Journal 2013 APS School Board Candidates Questionnaire

The Journal has prepared a questionnaire author(s) unknown, link, and submitted it to candidates for their responses.  The questionnaire fulfills in part, their obligations to voters in the upcoming school board, bond issue and mill levy elections.

Their question #5;

Please give your evaluation of Superintendent Winston Brooks’ performance.

All the candidates responded.

I invite you to judge for yourself whether the question is legitimate, and their response is acceptable.  In particular I invite you to look for candor, forthrightness and honesty.

I use the phrase candid, forthright and honest deliberately because it comes directly from the standards of conduct the school board has established and enforces upon students; the standards of conduct for which school board members are the very most senior role models; whether they like it or not, whether they admit it or not, whether they restore the role modeling clause to their own standards of conduct or not.   A role modeling clause reads;

In no case shall the standards of conduct for adults
be lower than the standards of conduct for students.

Board members have three jobs on an annual basis; one of them is to evaluate the superintendent's conduct and competence.  It is their responsibility to hold the superintendent accountable, should their evaluation reveal shortcomings in either.

Judge for yourself then, which of these candidates will rigorously evaluate APS Supt Winston Brooks performance every year, and then hold him honestly accountable to meaningful standards of conduct and competence?

Please give your evaluation of Winston Brooks' performance.

In District 3:
Candido Arturo Archuleta Jr. wrote;

Increasing personal pension benefits while educators and staff have not had increases in four years, plus requesting a contract extension prior to election of new board demonstrates a lack of concern for personnel and community. 

Leah E. Persons wrote;

Winston Brooks manages one of the largest districts in the country. He has political savvy. The community is looking for better results. As a board member, I will work with the superintendent and the board to improve results. 

Lorenzo L. Garcia (incumbent) wrote;

Superintendent does very well in some areas, must continue to grow in others. He does well nationally. I’d like to see him building an organizational culture that creates conditions where excellent outcomes are more likely.

In District 5
Steven Michael Quezada wrote;

I am interested in learning more about his vision for reforming education so we improve student performance, keep classrooms small, and fairly compensate teachers and educational assistants.

In District 6
Donald Duran wrote;

As a former superintendent, I would actively support a transparent and public review of the performance measures set by the board. I do not have sufficient information how the board arrived at the performance measures or how those measures were evaluated. I look forward to working with the new board as we evaluate his performance. 

Paula Maes wrote;

I was president of the board when Superintendent Brooks was hired. I have worked with a number of superintendents during my tenure on the board, and no other person has been able to bring the credibility and progress APS has seen in the past five years. The APS I was elected to 12 years ago as a board member is not the APS I am asking to re-elected to for another four years. 

Angela L. Gonzales wrote;

He has always been a champion for Albuquerque students. He may not make the popular decision, but he is fair. He has done a good job working with the board. It is a tough job. 

David Robbins wrote;

Two on a five-point scale. APS has built good relationships with the city, UNM, CNM and the business community. I continue to seek greater accountability, openness, and listening to all points of view. 

In District 7
Larry Langley wrote;

Superintendent Brooks performance based on overall student performance, community engagement, APS personnel issues, and strong opposition of New Mexico Private Sector Business Community public policy issues has been dismal and disappointing. 

David Peercy (incumbent) wrote;

Very good: exceptional job with community/business relations. Improved graduation rate 52% to 64% over four years; improved proficiency in reading and math; achievement gap is flat, despite 1,000 lost positions. Finances exceptional despite $100 million operation budget reduction.

I take particular exception to Paula Maes' claim;

The APS I was elected to 12 years ago as a board member is not the APS I am asking to re-elected to for another four years.

I will grant that things have changed in one respect.

Twelve years ago, when there was still federal grant money to spend, Maes was the President of the Character Counts! Leadership Council.

Since, Paula Maes actually voted to remove the role modeling clause from her own standards of conduct, in order that she could not be held honestly accountable as a role model of accountability to the Pillars of Character Counts!.

Twelve years ago, the leadership of the APS was a good ol' boys club where there was no real accountability for administrative incompetence and corruption.  The same was true of the school board.

Today, Paula I'll never agree to any audit that individually identifies corrupt or incompetent administrators or board members Maes sits atop a leadership that is still individually unaccountable for their conduct or competence.

Which is not to say, no administrator has been held accountable ever.
Which is to say, there is no venue in the entire APS where a complaint against an administrator or board member is guaranteed due process.

If there were such a place, someone could point to it.
Someone would point to it.

If there were such a place, Winston Brooks and school board members wouldn't still be hiding the findings of the Caswell Report and at least two other investigations of felony criminal misconduct in the APS Police force leadership.

If there were such a place, APS COO Brad Winter would have produced a candid, forthright and honest accounting of spending at 6400 Uptown Blvd.

If there were such a place, School Board enforcer Marty Esquivel and APS Police force Chief Steve Tellez wouldn't be using their publicly funded private police force to ban dissidence at public forums during school board meetings.

There is no such place.

I take exception to David Peercy's claim;

Very good: exceptional job with community/business relations. Improved graduation rate 52% to 64% over four years; improved proficiency in reading and math; achievement gap is flat, despite 1,000 lost positions. Finances exceptional despite $100 million operation budget reduction.

Peercy likes to go on about his

"... special appointment as a senior scientist at Sandia National Laboratories, an accomplishment accorded fewer than 1 percent of all Sandia employees. This recognition by scientist colleagues is a highly regarded and humbling honor."

Assuming "senior scientist" means something more than a bunch nerds electing their own Prom King, Peercy must be a real scientist, and therefore appreciate the value of real "data" .  He has probably heard and maybe even used the old saw;  

In God we trust, all others must bring data.

Where is his data, his empirical evidence that Brooks has done an exceptional job with community relations?

If by that he means, Brooks done an exceptional job dedicating nearly a million dollars a year on a communications effort that creates a world class calendar and otherwise polishes APS' apple, perhaps he is right.  

If he means Winston Brooks has established open and honest two-way communications with the community members he serves, Peercy is an outright liar.

Point to the place where a citizen can ask Winston Brooks questions about the public interests and about his public service, and where Brooks will respond candidly, forthrightly and honestly.  And, where there are followup questions allowed as necessary.  You know - two-way communication.

There is no such place.

If you want to, you can link to APS' award winning website and archived footage of the November 4, 2009 Board Meeting, link, fast forward to 42:00 and watch me getting arrested for asking Winston Brooks (and other senior administrators and school board members) to answer questions about the public interests and their public service, The rest of the picture, link.

Of course Peercy thinks Brooks and their Praetorian Guard have done an "exceptional job" of keeping the community, me, from asking him, Peercy, to explain why his Policy Committee will not carry on an open and honest two-way communication with the community members they serve, about the APS Role Modeling Clause and their standards of conduct.

Credit where credit is due;

David Robbins wrote;

Two on a five-point scale. APS has built good relationships with the city, UNM, CNM and the business community. I continue to seek greater accountability, openness, and listening to all points of view.

Two on a five point scale; when asked to evaluate Brooks' performance, Robbins gave him an F.  

Robbins said Brooks has fallen short in providing transparent accountability in his administration of public resources and the people's power.  

In stark contrast to David Peercy's admiration, David Robbins thinks Brooks needs to listen more if he wants an exceptional relationship with the community.

Robbins voted against Brooks' contract extension.  He was joined in dissent by only one other Board Member, Analee Maestas.  

The rest of them voted to inflate Brooks' golden parachute 
to a full three quarters of a million dollars.




photos Mark Bralley