APS liable for $5M in fines, Robbins says; "We need to maybe start having consequences."

I have finally been given a recording of the Audit Committee meeting of February 16, 2011. During the meeting, it was pointed out that posters had been sent out to schools from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and from APS' Whistle blower program, but were not being posted.

It was revealed that only 20% of schools had hung the posters as required by law. The speaker, I believe to be APS Internal Audit Director Margret Koshmider, reported that the federal fine for failing to post the posters is $17K per school. She stated, if the feds audited compliance, APS could be on the hook for $5M in fines.

She went on to opine; "It is possible the persons in charge of those areas don't want them up." The people in charge don't want their subordinates to know how and where to file formal complaints over their incompetence or corruption.

Whistle blower complaints are down, she reported, in part because it has become increasingly difficult to find contact information to file a complaint. Koshmider said, people can find it, if they look really, really hard.


A telling point about David Robbin's personal character and competence came up inadvertently.

The committee was supposed to go into closed session to discuss the whistle blower complaint program. The law is very specific regarding what does and doesn't qualify for discussion in closed session. Robbins was prepared to discuss the program in secret though Koshmider freely admitted during open session that what she was going to present in secret did not qualify for exception under the Open Meetings Act. She said, "I was going to talk about this in closed session but there's really nothing that, other than questions, which would prohibit me from covering (this information) in open session."

She admitted that Robbin's planned executive session was unwarranted. That was my impression as well, link.

In a telling aside, Robbins reported the board's frustration that their decisions are not seeing administrative implementation; that deadline after deadline passes without compliance and without consequence for the administrators who fail to implement board policy.

It was at that point where Board Member David Robbins joked;

"We need to maybe start having consequences" for administrative incompetence and corruption.

Well Mr Robbins, the district's ongoing failure to hold administrators honestly accountable for their conduct and competence is hardly a laughing matter.

Robbins also admitted that the only time there are consequences for incompetence and corruption is when the incompetence and corruption are reported in the newspaper.

This aspect is particularly confounding since the Journal and the rest of the establishment media are part of a cover up of the most serious corruption in the APS; the felony criminal misconduct of APS senior administrators and the APS Police Department.

Robbin's Audit Committee has for years, denied whistle blowers due process, a final hearing, of their complaints against administrators and board members. Marty Esquivel is the new Audit Committee Chair and will undoubtedly continue to deny whistleblowers due process of their complaints.




photo Mark Bralley