"Blame voters" for APS maintenance issues

The APS is experiencing some maintenance issues; they can't get swamp coolers running in time to cool classrooms before school starts.

They are building brand new buildings while they cannot even maintain the buildings they already have.

Some who wrote letters to the Journal editors this morning, argue that the maintenance issues are the result, not of poor management, but rather of voter's lack of financial support.  Nonsense.

The funds that are being managed so badly in this case, are called operational funds.  Capital funds are used to build buildings; operational funds are used to maintain them.  Operational funds are used for other things as well.

One of the things the leadership of the APS chooses to spend money on, beside maintaining swamp coolers, is cost-is-no-object legal defenses for school board members and senior administrators.

Is it a bad voter then, who argues; I don't want to give another dime to people who cannot be trusted to spend that dime in the interests of students?

There is no way to get the attention of the leadership of the APS except to cut off their money.  It's the only thing that has ever worked and the only thing that ever will.

There is an ethics, standards and accountability crisis in the leadership of the APS.

Were there not, someone in the leadership could and would complete this declaration;
There is not and ethics, standards and accountability crisis in the leadership of the APS.  It is not possible because; ...

The answer; ... there are standards and accountability in place that make corruption and incompetence impossible to hide.  The leadership of the APS cannot offer that answer.

There is an ethics, standards and accountability crisis in the leadership of the APS because the leadership of the APS does not have ethics and standards that are high enough to protect the public interests in the public schools, and or, the leadership of the APS is not actually, honest to God accountable to those ethics and standards.

1. The APS Board of Education has a Code of Ethics.  By their own free admission, it is utterly unenforceable.  
2. The New Mexico School Boards Association has a Code of Ethics to which the APS board claims accountability.  The NM SBA admits to no process under which a complaint can be filed.
3. APS unlimited spending on litigation and legal weaselry affords school board members and senior administrators an opportunity to admit "no guilt" in settlements over their guilt.  They are arguably unaccountable even to the law; the lowest standards of conduct acceptable to civilized human beings.
   
   And so on ...

And it's a "bad voter" who is unwilling to financially underwrite more of the same?

Before the leadership of the APS is given stewardship over another dime, they must first prove that they are actually, honestly accountable to high enough standards of conduct and competence within their public service.  There must be an independent audit of executive and administrative standards and accountability in the leadership of the APS.  The results must be made public.

No audit;
No new taxes.

Good voter.