APS admits; no oversight over Esquivel defense

 For quite awhile, I've been writing that in the complaints I have filed, the defendants have been spending in their own defenses without limit and without oversight.  The allegation has been validated.

In the Journal this morning, link,
APS School Board President
Donald Duran admitted that
there has been no school board
oversight over spending in the
interests of former school board
member and Defendant in the
federal lawsuit, Marty Esquivel.

When asked about the opinion of the Chief United States District Court judge; that Esquivel's public participation policy was unconstitutional;

APS school board president Don Duran said he wasn’t too familiar with the case because it started before he joined the board ..."

"Isn't too familiar" with a case that has cost tax payers three quarters of a million dollars during his tenure?

• The litigation against Esquivel began in November, 2012.

• Duran joined the board in March, 2013.

• Duran was on the board for all but four months of the life of the federal complaint.

• School board policy requires that the board have lawyers who are representing school the district's interests to present case analyses of complaints against them.  The lawyers are expected to be candid, forthright and honest with the board in order that the board not end up spending a lot of tax dollars in litigation against the public interests.

If the board recorded their meetings in secret, they don't, there would be a record that Marty Esquivel's lawyers went to the board and told them this case was an historically expensive loser for the best interests of students.

In the alternative, there would be a record that there was no presentation; the board never provided oversight over the spending of nearly three quarters of a million dollars in an effort to remove Esquivel's name and reputation from the impending settlement

Since there is no record to examine, we'll have to take Dr Duran's word for it; the required "case analysis" presentation never took place; they just signed checks for hundreds and hundreds of thousands of dollars without examining why Esquivel was spending them and on what.


 



Journal readers remain in the dark.
The democracy remains uninformed.
Journal editor and Esquivel besty
Kent Walz is the reason why.




photos Mark Bralley