Wednesday, July 02, 2008

Winston Brooks is no fan of FOIA or IPRA

FOIA; Freedom of Information Act
IPRA; Inspection of Public Records Act

Citizen stakeholders have a right to know the truth; and
they have a right to see the public records of that truth.

I asked APS for the fewest sheets of paper possible, to paint
a candid, forthright, and honest picture of the relationship
between the Albuquerque Public Schools and the Modrall
Law Firm;
which is run by the husband of APS School Board
head honcha, Paula Maes.

I was told that I could have that record, at a minimum cost
of at least, $1,000.00.

When Winston Brooks, as the superintendent of the Wichita
public schools was asked for the public record that would
show the ratio of administrators to classroom teachers;
the reply was, those records exist,
and you can have them for $1,016,20. link

When asked, how many classrooms and portables are there...?
Winston Brooks offered to sell the truth for a mere $860.00
link

Winston Brooks
also owns the rule which prevents citizens
of Wichita from taking a picture of Wichita's equivalent of the
Uptown Administrative Retirement Complex,
at 6400 Uptown Blvd. link

In stark contrast, when a request for public records is filed
in Chicago's District 300, the request, and
all of the documents legitimately covered by the request,
are posted on the district's website within 2 days. Link

.. for everybody to see.

There is only one reason to hide the truth,
or to make the truth prohibitively expensive;
it is neither a good reason, nor an ethical reason.

It's not just about role modeling;
it is about honest accountability
to any standard of conduct at all.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh @#$#@, are we in trouble! Or maybe this is a wonderful opportunity in disguise. If he comes in too heavy handed, even more covert than we are used to, hopefully it will be the straw that brought the crowds with their torches and pitchforks, not only to the board meeting, but to the legislature, the media, and got the laws changed. The petitions to Vote No on the next bond election will meet with more favorable coverage if they feel our wrath.
Thanks for the info. I'm passing it on!

ched macquigg said...

There is no straw that will break this camel's back, I am afraid.

Consider that the poor beast has the entire weight of all of the corruption and incompetence in the entire APS upon its back already;

and has not missed a step.

Unknown said...

Hi, Ched -

As a resident of USD 259 (the Wichita district) I feel your pain! The irony is that I assisted in ousting (well, I was the spokesman for the group that ousted) Winston's predecessor, Larry Vaughn.

Just goes to show you that not every alternative to a bad idea is a good idea. I suspect that there is an unlimited supply of really horrible school bosses available, so we'll never run out of them.

- Chuck Kriel