Calling Paula Maes' bluff

During the hearing of the Citizens Advisory Council on Communication petition, School Board President Paul Maes told those who had come looking for two-way communication with the leadership of the APS, that what they were asking for is already in place;

• We have a service center that is manned completely for the community to answer any question, any concern,
• You can call this service center, ask him any question you want about APS.
• You said you wanted to have someplace where you could go and ask questions of administrators. We have that. We have a service center who is manned by a top administrator by the name of Toby Herrera. You can go to Toby Herrera with any question you want, anything you want and he'll get an answer for you.
• We do have a place for you to go. You just don't use it.
• You're duplicating services and not really looking at what we have. You haven't really looked at what APS has in place.

OK, I have two legitimate questions. I have asked them of Maes and the board on a number of occasions; so many in fact, they are now employing their publicly funded, private police force to prevent me from asking them again.

1. Why did the Board remove the role modeling clause from their own standards of conduct? and
2. What did Maes mean when she said, she would never agree to any audit that individually identified corrupt and incompetent administrators or board members?

According to Maes, all I ever had to do to get answers to those questions was to ask Toby Herrera.

Accordingly;

Mr. Herrera,

I have a couple of questions. I am fairly certain that it is pointless to ask them of you, but School Board President Paula Maes stated repeatedly during the last District and Community Relations Committee meeting, that this was the proper path.

In January 2005, the school board voted to remove the role modeling clause from their own code of conduct.

In no case shall the district standard for employees be less that that prescribed for the students as published annually in the district Student Behavior Handbook

1) I would like to know why Paula Maes voted to strike the accountability of adults as role models of the student standards of conduct; the Pillars of Character Counts!?

During a policy and instruction committee meeting on Aug 16, 2007, Paula Maes announced that she would never agree to any audit that individually identified corrupt and incompetent administrators.

2) I would like to know what Maes meant, and if she still feels the same way about protecting the identities of public servants who have betrayed the people's trust.

I am grateful for your time and attention

ched macquigg

photo Mark Bralley