Winter and the Journal throw Brooks under the bus

Journal education (?) reporter Jon Swedien comes this morning, link, with an investigation and report on the "drama" in the leadership of the APS.

Some of what Swedien reports will come as news to Journal readers; they will not have read about it in the Journal before.  Which is the point.  A simple comparison of the truth they now tell, and the truth they didn't tell points to incompetence or corruption; they couldn't investigate and report, or they wouldn't investigate and report.

The Journal never before investigated and reported on the Winston Brooks administration inside the  most heavily fortified, guarded and electronically surveilled space in the entire APS, the castle keep at 6400 Uptown Blvd.













For the last few years, the APS school board was evaluating Winston Brooks on an annual basis.  Every year they came out of a process in secret, and announced that Winston Brooks was doing a wonderful job, and that they were extending his golden parachute to three quarters of a million dollars.

Now we read the truth, that Winston Brooks was not such a great superintendent after all.  Winston Brooks was not such a great superintendent, and the Journal didn't investigate and report on the problem in time to do anything about it; the democracy was never informed.

The Journal, Kent Walz, whomever, and the news directors, and whomever in the establishment's press cannot be trusted to inform the democracy, regarding the wielding of public power and the spending of public resources by the leadership of the APS.

I submit as proof in facts;

• In February 2007, the Journal exposed, link, public corruption and incompetence in the leadership of APS' publicly funded private police force.  State and federal felonies were committed.  Senior APS administrators were involved.

• A number of investigations were done.  Not one of them was done by any agency not on APS' payroll.  All investigations of even felony criminal misconduct of senior APS administrators and school board members are done internally - the self-investigate their own misconduct.

• Evidence and testimony of felony criminal misconduct involving senior APS administrators has never been turned over to the DA for prosecution.  As old as the original scandal is, the cover up is as new as today.

The establishment's press knows and won't do anything about it.  The only one who ever offered any justification at all, pointed out that the corruption occurred seven years ago.  Yeah and but, the cover up of the lack of consequences for politicians and public servants who squandered the public trust and treasure, is still going on today.

Dr. Brad Winter is in a unique position to answer questions about corruption and incompetence in the APS Police force leadership.  He had immediate oversight over them during most times relevant.

Brad Winter has the authority to tell the truth now.

He could if he wanted, release ethically redacted public records; findings of investigations into allegations of felony criminal misconduct involving senior APS administrators.

Instead, his authority authorizes lawyers to spend money that could hire a teacher, trying to litigate some exception to the law.

Just how moot is, whether it might actually be "legal" to hide his record, is manifest in Winter's refusal to explain "why" he needs to hide an ethically redacted public record of his public service.

The law allows him to hide his record;
it does not require him to hide his record.

Why does he need to hide his record except that
it might embarrass, shame or indict him and others
in the leadership of the APS?

Dr. Brad Winter is in a unique position to inform interest and stakeholders about APS' spending on the administrative digs at 6400 Uptown Blvd.

Auditors found senior administrators spending up to $50K at a whack
 on goodies for 6400 Uptown "without involving purchasing".

That accounting is necessary, because at the time huge amounts of money were being spent, auditors had found; inadequate standards, inadequate accountability to inadequate standards and inadequate record keeping.  Likely, millions of dollars have gone missing.

If so, they went missing on Brad Winter's watch; he was our oversight.

As interim Supt, Winter has the authority to produce a candid, forthright and honest accounting of spending at 6400 Uptown.  The accounting is absolutely relevant in the upcoming elections and the hiring of another superintendent.  The establishment's press will not press for its production.

The Journal will continue to help APS polish its apple,
Marty Esquivel's name will be dropped where ever they can,
and Brad Winter will never have to respond candidly, forthrightly and honestly to at least two legitimate questions;

• Assuming the law actually allows you to hide ethically redacted public records of investigations of allegations of felony criminal misconduct involving senior APS administrators, why do you want to? and

• Why will you not produce a candid, forthright and honest accounting of spending at 6400 Uptown Blvd, from the time APS promised taxpayers they would save money by buying the twins, until today?

Update; Hell, let's make it three questions and get it over with;

• Why will you not explain to students in words they can understand, 

why are students apparently expected to hold themselves
honestly accountable to higher standards of conduct
than the law, and their senior-most administrative role model apparently is not?

Those questions can be asked from the speakers' podium during the public forum during the school board meeting Wednesday afternoon.

Those questions are prohibited under the Marty Esquivel / Modrall rules of etiquette, but they can be asked anyway.

Worst case scenario, some board member or administrator will tell their
Praetorian Guard to deprive you of your liberty; your Constitutionally
protected human rights to free speech, to freely assemble and
to petition your government, and they will.

photos Mark Bralley