David Peercy had a few questions at the Audit Committee meeting.

APS' Director of Internal Audit,
Margret Koshmider had just finished
relating SilentWhistle statistics to the
audit committee.


The statistics that she shared were
comparatively worthless, and there
were legitimate questions left unanswered.




Peercy's questions were legitimate.
For example;

given that 15 man hours are spent
on the average SilentWhistle
complaint, what is the gravity of
the allegations that are being
investigated?

Or, is SilentWhistle worth the
investment?

The problem is;

if the Audit Committee was actually doing the review and
approval of SilentWhistle complaints required by school
board policy, he would already know the answer to his question.
He would have known the answer because he would have
reviewed and approved of each and every SilentWhistle
complaint.

The reason he doesn't know anything about the average
SilentWhistle complaint is; there has not been a review and
approval of even a single complaint.

Not one.

The school board is the community's oversight over the
administration of the APS. If the board refuses to engage
in that oversight, the community is defenseless against
administrative corruption and incompetence.

They are now more than 150 complaints behind.

More than 150 complaints have been denied due process
in order that two complaints never see the light of day.

One complaint alleges that when
Winston Brooks refuses to hold himself honestly accountable
to the Pillars of Character Counts!,
that refusal constitutes ethical misconduct.

When that complaint was denied due process by
Director of Internal Audit, Margret Koshmider,
another complaint alleging ethical misconduct, was filed
against her as well.

Rather than afford these two complaints the review and
approval that they deserve, the Audit Committee has
decided to deny due process to all SilentWhistle complaints.

The only response to the legitimate question about the
prospects of due process for more that 150 SilentWhistle
complaints, is;

Although APS School Board Policy specifically and
expressly charges the Audit Committee with the
"review and approval" of SilentWhistle complaints,

the "law" doesn't. And,

the law "trumps" school board policy.

Or, "you can't make us."


Another little tidbit that came out in the meeting, was an
explanation of why each complaint takes so long to resolve.

The reason is, when an allegation is made, it is forwarded
to the administrator most responsible for having allowed
whatever misconduct, to take place in the first place.
It is forwarded to the administrator under whose supervision
the offensive conduct occurred.

And they are not getting back to Koshmider within the
allotted time. Apparently, she has to keep asking over and
over again.

Koshmider related a story about paperwork that was so long
overdue that she had to ask Brad Winter to intervene
personally.


Depend on Board member
Lorenzo Garcia to ask the
right questions.


He asked if there were penalties
attached to chronic tardiness
in the return of this paperwork;
for example,
letters of reprimand, etc.



The short answer was no.



These are after all, good ol' boys that we are talking about.



photos Mark Bralley