Walz gives Korte 46 inches, and a headline

In the Journal this morning, link, an op-ed by the Journal's darling on the APS School Board, Kathy Korte.

Korte would like to blame APS' failure to educate half its students on bad teachers.

For the sake of argument, let's say the failure really can be blamed on a relative few bad teachers and no way to hold them accountable.

Korte and Walz would have readers believe that the current version of the Negotiated Agreement between teachers and the APS, makes it hard to fire bad teachers.

I've been hearing that for a third of a century.  The contract does not protect bad teachers,except from corrupt administrators who might want to fire them out of spite instead of for cause.   A recent audit found a "culture of fear of retribution and retaliation" against whistle-blowers and complainants.

Were it not for the contract, some bad teachers might have been fired sooner, but a lot of good teachers would have fallen victim to retaliation and retribution by administrators.

Walz could investigate and report upon that culture of fear of retaliation; does it still exist?  But he won't.

Just like he won't investigate and report upon the cover up of felony criminal misconduct by APS senior administrators.

Or upon the lack of due process for complaints filed against administrators and board members.

Walz could report that the leadership of the APS has rewritten school board policy to eliminate any accountability as role models of the student standards of conduct.  He could tell stakeholders that the entire leadership of the APS has abdicated as role models of standards of conduct that require actual and honest accountability to meaningful standards of conduct and competence.  But he won't.

Walz could report that Korte and her kronies are going to vote tonight, to rewrite school board policy in order to eliminate citizen advisory councils, in particular the Citizens Advisory Council on Communication.

But he won't.

Korte is a hypocrite.  It's time for her to put up or shut up.

Accountability starts at the top of an oligarchy, not at the bottom.  Unless of course the top of the oligarchy is trying shift the blame, in which case, the accountability begins at the bottom.

Either she points to the place where a complaint filed against her will see due process, or she stops whining about subordinates' lack of accountability.

Good leaders accept personal accountability,
great leaders demand it.  Character is taught by example.
Character is taught only by personal example.

If we expect students to hold themselves honestly accountable to meaningful standards of conduct and competence, if we want them to grow into adults who embrace character and courage and honor, somebody has to show them what it looks like.

Somebody like School Board President Paula Maes, who said she would "never agree to any audit that individually identifies" corrupt or incompetent administrators.

Somebody like School Board enforcer Marty Esquivel, who, along with their corrupt Chief of Police Steve Tellez, is enforcing an utterly unlawful restraining order to keep me from pointing to his corruption during public forums.



Somebody like Supt Winston Brooks, who along with his corrupt Chief of Police Steve Tellez, is hiding public records of felony criminal misconduct by APS senior administrators.







Somebody like School Board Member Lorenzo Garcia who admitted to the need to have hard conversations, and then voted last night to do away with citizen advisory councils where those conversations might take place.







Somebody like School Board Secretary Kathy Korte.




photos Mark Bralley