Journal needs to step up; and rather immediately.

Journal, link, comes this morning with more of the same on the latest brouhaha involving an APS superintendent.  Valentino, who will meet with the "media" but will not meet with the press, had the Journal print (t)his dodge;

“It’s unfortunate that a personnel issue has been forced into the headlines on these first days of school when our focus should be on our students,” he wrote.

and parry

“Though we’re a public entity, we must respect the legal and privacy rights of our employees, which limits the amount of information we can share with the media.”

Valentino is being disingenuous;

"we must respect the legal and privacy rights of our employees, which limits (sic) the amount of information we can share with the media.”

The "limits" on the amount of information they "can" share with stake and interest holders, are determined by judges and juries after APS has squandered hundreds of thousands of operational dollars on litigation and legal weaselry, finally have to cough up the records. Look at their record of IPRA complaints and the amount of money they spend hiding records.

The Caswell Report on felony criminal misconduct involving senior APS administrators (2007) is hidden from the "media", not because the law requires it, but because the law allows it.
Politicians and public servants are squandering our trust and treasure hiring lawyers to stretch the law to its breaking point and beyond.

All the Journal has to do to defend itself against allegations that it is part of a cover up of an ethics, standards and accountability crisis in the leadership of the APS, is to publish the truth; a candid, forthright and honest accounting of the ethics and standards that apply to board members and superintendents, and of the processes by which they can be held accountable.

School board members and superintendents are accountable to high enough standards of conduct and competence within their public service, or they are not. If they are not, and believe me they are not actually, honestly accountable to meaningful standards of conduct and competence, then that truth needs to be known and it is the Journal's responsibility to tell it.

If there are high enough standards, and if there is swift and certain accountability even for the most powerful, then that truth should be known as well.

School board meeting tomorrow at 5pm