APS Audit Committee Meeting Thursday, January 22, 2009

The agenda read;

Presentation/Discussion/Action of Financial Statements
and the External Audit for Year Ending June 30, 2007

In short, I am concerned about some of the things I heard,
not the least of which is a $36M "accounting error" brought
about in no small part by a still inadequate accounting system.

An external auditor, whose name I do not know, asked with
incredulity;

You're still using Excel Spreadsheets?

I will post again, on the audit itself, but first I would like
to offer an apology to Board Member Marty Esquivel.

Mr. Esquivel had to point out to me, because I had missed
the significance,




that this particular meeting was the first Audit Committee Meeting including the presentation of an audit, that was open to the public.

This was the first time the public saw the sausage before it was
packaged for retail.

I remember now, the discussion about whether or not
the audit committee meetings would ever be open to the
public. I remember Robert Lucero arguing vehemently
to keep them secret, and now I remember Marty Esquivel
refusing to take no for an answer.

This open audit committee meeting, warts and all, would not
have happened except for Marty Esquivel's efforts.

Mr. Esquivel is also working on legislative changes in the
Governmental Conduct Act, which would bring school boards
like APS', under the purview of the Act. Oddly, there is on
the books, an exception to that law, for school boards.

Marty Esquivel and I have gone round and round on the idea
of administrative role modeling of the Student Standard of
Conduct. We will continue to go round and round until I am
satisfied that there are administrative role models of the
Student Standard of Conduct.

In the meantime, I will try my best, to not let that interfere with
my giving credit, where credit is due.

Yesterday was Marty Esquivel Day in the Martin DeLayo
room.


Kudos as well,
to Board Member Delores Griego, who

when the bean counters were arguing that a $36M accounting
error was relatively small potatoes, considering the overall
amount of capital assets,


argued on behalf of stakeholders, that;

$36,000,000.00 error
was not inconsequential at all.

Perhaps there is some hope for stakeholder interests before
the school board, after all.



photos Mark Bralley