It comes as no surprise that APS will continue to funnel untold and untolled numbers of operational dollars to the Modrall law firm; they have "won", link (item 10), no small amount of business from the APS.
Operational dollars are the ones that could be spent in classrooms if they weren't being spent in litigation.
When school board enforcer and now Defendant Marty Esquivel was running for the board for the first time, he told me he knew of Modrall and their tendency to drive their fees up through inordinately long litigation ending in settlements. Election can't have changed his evaluation of them and the way they litigate; only his complacency about, or his complicity in, allowing it to continue.
APS is largely self insuring. For the big stuff, they have coverage from United Educators. UE recently raised APS' premium, more operational dollars, in order to cover APS' inordinately high costs for litigation.
If you look at the record, you will find a record of cost is no object litigation in the interests of administrators and board members seeking exception to the law.
If you ask to see the record and they won't show it to you, you'll have to ask yourself, why not?
I asked once for, as few sheets of paper as possible, to determine how many tax dollars have flowed through APS to the Modrall. APS' answer;
that will be tens of thousands of sheets of paper that we will be happy to sell you for $.50 a page - up front.At the time of that request, the president of Modrall was married to the president of the school board Paula Maes. For years and years and years, Modrall made a living off taxpayers and ignored monumental conflicts of interest.
The problem with Modrall, and I suppose with any other law firm the district hires, is an unlimited budget to spend not in furthering the public interests, but in excepting APS senior administrators and board members from accountability to the law.
One could argue that people are entitled the best defense money can buy. People are, public servants are not. The idea that vast amounts of scarce operational resources are being spent to protect politicians and public servants from honest accountability for their public incompetence and public corruption is as indefensible as it is ridiculous.
photo Mark Bralley
4 comments:
Submit a formal IPRA and ask for the monthly monthly statements submitted by Modrall for payment. They are sent by email in pdf format. Send the IPRA request by email. IPRA requires APD to respond by email. Ask for the pdfs of the statements to be emailed. They will have to email them to you. No charge.
You can also ask for the contract with Modrall and APS where it should have the hourly rate allowed. And you can ask for yearly payments to Modrall and have them broken down by case (Doe v APS) and risk management number. Mr Esquivel is on the board of the Foundation of Open Government and is giving a lecture on IPRA and it might be worth your time. The FOG website is www.nmfog.org and the details,
When
Thursday May 16, 2013 from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM MDT
Where
Albuquerque Publishing Company
7777 Jefferson NE Albuquerque
Albuquerque, NM 87109
The trouble with IPRA is, there are no penalties for pols and public servants who disregard its requirements. All fines are paid by taxpayers and there is no jail time provided.
It would cost $199 to see Esquivel perform; about $197 more that it would be worth.
Oh, I am sure that Mr Esquivel and FOG would be amenable to allow members of the public observe. They could use the good will points and it doesn't hurt to ask. How else do you catch him talking out of both sides of his mouth?
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