APS postpones progress reports

On the agenda at the APS School Board meeting yesterday, two progress reports.

APS' highly paid Executive Director of Communications Monica Armenta was scheduled to defend her progress in reaching the third of the districts four goals;

Family and Community Involvement; APS will meaningfully engage families and enhance partnerships with the community to maximize student achievement.

Also on the agenda, the highly paid Chief of Police Steve Tellez.

He and APS' highly paid COO Brad Winter were scheduled to defend their progress in reaching the fourth goal;

provide a safe and supportive climate for learning and working that maximizes student achievement.

Tellez would also explain how his publicly funded, private police force needs stand alone certification (in order that they can resume investigating their own felony criminal misconduct).

He would not be there to answer any questions about evidence of felony criminal misconduct by senior APS administrators in the APS Police force, or about why that evidence still has not been surrendered to the District Attorney for prosecution.

Armenta would be there to spin APS' million dollar a year communications effort.

She would not be there to answer any questions about why there will be no place in the entire APS, where the people are allowed to "petition" board members , individually and collectively.  There will be no place where an interest holder can ask legitimate questions about the public interests and their public service, and where they have any intention to respond at all, much less candidly, forthrightly and honestly according to their expectations for students.

The people's right to a forum where questions can be asked, was defended by a representative of the Albuquerque Tea Party.  Judge David Walker (ret) introduced himself as the head of their education "action team".  Walker reiterated the interest in a Citizens Advisory Council on Communications.  The Council would help create a venue for open and honest communication between the leadership of the APS and the community members they serve.

School Board Vice President Kathy Korte was running the public forum.  She is the tip of the spear in the board's resistance to creating any venue where they might have to sit and take questions on their spending of power and resources that belong fundamentally to the people;  the CACoC in particular.

Korte could not bring herself to call Judge Walker by his title.  People who know the judge, call him judge out of respect.  She repeatedly acknowledged him only as "Mr".

As School Board Vice President, Korte is the second highest role model in the entire APS, of the Pillar of Respect.

... more or less.

The presentations were tabled at the request of APS Supt Winston Brooks who was still visibly upset over something that had happened earlier and which had board members publicly apologizing.

Nothing in the Journal.

APS still can't live stream their board meetings without buffering issues.  This despite taxpayers' investment of tens of thousands of dollars worth of state of the art equipment.



We don't know exactly how much it cost, because Winter is yet to produce a candid, forthright and honest accounting of spending at 6400 Uptown Blvd.




photos Mark Bralley