Thursday, March 12, 2009

APS Board Member David Peercy


David Peercy is the chairman
of APS' Policy Committee.
I have to confess right up front,
I don't like him.

I have tried on two occasions to
talk to him and have found him
arrogant, surly, combative,
narrow minded and downright rude.


The first time I talked to him, was before an APS School Board
candidate forum. I tried to lay out my thoughts on the APS
Student Standard of Conduct and his obligations as a senior
role model.

He accused me of "preaching" to him, and turned around and
walked away in the middle of the conversation.

The next time I had occasion to speak to him, was at the
last Policy Committee meeting. He had made an inadvertant
procedural error; Robert Lucero, had "called the question"
during a debate over a calendar change at Washington MS.

Sometimes, when bodies vote to call the question,
the vote to call the question is taken, and then
they forget to actually vote on the question
(the motion on the table).

Peercy took a vote on "calling the question", ending debate,
which passed, but then did not conduct a vote on the question
itself, which was whether or not to approve the calendar change.

When I tried to point out the error, he again became surly and
combative, so this time, I excused myself from our exchange,
and went about my business.

Griego, Robbins, Esquivel, Peercy, MacQuigg, Maes.

For the record, I have multiple independent verifications that
only one vote was taken, though two votes were needed.
I am told that my request to see draft minutes as proof,
will not be satisfied until the 10 days that "the law" allows,
have expired.

I could not care less, whether the calendar is changed, and
that isn't the point. The point is that, he has already made up
his mind on any issue that I will ever broach; he is against it.

Again, who cares? except that the next issue that comes up
before the Policy Committee is a motion to reinstate the
role modeling clause in the Employee Standards of Conduct.

I am convinced that Peercy is aware, or will be made aware,
that a request has been made to move this particular policy
committee meeting to the evening, rather than 7:30 am.

Most stakeholders, students, staff, and community members
cannot attend a 7:30 am meeting.

This particular meeting is arguably the most important meeting
that Peercy will ever chair, and I am concerned that he will
allow his personal bias and prejudices to affect the outcome.

I expect that he will ignore the request, simply because I made it.

From what I glean from what he has said, I expect that he
will try to gum up the discussion on rolemodeling by trying
to introduce semantic arguments about the "meaning" of
the Student Standard of Conduct.

I doubt that there is anyone in the entire APS who knows more
about what the Pillars of Character Counts! mean and require,
than I.

No brag, just fact. I have been studying the issue intently,
for more than a decade.

There is no ambiguity except that introduced by those who
have a need to lower the standard of conduct to which they
will be held accountable.

cc Peercy upon posting.


photos Mark Bralley


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