Thursday, November 14, 2013

Winston Brooks' golden probation

APS Supt Winston Brooks will return to work today in probationary status.  At least that is the impression the School Board would like to promote.

"If you EVER, EVER do anything like this again,
THERE WILL BE CONSEQUENCES!"
Brooks cannot be fired for misconduct unless that misconduct is prohibited by law.  The Board could send Brooks packing for something less than criminal misconduct, but it would cost taxpayers whatever he has left in a parachute worth $750K as recently as last January.

Winston Brooks has a golden parachute; the consequence of them dismissing him is that he gets the parachute.  He cannot be sitting on a parachute and be on "probation" at the same time.  Parachutes and probation are diametrically opposite concepts.

He cannot be fired for what he did.
He cannot be fired if he does the same thing again.
He cannot be fired for doing it again after that.
Unless he does something that is against the law; the lowest standards of conduct shared by civilized human beings; the standards of conduct that every single higher standard of conduct, is higher than, he cannot be fired.

Brooks is accountable only to the law.  He is not accountable to any standards of conduct higher than the law.  On top of that, he has an unlimited budget to finds ways litigate around the law if the law doesn't suit him.  He spends without oversight, except by subordinates.  Subordinate oversight is oxymoronic.

Because this kind of misconduct doesn't break the law, if the board tries to fire him, he will sue for his parachute.  The Board will give him a lot of money to avoid "having to spend even more money defending themselves" in court.

The board will do what the board always does with senior administrators running wild, buy them off and then send them packing.  Look at their record, one senior administrator after another leaving the district with boot-full of cash.

The Journal would probably report on it, probably add their
editorial harrumph, and then they and APS will "move along",
"in the interests of the children".




photo Mark Bralley 

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

CEDAR CREST, N.M. —Albuquerque Public Schools Superintendent Winston Brooks was taken to the hospital Wednesday morning by ambulance after deputies were called to his home.

Deputies were called to his home after 911 reports of a domestic dispute. The Bernalillo County Sheriff's Office said there were no signs of domestic violence, and changed the nature of the call to a rescue. No charges were filed.

Brooks told deputies he and his wife had been arguing all night because she accused him of having affairs with coworkers, according to the Bernalillo County Sheriff's Office. He said his wife also hated New Mexico and wanted to move back to Wichita, Kan.

The deputy on the scene said Brooks would go from normal to crying in the period of a few seconds. The deputy wrote,"(Brooks) appeared to be a man confused and in a weakened state."

His wife told authorities his blood sugar was high, he was on several medications and he'd been stressed lately due to recent media coverage. According to the BCSO report, she also said he was taking an antidepressant medication that caused him to "hallucinate or become paranoid" when mixed with his other medications.

Brooks was home Wednesday because he was serving a three-day suspension for making inappropriate comments about Education Secretary Hanna Skandera on Twitter last week.

Brooks sent the following statement to the media Friday:

“It's been a very stressful time for me and my family. Without going into great detail about my personal health, I will share that two days ago I sought emergency medical attention after experiencing an irregular heartbeat. When all was said and done I was given a clean bill of health and returned to work yesterday," Brooks said. “I want to thank the professionals at Presbyterian Hospital, my wife, family and friends for all the support the last few days. Thank you for your concern."

KOAT Action 7 News is following this story and will update it as soon as more information is available.

Anonymous said...

This is clearly an act of Domestic violence since both parties admitted they were pushing and the broken window is evidence of destruction of property. Maybe the county should pay for Winston Brooks golden parachute since their refusal to arrest is allowing to cash out for a million dollars. How is Monica going to spin this garbage?

Anonymous said...

Prediction: Monica will say, "It is a personal matter between Mr Brooks and his wife."

ched macquigg said...

Actually, I'm inclined to agree.

Anonymous said...

Domestic violence situations are different. If the victim says he was abused (and Brooks said he was pushed, shoved and his home was broken into) then the officer must arrest the offender. If the police did not arrest Mrs Brooks then people should wonder why she wasn't arrested. If police did not believe Brooks' allegations against his wife and his wife claims he is mentally unstable then people should wonder if he is fit to be superintendent. So, long and short of it, the matter is not personal.

Anonymous said...

Whinie Winnie will not change. He bullies his staff and leads by intimidation. He avoids difficult situations.
Winnie has NEVER been to difficult schools such as Whittier Elementary and only rarely to Rio Grande. This way he can -- and does -- claim he "never knew..." Yes some scores have risen. Well, when you are on the bottom there is only one way you can go. Let's not think Whnie Winnie had anything to do with it.