*Public Participation in School Board Meetings
When KOAT's reporter showed up at the school board meeting on Wednesday night, APS' Executive Director of Communications Monica Armenta took time away from calendar sales, crises management, and everything else she has to do, to tell KOAT's reporter where he had to set up his camera.
Armenta was, at the time, enforcing APS School Board Policy.
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| Backing Armenta once before, the current APS Chief of Police Steve Gallegos. photo ched macquigg |
In fact, APS Chief of Police Steve Gallegos was near enough to enforce the policy had he chosen to pay any attention.
Armenta thinks she has this authority, because School Board Member and Defendant Marty Esquivel just passed a new school board policy and procedural directive. They were cooked up by Esquivel and his Modrall lawyers; likely Art Melendres at taxpayer expense.
The policy and procedural directive have already drawn specific criticism from the NM FOG.
Their new policy and procedural directive reads in significant part;
Media Etiquette
Members of the media are welcome at public meetings of the Board of Education. Members of the media and media equipment shall be required to video and photograph from a designated media representative area of the room in which the Board of Education Meeting is being held. (emphasis added)
Media representatives shall cooperate with district staff regarding placement of equipment, photography and video requirements or be subject to removal from the meeting.(emphasis added)
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| **Auditors at the time the board room was built and furnished found the trifecta of public corruption and misappropriation of tax dollars; inadequate standards, inadequate accountability and, inadequate record keeping . |
The "designated area" in the Alice and Bruce King Educational Complex, is a small alcove next to the control booth where one can find the nearly one hundred thousand dollars worth of electronic goodies** that support APS coverage of school board meetings.
The equipment was purchased at a time when senior APS administrators were spending up to $50K on their signature and "... without involving purchasing... "
It is that spending, a candid, forthright and honest accounting of which is yet to be produced, that APS Supt Brad Winter steadfastly refuses to discuss.
The spending occurred on his watch,
under his immediate oversight; and
a bunch of it probably carries his signature.
In any case;
The "designated area" is a perfect place to put a camera if you want a shot up the middle of the room from the farthest point in the room. It is twice as far away as APS' cameras. It amounts to censorship pure and simple.
"Pure and simple" abrogation of Constitutionally protected human rights will not stop Marty Esquivel from paying Modrall lawyers as much as they need or would like, in order to forestall the inevitable conclusion of whichever court finally ends their violation the people's civil rights.
Esquivel will spend operational dollars in defense of his ego for as long as he is allowed.
Modrall will continue to suck on a large bore pipeline to unlimited operational funds; money taxpayers appropriated to educate nearly 90,000 of this community's sons and daughters, for as long as they are allowed.
Their combined efforts enjoy the tacit approval of the Journal and the rest of the APS "credentialed press". Hence, their combined failure to investigate and report upon the ethics, standards and accountability crisis in the leadership of the APS.
In any event,
the KOAT reporter set up his camera in a number of places in the room depending I suppose, on what he considered necessary. At one point he even walked right up the Kevlar lined dais they hide behind. The board used to come out from behind the dais to shake people's hands, now they do it behind cover.
At no time did I see Armenta take any action in response to KOAT's utterly justifiable but nevertheless blatant disregard for Esquivel's policy and procedural directive. Nor did anyone else.
The point is, KOAT gets away with ignoring Esquivel's PPSBM policy and procedural directive. If any of APS' "credentialed" press choose to ignore the policy and procedural directive; they will do so without consequence.
When (APS un-credentialed, but many timeWhite House credentialed) photojournalist Mark Bralley approached the dais, to ask a board member a legitimate question about the public interests and her public service and to record her response, School Board Member Kathy Korte attacked him - and I do mean attacked him, link.
If he, I, or any other member of the APS un-credentialed press try to walk up to the dais to take the same photograph, you can bet your ass there will be consequences. It is called disparate treatment. It is unconstitutional. It is illegal.
Note as well, that the reporter who approached the dais was there to record something that made APS look good. The leadership of the APS has different sets of rules for people who are praising them and people who dare to criticize them.
They have as well, different sets of rules for students and for their senior most executive and administrative role models; but that's a whole different issue.
End note;
my search for a link on KOAT's website to the footage taken by their reporter, was futile. As was sending to them, an email asking for a link.
When APS gets around to posting the record they live-streamed, viewers will see the reporter at the dais. (Or, as Winston Brooks used to call it; the deity)
photos Mark Bralley
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