my efforts
to put the issues on the table and on the record.


I have been illegally arrested five times by
a publicly funded, private police force
for pushing the envelope and trying to get these subjects
on the record for discussion.

If
  • administrative standards,
  • accountability, and
  • administrative role modeling
are ever going to be publicly discussed on the record it will
only be because enough people show up at a board meeting

to DEMAND that they be.


I can neither do this alone,
nor for very much longer, alone.

Pete Domenici has abandoned Character Counts.

So has Michael Josephson;
although he is at least still making money off it.

You have to wonder why.

Is the handshake and the wink that installs men into
the good ol' boy fatherhood,

so binding?

Why won't
Pete Domenici stand up and do something
about the
Character Counts scandal
in his own home town school system?


What plays more than character, and courage, and honor,

in the decision of
a United States Senator, and
founding father of
Character Counts

to
hide from his responsibilities and obligations
to intervene in
APS Character Counts Gate.

The same argument would include
Q Mayor Marty Chavez,
except that I don't think when he was "founding"
Character Counts in Albuquerque
it ever had
anything to do with really believing it.

He was a good ol boy long before character counted.

Monday, March 17, 2008

Will Jim Villanucci take the bait?

Will Jim bite on the imaginary "fight" over teaching evolution in the APS.?

Will the imaginary baby of Tommy Lang and Paula Maes
be used to sell some soap on the Villanucci show?

Or will the issue of the next superintendent be discussed?

Winston Brooks will be paid over $1,500 a day to be
the senior role model of conduct and competence, for
100,000 students and employees.

To what standards of conduct and competence, should he
be held honestly accountable; for 6.5 measly hours a day?

And how?


Will Villanucci bite on Paula's tasty little red herring?

Will the "nooch" will stir up a tempest in a teapot;
over an issue that didn't exist until Tommy Lang
created it this morning?

Just to give Winston Brooks a few more days
of breathing room on the whole "role modeling"
and administrative standards and accountability thing.

the "APS Evolution Fight", is a Red Herring

There is no evolution fight.

Winston Brooks
has not said one word about any changes in
the APS that have anything to do with evolution.

It is a red herring. The Journal is trying to keep

Winston Brooks, from becoming the center of attention
on the issue of administrative role modeling of the student
standard of conduct.

During every hour that Winston Brooks spends looking across
the educational interface;

the spot where students and the system
stand stand toe to toe, eyeball to eyeball;
Winston Brooks will be paid $231.31 to
be the APS' senior most role model of the student
standard of conduct.

Yet, Winston Brooks will not be honestly accountable to
that standard of conduct; not even for 6.5 hours and
$1,516.48 a day.

By his own deliberate choice.


It isn't just about role modeling.

Were Winston Brooks honestly accountable to
the student standard of conduct;

if, and when, the question of evolution is raised by anyone
but Paula Maes and her crony at the Journal
Thomas J Lang.


there will not be a fight,

every stakeholder on any side of the issue of evolution,
would have the right to participate meaningfully in what
ever decision is made;

there will be a lesson taught to the 89,000 of our sons and
daughters who attend the APS.

about how adults settle important questions.

there will be role modeling
of the student standard of conduct
during the debate.

there will not be a fight.



Instead; we will pay Winston Brooks more than
fifteen hundred dollars a day to be a
the senior role model of hypocrisy.


You can see why Paula Maes, Modrall and
the good ol' boys want Zsombor Peter and
the Journal to change the subject.

It will give Jim Villanucci something to talk about beside
the fact that Winston Brooks is being paid $231.31 an hour
to be the senior administrative role model
of the student standard of conduct;

but is not honestly accountable to that standard,

nor any other meaningful standard of conduct;

not even for measly 6,5 hours a day he any your child
work together at the educational interface.

*
$276,000, divided by the 1,183 hours that
Winston Brooks
and our children work together at school;
equals
$233.31 each hour.

How much courage would it take?

To attend the next school board meeting?

How big a sacrifice would it be?

really?




Sacrifice is the currency of commitment.

Sunday, March 16, 2008

US Senator Pete Domenici's Swan Song

"The phrase "Swan song" is a reference to an ancient belief that the Mute Swan (Cygnus olor) is completely mute during its lifetime, except for singing a single, heartbreakingly beautiful song just before it dies." wiki link


In 1993, Pete Domenici, Michael Josephson, and 48 other
"leaders" got together in Aspen Colorado and birthed
Character Counts!

And then abandoned their child to fend for itself.

At the end of his career in public service;
Pete Domenici could end his silent defense of his child
and sing a swan song to rescue the child from

Paula Maes,
the single worst thing that has ever happened
to Character Counts! in its entire history.


Pete Domenici could stand behind
the Pillars of Character Counts!
and stand up against those
who are making a mockery of the pillars.
Paula Maes, and the good ol boys in the APS, and in
the media, Thomas J Lang, Mary Lynn Roper, and
Michelle Donaldson,
the NM Foundation for Open
Government, Leonard DeLayo

and NM Common Cause, Teresa-Asnap Brito.



He could be instrumental in installing the first public servant
(probably in the entire world) who is honestly accountable to
a meaningful standard of conduct (the Pillars of Character
Counts!) under an honest system powerful to hold him and
all of his good ol' boy cronies,
accountable even against their will.

It is really a shame that Pete Domenici, apparently
really doesn't believe in all this character counts crap,

either.

APS Good ol' Boys have their fingers everything.

Threatened by the NM Foundation for Open Government?
Install APS good ol grandfather, Leonard DeLayo as its
director.

Threatened by NM Common Cause?
Put APS good ol gal Teresa Brito-Asnap
on their board.

Threatened by a Character Counts Leadership Council?
Install, Paula Maes as its president;
and then,
install three senior administrators, at least, on the council;
Carole Smith, Toby Herrera, DeeDee Stroud.

Threatened by the "news"?
Doesn't play; Thomas J Lang, Mary Lynn Roper,
and Michelle Donaldson
are in on the cover up.

No need to install any body.

... all bases covered.

Saturday, March 15, 2008

NM Common Cause Bit on Ass by a Common Cause.

The common cause; trying to hold public servants honestly
accountable as the stewards of our trust and treasure.

The next superintendent of the APS, Winston Brooks
could be the first superintendent of the APS,

to ever be held honestly accountable to meaningful
standards of conduct and competence.

Which would also make him the first public servant
in the state of New Mexico to find themselves honestly
accountable
to meaningful standards of conduct and
competence within their public service.


Which would be a great start for our common cause.


If only Matt Brix and NM Common Cause LINK
could see the potential.

Is it because of Teresa Brito-Asenap,

APS good ol' gal,

and NM Common Cause bigwig link

doesn't particularly like the idea of being held accountable
against her will, to meaningful standards of conduct and
competence as a public servant?

Is NM Common Cause protecting her cause
at the expense of the common cause.

Good ol' boy speak; NM DOT scandal

from the Journal;

"The governor is satisfied that Secretary Faught has taken the appropriate responsibility for mistakes made during the course of the project, and she is taking the necessary steps to restore the public trust in the Department of Transportation..."


translated into
stakeholder speak;
  • the good ol' boy responsible for the screw up will not be "punished" for screwing up,
  • will maintain her current job, salary and benefits.
  • and the systemic and institutional practices that enabled the screw up, and then protect the screwer upper from honest accountability for the screw up; will not be addressed


Sleep tight.

Friday, March 14, 2008

It isn't just about role modeling

If the leadership of the APS had EVER been really accountable to the student standard of conduct;

they would have been accountable, as public servants,
to a nationally recognized, accepted, and respected
higher standard of conduct and competence.

Not just as role models;

but as department heads in every department that has been involved in a recent scandal.

If Gil Lovato had been honestly accountable to
the student standard of conduct, not just as a role model,
but as the senior most administrator of a police department,
there would have been no scandal.

If Bill Moffett had been honestly accountable to
the student standard of conduct, not just as a role model,
but as the senior most administrator of APS finances,
there would not now be a scandal.

If Beth Everitt had been honestly accountable to
the student standard of conduct, not just as a role model,
but as the senior most administrative officer of the APS,
the leadership of the APS would not be good ol' boys
who suffer no accountability to any standard of conduct at all
not even the law.

If Paula Maes, the President of the Character Counts! Leadership Council were honestly accountable to the Pillars of Character Counts!; the student standard of conduct;

she and her husband's law firm; Modrall

wouldn't be making millions of dollars off taxpayers
who think that they are taxing themselves to
educate their children;

and not to buy exception to the law
for a bunch of good ol' boys who run the APS.

It isn't just about being accountable as a role model.

It is about being honestly accountable to
any meaningful standards of competence and conduct

at all.


If they were actually and honestly accountable to
any meaningful standards of competence; at all,

department after department in the APS would not be
turning up in chaos.


Good ol' boys are accountable only to other good ol' boys, and
not very damn often. Clearly, not often enough.

Hardly ever really.

OK, never. really.


The exceptions come when large numbers of people
storm the castle and throw them out.



Figure me;
if about a few hundred people were willing
to show up at a board meeting and demand
that;

  • the senior most administrative public servant in the APS; Winston Brooks
  • the senior most administrative steward of a billion tax dollars a year; Winston Brooks
  • the senior most administrative role model of the student standard of conduct; Winston Brooks
  • hold himself personally accountable to the student standard of conduct
  • by a system powerful enough to hold him accountable even against his will
  • for eight measly hours a day

I think it just might be honestly covered by the "news";
Thomas Lang, Mary Lynn Roper, and Michelle Donaldson.


And then, at the next board meeting there would be
a couple of thousand of the great unwashed
armed with nothing but their courage and their torches
and their pitchforks;

there to demand that Winston Brooks declare, on the record;
  • the particular standards of conduct and competence; to which he will be held accountable; and
  • the system by which he will be held accountable to those standards.

Or, there will be another and larger torches and pitchforks
demonstration;


... and so on.

Can a whore monger be good governor?

A man who was regarded by some as a good governor,
recently resigned because in his private life
he also frequented prostitutes.


How does what a public servant does in their private life
have anything to do the eight hours a day that they are
public servants?

Some would argue; you can't trust a whore monger. wikilink

I would ask,
Why do think that you can trust any public servant?
More importantly, why should you have to?

Because there are things that they do in secret.

Why?

What do they need to do in secret?
The worst thing any public servant can do,
is anything they have to do in secret.

On top of that, were public service an institution where
there are meaningful standards, and adequate, transparent
accountability
we wouldn't have to trust them to do their
jobs honestly and well. They would have no choice but
to do their jobs honestly and well.

Accountability is fatal to incompetence and corruption.

If there were honest accountability to meaningful standards
for public servants within their public service;

there would be no need to trust anybody.

Paula Maes
and the leadership of the APS would that you
"trust" them with a billion tax dollars and 89,000 of our kids;
in lieu of meaningful standards of competence and conduct.


For me,
I'd rather; honest accountability to meaningful standards

than "trust" any day.




It's only for eight measly hours a day.

The "Pillars of Character Counts!" mean Jack Schitt to Pete Domenici

and Michael Josephson, and Marty Chavez, apparently.

About as much as they mean to Paula Maes,

President of the Character Counts Leadership Council

a group of prominent Albuquerqueans
whose names must remain secret
for reasons which are secret.
The Pillars of Character Counts also mean jackshit wikilink

to;

Marty Esquivel

Delores Griego

Robert Lucero

Gordon Rowe

Mary Lee Martin

Berna Facio

Winston Brooks

Thomas J Lang

Mary Lynn Roper

Michelle Donaldson




and apparently
to everyone who reads this,
could do something
and does not.

The third grader math of Role Modeling

A

(Paula Maes obligations
as APS' senior most role model
of the student standard of conduct;
the Pillars of Character Counts.)

MINUS

B

(All of the obligations that Paula Maes
abandoned,
when she deliberately excepted herself
and the rest of the good ol' boys from
accountability to the student standard of conduct;
the Pillars of Character Counts!)

EQUALS
___________________________________



ZERO
role modeling of the student standard of conduct;
the Pillars of Character Counts
by the senior most role models in the leadership
of the Albuquerque Public Schools.



do the math

please

soon






Still unknown, post deadline,
Winston Brooks' solution to the problem of
A - B = ____

APS auditing going on, on the sly?

It would appear that the leadership of the APS
is actually doing some impartial auditing.

Most recently the results of an audit of the APS
accounting department were briefly mentioned
in the local news.

Last night on KRQE, I thought I heard a reference
to three current audits, accounting,
human resources
, and one other.

Long story short, I can't remember what was said
accurately enough to quote the story.

So I went looking for APS audit results on the
internet; and found nothing;
not even on APS' own website.

There are a couple of problems with that.

In the first place, audit results are a public record.
And neither I, nor any other stakeholder, should have to
sue APS/Modrall to look at them.

If taxpayers were getting anything but shined on
by Monica Armenta and the million dollar a year
APS Communications Department;

the results of every audit every done on the APS
would be communicated to stakeholders;
readily and easily accessible on the APS website.

It is clear that;
Monica Armenta was not hired to communicate
audit results with stakeholders.

And now, my far more sinister suspicions;

The leadership of the APS is actually doing some
impartial auditing, which is a good thing, but;

they are doing it in the form of several departmental
audits;

each of which will be "released" to the public,
and relatively one at a time, to minimize the impact that
all of them together would create.

Paula Maes'
cronies in the news will present
just enough information to appear legitimate,
and then let the issue die a quiet death,
at the end of one news cycle, unnoticed.

It appears that they do have an interest in fixing
some issues.

But the good ol' boys haven't changed their stripes.

They will fix them in secret,
so no one knows how bad the problems were,
the individuals "responsible" for the problem will not
be admonished, and nothing changes enough to
make any difference in APS' over all levels of
incompetence and corruption.

Good ol' boys may some fix problems; secretly.
But they do not fix other good ol' boys; secretly.

APS stakeholders deserve better than band-aids on the
problems that good ol' boys knowingly permit,
or negligently allow.

We deserve fixes that address the issues that created
the issues; we deserve more than good ol boys will ever
provide.

Trust that wo/man in nothing;
who does not take follow up questions,
on the record.

Trust that wo/man in even less;
who does not take questions at all,
on, or off the record.

And plan to go the the next regular meeting of the board
Wednesday next.