"APS" says "no one has raised any concerns about Maestas serving on the audit committee."

APS School Board Vice President and Audit Committee Chairperson Analee Maestas is apparently guilty of embezzlement, link.  So far, the evidence seems clear, compelling and overwhelming of her defense.

Coincidentally, as the chairperson of the board's Audit Committee, she heads their investigation into the misappropriation of funds by a PTA somewhere, link.

It seems inappropriate.

Does her personal familiarity with embezzlement make her more qualified to lead the committee, or less qualified?

If the allegations are true, Maestas doesn't even hold her seat legitimately; she has forfeited her right to serve on the board.  Why she would want to prolong the process any longer than necessary is unclear.  Except that maybe she thinks she's going to get away with it.

She would not be the first school board member to take advantage of the situation;

• standards too low and 

• accountability too easily escaped

to compel her to do otherwise.

If she is somehow able to inject APS lawyers, litigation and legal weaselry into the mix, she could do like Marty Esquivel did, prolong the process until she's no longer in office.

Maestas and the board knowingly permitted or negligently allowed Esquivel to burn through $863K in a non-viable defense of his ego; waiting to get out of office before going to trial.

Will she expect the board to underwrite for her as well, another cost-is-no-object legal defense?

The meetings where that decision will be made, will be held in secret, without recording, without real oversight, and with an unlimited budget.

According to KRQE, link, "someone" at APS told their reporter;

"At this point, ... no one has raised any concerns 
about (Maestas) serving on the audit committee."

Seriously? Where would anyone raise such a concern?  With whom?  And, why would anyone have to have to raise such a concern in the first place?

Are "raised concerns" the only trigger for holding themselves accountable for their conduct and competence?

Anything and everything is OK as long as enough concerns have not yet been raised?

What that would mean is;

for as long as they and their friends in the media
can hide the ethics, standards and accountability crisis
in the leadership of the APS, 

it's OK for the board  and their media cronies to ignore it.




photos Mark Bralley