APS press statement lacks, candor, forthrightness and honesty - not surprisingly

In a statement from APS' million dollar a year public relations department and released by their marketing manager, we find;

“The Albuquerque Public Schools has settled ongoing litigation with Charles MacQuigg who was removed from attending APS Board meetings based on disruptive behavior and not the content of his speech. Due to some adverse court rulings, continued costs of taking this matter to trial and the unavailability of certain witnesses, a difficult decision was made to settle the matter with a majority of the funds coming from insurance proceeds and not from APS operating funds.

MacQuigg will receive $480,000 for his attorney fees and $95,000 for alleged damages after a federal court mediation. APS attorneys’ fees were $288,000, which are counted toward the $350,000 deductible on its insurance policy. Therefore, APS will pay the remaining $62,000 of its insurance deductible toward the settlement, with the remainder of the settlement ($513,000) to be covered by the district’s insurance policy.

The APS Board welcomes input during the public forum of its board meetings to hear from its stakeholders. It welcomes all input but encourages individuals such as MacQuigg to conduct themselves respectfully during Board meetings.”

There are some specific issues;

• my supposed misconduct; A federal court judge watched the videos of my supposed misconduct and ruled in our favor.  There is no videotape, no audio tape, and not one photograph of me being any more disruptive than truth ever is when it is spoken to power.  They don't want to explain, defend, deny or even acknowledge their abandonment of their duties and responsibilities as the senior most role models of student standards of conduct.

• adverse rulings of the court - they were losing.  All they had was a non-viable defense of Marty Esquivel's ego and all the money in the world wasn't going to help.  They did by the way, have all the money in the world to spend in meetings in secret and without real oversight.

• "alleged damages" The damages stopped being alleged when they paid me $95K in compensation for them.

• The "unavailability of certain witnesses".  Who, Winston Brooks and Steven Tellez, both of whose reputations are in tatters?  They're still available and so are their sworn depositions.

• "the majority coming from insurance proceeds" Like the district (taxpayers) aren't going to pay for it in increased premiums.  Insurance companies are not in the business of underwriting million dollar defenses of board member egos.  APS (taxpayers) have already had their premiums raised as the result of inordinately expensive litigation engaged in by the district.

A more candid, forthright and honest statement would have read;

Former APS School Board 
Member Marty Esquivel, 
as the direct result of the 
abject lack of any real 
oversight over the money 
he was spending to avoid 
the personal embarrassment
of being convicted of 
violating my civil rights, 
wasted nearly a million dollars.

It doesn't make a rat's ass worth of difference out of whose pocket the money finally came.

They weren't Marty Esquivel's.




photo Mark Bralley