APS cuts "central" administration

APS revealed budget cuts yesterday. According to the district
website, link,

The Communications Office was cut nearly in half when
the three-member Web Team was moved to technology,
which is more consistent with their job duties.

Now APS Executive Director of Communications Monica Armenta
has "nearly half" as many employees to supervise; she makes
$107K to supervise Rigo Chavez who makes the better part of
$100k to supervise two other people.

I would bet those 3.5 people are sitting at the same desks and
doing the same job they were doing before their jobs were "cut".

This is Leslie Molecke. She
is APS' "web manager" The
photo was taken at the
Albuquerque Press Women's
Luncheon where her duty
apparently, was to serve as
Monica Armenta's entourage,
beaming admiration every
time Armenta opened her mouth.

The photo was taken after Molecke was vanished from
Armenta's staff. At the time the photograph was taken,
she was supposedly on the staff of the "Technology
Department", link. Note that there is no mention of
Technology Department staff serving as groupies for the
Executive Director of Communications at public events.

Unclear; how the 3.5 people who job it is to maintain a website,
fit into a department whose responsibilities include;

providing"... support for APS computer technology
including: computers, software, servers, printers and
scanners."

except to scam the NM PED, the Governor, and the public.

This is not budget cutting. It is smoke and mirrors.

It is dishonest.

There is only one way to look at "administration" and teaching;
those who work in classrooms with kids are teaching, those who
work at 6400 Uptown Blvd doing anything else at all, are not
teaching; they are part of the administration. To divide the
administration into "central" and "other" is nonsense.

Playing musical chairs; moving staff from "central" administration
to "other?" administration doesn't save a dime. It doesn't move
one cent from administration to the classroom. All it does is
take the spot light off Monica Armenta and the now half million
dollar a year effort to spin the truth rather than tell it.

The Journal of course, bought the district position hook, line and
sinker publishing the move as if it were real budget cutting.
They didn't notice apparently, or don't care to report on,
the "central" vs "other administration" scam.

"Skandera, along with Gov. Susana Martinez, has been
critical of APS and its spending on central administration,
particularly the communications department.
APS released a breakdown Wednesday of its proposed
cuts to central administrative departments. The budget
maintains four full-time communications staffers and
transfers the three-member website team from
communications into the technology department."

Why; except to deliberately mislead interest holders about
how much money the district spends on the administration of
communications with the community?




photo Mark Bralley