APS' Rigo Chavez Subject of NMAGO Complaint

the following complaint has been filed with the office of the Attorney General of the State of New Mexico.

Complaint under the NMIPRA

On Monday, January 7, 2008, a request for public records was sent to Albuquerque Public Schools Custodian of Public Records, Rigo Chavez.

Mr. Chavez was asked for public records surrounding the relationship between the APS and the Modrall law firm.

Mr. Chavez, and the leadership of APS/Modrall, have not responded to the request by either the 3 or 15 day deadline.

I have attached a copy of the request. ...

Navajo Elementary School Victim of "Limited Budget"

According to an article by Zsombor Peter in the Journal (apparently unlinkable),

the reason that Navajo Elementary School, in the valley,
did not get funding to repair their campus,
while Georgia O'Keefe Elementary School, in the heights,
has plenty of funding to repair theirs, is;

"Construction on the school has been piecemeal because there was only a limited budget when the work began four years ago.", APS Master Capital Master Plan Director Kizito Wijenje.

In the same time period,
APS' "limited budget" allowed millions of dollars worth of upgrades on the Uptown Administrative Complex, including a fancy board room that cost taxpayers over a million dollars,

and whose very existence is yet to be justified
by even a single senior administrator or board member.



Do you suppose that reporter Zsombor Peter is frustrated that Tommy Lang and Kent Walz won't allow him to tell the truth about the squandering of the public trust and treasure at APS' Uptown Administrative Complex?

That, despite promises that the leadership of the APS was finally ready to tell the truth about spending at the UAC,

a candid, forthright, and honest accounting of spending at the UAC has still not been surrendered to public knowledge?

State Drops Case, Cover Up Complete

According to the Journal;

A licensure case against Albuquerque Public Schools administrator Elsy Fierro was dismissed Thursday.
Fierro, head of the Rio Grande cluster, faced suspension and/or revocation of her license after she ordered that a Rio Grande High senior's grade be changed last May over the objections of the teacher and principal.
The dismissal was ordered by Dorian Dodson, secretary of the Children, Youth and Families Department. Dodson was appointed to hear the case after Education Secretary Veronica Garcia recused herself.
Dodson, in a prepared statement, urged APS to address broader issues raised by the case "in a way that fairly, fully and openly responds to the public's concerns and restores public confidence."

APS will ignore the urging of course,
because they want to,

and because they can.

We need a "Do Not Re-elect" List

It will have the name of every state legislator.

Next to their name, will be their response,
or their manifest refusal to respond, to the following question, candidly forthrightly, honestly;

What did you do during the 2008 Legislature,
to provide honest and transparent accountability
to meaningful standards of conduct and competence
for public servants of the State of New Mexico?

Perhaps those who refuse to answer,
and those who's answers reek,
can then be held accountable by voters in November.


The Journal won't publish the list, I've asked them before,
the Trib too.

But I will;
over and over and over again;

I promise.


(I need the help of some computer savvy volunteer
to make a list easily accessible to legislators and voters.)

Journal Censors Diogenes

"Look who's blogging" no longer publishes links to D6

A clever and ballsy move by the state's most powerful publisher, Tommy Lang?

... or just plain pathetic?

NM PED Secretary Veronica Garcia Admits Accountability Issues

According to the Journal, link sub req, Mimi Stewart has a revolutionary new plan to fund education in NM more fairly.

But according to the article;

State Education Secretary Veronica García has expressed concern about throwing more money at districts without holding them accountable for how it's spent.

I say, if Veronica Garcia cannot guarantee accountability
for every dollar spent by her department,
any better than she guaranteed accountability for
Beth Everitt and the other senior administrators and board members who changed their crony's kid's grade,

it's time for a new Secretary of Education.

Every Tax Dollar That Has Ever Been Wasted; Ever

was wasted by a public servant who was corrupt, incompetent, or both.

Coincidentally,

public servants can not be held honestly accountable for
either their conduct or for their competence
as public servants.

Accountability is 100% fatal to both waste,

and to the corrupt and incompetent public servants
who create it.

Do you trust the current city administration?

is the title of a non-scientific poll being conducted at the
Eye on Albuquerque.

Currently, results are demonstrating that a full three quarters of respondents don't trust city government.

Marty Chavez et al, will remind us that the poll is unscientific.

But they will not conduct a scientific poll of their own; because the results would likely be the same.

Whether or not, Marty Chavez is trustworthy;

the fact that so few believe that he is,
is important.

Too important to simply ignore.


Too important for the good ole boys in the media
to simply ignore.

Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire.

How is it that APS Interim Superintendent Linda Sink
can be called a liar (link), without provoking the ire
of the most litigious client/lawfirms in New Mexico;
APS/Modrall?

Is it because the truth is a 100% defense against
allegations of libel and slander?

Journal Editor Denies the Allegation

laid out in a letter the editor;
that his music critic is incompetent. link

Which proves that the editor and the paper have the
wherewithal to deny (deniable) allegations.

Still, no denial yet, of the allegation that he and the Journal
are corrupt, and actively participating in a cover up of the
ethics and accountability scandal in the leadership of the APS.

Thomas Lang, Kent Walz, Phill Casaus
Sue Stephens, Thomas Pearl, and
Michelle Donaldson, all have the wherewithal
to deny the allegation that they are corrupt.

All they are missing are the balls it takes
to publish or broadcast,

a bald faced lie.

Extreme Makeovers Truck Stolen While in Albuquerque

..nuff said.

Whistleblower Protection and Retaliation

Danny Moon, Gil Lovato, AV Romero, Dave West,
Cynthia West, Tom Savage, Beth Everitt,
and every supervisor those people had
over the last several years, failed to do the right thing.

link

APS' Brad Winter; On the Spot, Whole World Watching

APS Senior Administrator and Albuquerque City Councilor
Brad Winter is in a bind.

Whether through carelessness, inattention, or
honest to God moral courage;

Brad Winter has promised to deliver a candid, forthright
and honest accounting of the spending at 6400 Uptown Blvd.


And it will be, or it won't be.

And whether it is; candid, forthright, and honest;
or not,

will be immediately obvious to anyone who cares to read his report.

His honor is on the line.

And his membership in the good ole boys club in the leadership of the APS.

And his membership in the privileged class in Albuquerque.

They are going to be really pissed if he tells the truth.

He has a lot to loose. But when asked to tell the truth
about spending on the Uptown Administrative Complex,
he said yes; candid, forthright, ... honest.


No APS administrator has ever done that.


Only one board member has ever come close;

with an aborted plan for an honest and impartial
accountability audit of the administration of the APS.

It is not Paula Maes and APS/Modrall that needs to be beaten.

A reader wondered that District Attorney Kari Brandenburg
is afraid of taking on APS/Modrall
over public corruption and criminal conspiracy allegations.

If APS/Modrall could defend themselves with their record,
their record would not be a secret that needs to be defended by the legal weaselry of a team of Modrall lawyers.

The case is a slam dunk.
She cannot loose it except deliberately.
As has been done with the state's gradegate case.

APS/Modrall can be beaten; but only once they have been
stripped of the cloak of invisibility provided by
the good ole boys who call the shots for the media.

Kari Brandenburg isn't afraid of Modrall,
she's afraid of the backstabbing by the media.


Tommy Lang is the one who needs to be beaten.

He, and Phill Casaus, and Kent Walz, and every other
Albuquerque "news"person keeping the secret
from public knowledge, and from the public support
for whomever finally takes on the APS/Modrall.

APS/Modrall is indomitable, but only in secret.
They can run circles around Judges like Valerie Huling,
and others undoubtedly; but only for so long as the
public cannot be galvanized around their corruption.

If Michelle Donaldson of KRQE
or Sue Stephens of KOAT or Thomas Pearl of KOB
or somebody in the broadcast news media run by
Paula Maes, School Board President,
President and CEO of the NM Broadcasters Association,
and wife of the President of the Modrall;

finally sics one of their investigative reporters on
the scandal in the leadership of the APS;

The best Modrall is going to be able to do at that point
is to keep most them out of prison.


The APS administrators for instance,
who commanded the fraud of millions of tax dollars
at the APS Charter Vocational High School.

And the APS administrators who covered it all up.

Monica Armenta, APS Executive Director Of Communications, Might.

It is a perfect opportunity for the most highly paid communications specialist in the entire APS,
to actually communicate with the great unwashed.

The Board, meeting out of town, had an agenda.

A. Strategic Planning - Board of Education Goal 3 (Discussion / Action)
Increase efficiency of all communication processes between the Board of Education and all stakeholders.

link

If ever there was a golden opportunity for the golden girl,
Monica Armenta, this is it.

Ms Armenta,

Tell us please, about the leadership's plan
to communicate efficiently with all stakeholders.

In particular, I am anxious to learn whether or not
the new plan includes the words;

"candid, forthright, and honest".

APS Chief Ray Schultz' Double Standard

Chief Ray Schultz seems pretty upset that
a police department candidate forged a note
in order to get into the police academy.

"Police Chief Ray Schultz said John Valdez probably would have been fired had he not resigned."
according to the Journal link sub req.

On one level you can appreciate that dishonesty
is dishonesty. period

On another level, you can appreciate that
there is one hell of a lot of difference between lying
to put food on your table;

and lying to mislead the community about
the real strength of the police force, and
accident statistics and red light cameras.

One man lost his job,
and Ray Schultz and Kari Brandenburg are ready
to ream him a new one.


Chief Schultz on the other hand,

is one of the good ole boys.

District Attorney Kari Brandenburg; "This is a question of public trust ... being abused."

According to an article in the Journal. link sub req


This in explanation of her intention bring the weight of her office to bear in criminally prosecuting some poor schlub, and his wife, who forged a note from his doctor so that he could serve in the APD.

Still nothing from her on the "... question of public trust ... being abused," by the leadership of the APS and Darren White using public resources to harass and intimidate
whistle blowers (and guarantee the suitability of candidates for girlfriend to the Deputy Superintendent of the APS).

She is still buried under requests for cookie recipes, I guess. link

Either that, or

... she herself, is abusing the public trust.

and in a manner which poses a far greater threat to the community than a forged note from a doctor to get a job.

APS Superintendent Linda Sink Forgoes Apology

APS Supt. Linda Sink will not demand an apology.

Ms Sink is accused of lying to APS stakeholders. link

Were I her, and I were called a liar,
I would demand an apology.

Unless of course I was actually lying,
in which case I would keep my mouth shut.

Marty Chavez, "Founding father of Character Counts"
is not demanding an apology for being called
a fair weather friend of Character Counts, and a coward
who lacks the courage to stand up for what he believes in.

Darren White is not demanding an apology for being accused of hiding evidence of criminal misconduct by APS leadership in the criminal misuse of his computers.

Kari Brandenburg is not demanding an apology
for allegations that she is part of a cover up of
criminal misconduct by the leadership of the APS
and Darren White's sheriff's office.

And then there are the moguls of local news;
Thomas Lang, Kent Walz, Phill Casaus, Sue Stephens,
Thomas Pearl, and Michelle Donaldson.

They have been accused of covering up an ethics
and accountability scandal in the leadership of the APS
the Bernalillo County Sheriff's Office, and the office
of the District Attorney.

The have not demanded an apology either;
and for the very same reason.


It is hard to demand that someone apologize
for telling the truth.

Blow by Blow, Criminal Misconduct, APS, BCSO

The victim of an illegal background check and more
for filing a complaint against APS Administrator,
one Danny Moon, et al,

lays it out for you to read.

Link

The Hardest Part of Standing Up for What You Believe In

comes when
you have to stand up for what you believe in;
when you make some sacrifice in behalf of a principle.

Until then, you are only talking about
standing up for what you believe in.

The hardest part of standing up for what you believe in, alone,

is the wondering why?

Loyalty Above All Else; Except Honor

a diametrically opposite concept to a good ol' boys club.

Should the Legislature Give APS Any Money At All?

The leadership of the APS is in Santa Fe looking for a billion dollars or so, to play with next year.

If you were a legislator, would you give it to them;

knowing that the stewards of that billion dollars or so,

are not honestly accountable to even a single meaningful
standard of conduct or competence; and

that over the period of the last two years,

they have deliberately and methodically excepted themselves from every single meaningful standard of conduct that applies to public servants and educators; and

if you knew that the Council of the Great City Schools
wrote that APS administrative evaluations are
subjective and unrelated to promotion and step placement.

And that the leadership of the APS is a good ole boys club;

and they are accountable to no one except each other?


Or would you say,

before you get another dime of taxpayers' money,
there will be a full scale forensic accountability audit
of the administration of public power and resources
by the leadership of the APS?

Why won't state legislators protect the public interests
in the APS?

Is it because the legislature is a good ole boys club too;

and because there is reciprocity* between clubs
and between club members from different clubs?

Darren White's BCSO club, Kari Brandenburg's DA's club;
Tommy Lang's Publishers club, APS leadership,
Character Counts Leadership Council,
the rest of the media,
...


*A mutual or cooperative interchange of favors or privileges,
especially the exchange of rights or privileges between
APS senior administrators, school board members,
state legislators, and newspaper publishers.

On Boiling Frogs Alive

There is an old saw that claims;

If you throw a frog into a pan of boiling water
s/he will react quickly, and jump out of the water
essentially unharmed.

However, if you put a frog in a pan of cold water
and slowly raise the heat to boiling
s/he will boil to death.

If the leadership of the APS, or the City Council,
or the State Legislature, announced one day
that they were simply going to start ignoring stakeholders,
except themselves from accountability, and go hang out
together in apartments in the sky;

stakeholders would react.

On the other hand, if the squandering of the public trust
and treasure were deliberate, methodical and incremental,

stakeholders would do nothing.


And if you can keep stakeholders ignorant of their plight,
with a multi million dollar communications effort,
so much the better.

APS BOE meets in "private"

The school board will meet tomorrow at 7:30 am

... in Santa Fe.

There is nothing on the agenda that appears to
require moving the meeting out of the city.
link

With the exception of discussion of communication
with stakeholders.

Which they apparently need to discuss in "private".


The worst thing that any public servant can do
is anything that they have to do in "private".


This, like every one of the 1,589 allegations that preceded it, would be refuted by the leadership of the APS,
if they could refute it.


The fact that they have to stonewall
every legitimate question that is asked of them,
says something.

The fact that they have to move their "communication" meeting out of town, says something as well.



tap, tap, tap. ... is this microphone turned on?
can anybody hear me? ... tap, tap. tap

Monica Armenta, APS' $105K Spin Doctor Ignores Question

Armenta was asked for the names of the individual administrators and board members who recently secretly lowered the student standard of conduct for the APS.

She refuses to respond.

-She can't deny that the standard has been lowered;the new standard is a published public record.

-She can't deny that there are specific administrators
and board members who are individually responsible.
Someone had to do it, it didn't lower itself.

-She can't deny that by lowering the student standard,
these "leaders" simultaneously lowered their own standard of conduct.

So all she can do is to ignore the question.

She earns almost $10K a month as a public servant,
who's job it is to communicate (the truth)
and all she can do is to stonewall the question.

According to the standard of conduct that students,
administrators and board members used to be accountable to;

... stonewalling is unethical.


It is unethical because it is not honest.

The whole point of Armenta's existence,
as far as the leadership of the APS is concerned,
is to be dishonest.

It is not Armenta's job is not to expose
those who lowered their own standard of conduct
in secret.

Her job is to hide their identities;
in order that they may escape the consequences of
their betrayal of the public trust.


And with friends like these, who needs enemies?

"The Case of the Amazing Grade Change"

"So far, all signs point to The Case of the Amazing Grade Change being wrapped up to everyone's satisfaction— everyone except taxpayers, parents of public-school students and teachers."

So began an editorial in the Journal this morning. (link sub req)

In an uncharacteristically critical piece, someone at the Journal has taken a stand against the continued secrecy surrounding the involvement senior administrators and board members in the grade change.

"That meant a public examination of evidence, including records of the student's academic performance. And that, the parents argued, would further violate the federally guaranteed privacy of the student. Which, APS attorneys argued, would put $60 million in federal funding to the district in jeopardy— an arguably dubious claim that suits the district's agenda of making an embarrassing situation go away.
After hearing those arguments, a state District Court judge ruled against the PED using the student's records, which led the department to ask that the licensure case against Fierro be dropped." How convenient. (emphasis added)

Does this the beginning of the end for the district's lock on the local media?


One can only hope so.

Why is the APS Character Counts Leadership Council Membership Secret?

Why is Carole Smith, APS' head honcho for Character Counts! keeping the names of the members of the leadership council a secret?

Do they even exist?

Has something been misrepresented in order to secure federal money for the APS?

Have they resigned en masse over Paula Maes'
egregious betrayal of the principles whose defense the claim to "lead"?

How does a role model lead secretly?

I cannot imagine why the membership of the
APS Character Counts Leadership Council
must be kept secret.

Can you?

Did Phill Casaus betray Marty Esquivel?

Mr. Esquivel courageously shinnied out on a limb;
he was the first in the history of the APS to propose
an effective end to corruption and incompetence
in the leadership of the APS.

Phill, and the good ole boys who own the truth here
in River City, sat and watched as Marty climbed out,
and as Paula Maes and the APS good ole boys club
sawed the limb off behind him.

There is a supposed conflict in honest journalism;

if you are a camera man and some asshole
is beating the shit out of your friend the reporter,

do you film it, or stand up with your friend?

When I taught character counts to young people
I used to illustrate with two stories about the different
kinds of loyalty.

In one, two friends are walking through the woods
when a mountain lion confronts them.
As one of them strips off his backpack getting ready
to run, the other says, "You can't out run a lion"
to which his "friend" replies
"I don't have to out rut the lion,
I only have to outrun you."

In other, an English author, Shelley I believe
was walking across his boyhood school ground
when he saw his friend being beaten by a bully.
He confronted the bully, asking
"How many times are you going to hit him?"
The bully asked, "What difference does it make?"
To which the "friend" replied,
"Because I will take half."


So the next time some camera man is filming you
getting your ass kicked,
who would you rather the cameraman be;
Marty Esquivel or Phill Casaus?

Or Thomas J Lang, Kent Walz, Michele Donaldson,
Thomas Pearl, or Sue Stephens?

Marty Esquivel Knuckles Under

APS School Board Member Marty Esquivel used to be
the only member of the leadership of the APS,
who openly advocated for a full scale accountability audit
of the administration of the Albuquerque Public Schools.

It doesn't really make any difference why
he no longer does.

I suspect that his spirit has been crushed under the
onerous weight of school board president Paula Maes,
the Modrall law firm, and his betrayal by Phill Casaus
and the good ole boys that run the newspapers
and broadcast news



Like I said, it really doesn't make any difference
because the effect is the same.

There is once again,
not a single member of the leadership of the APS,
not one board member, not one administrator;
who will enable the end of corruption and incompetence
in the leadership of the APS by commissioning an audit.


Woe unto students and other stakeholders,

In a world where newspapers defend democracy

the information that voter stakeholders need
is provided by the newspapers;
clearly, candidly, forthrightly, and honestly.

In a world where newspaper men and women
defend and represent for the privileged class,

in Albuquerque for example,

news men and women, like Thomas J Lang,
Phill Casaus, Kent Walz, Michelle Donaldson,
Thomas Pearl, and Sue Stephens

report the outrages of the privileged class selectively
or not at all.


One such outrage is the ethics and accountability scandal
in the leadership of the APS.


Tommy Lang , et al, will not, because they can not,

explain, defend, or even acknowledge their decision
to ignore the corruption and incompetence in the
leadership of the APS.

Their decision not to investigate and report upon
the scandal is indefensible.


So they will continue to stonewall

as their contribution to the defense of democracy
and of the rights of taxpayers and voters in Albuquerque.


Albuquerque's finest
... at their finest.

Character Counts is NOT a grassroots movement

"grassroots - of or involving the common people
as constituting an agent of change"

Character Counts appeals to the common man
as a means of leveling the playing field.

If the world were a place where character counts
cheaters would never win.

In a world where character doesn't really count,
cheaters always win.

And the idea that the common people will inspire
the privileged class to embrace the importance of character

as a means of leveling the playing field,

is either hopelessly naive

or a deliberate deception offering at most,
false hope to common people, the "great unwashed"

in order that they not become so disillusioned and angry, that they rise up and displace the privileged class.


And replace the good ole boys
with a system where character counts,
really counts.



The patently obvious unlikelihood of either eventuality,

the virtual impossibility that the privileged class
will be displaced by revolution or inspiration


is what makes describing Character Counts
as a grassroots movement,
the death knell for Character Counts.
\
Grassroots movements, by their very nature,
pit the powerless against the powerful.

The result is as obvious as it is inevitable.

"Power shites on the back of reason." B. Franklin

Always has, always will,
apparently.

Linda Sink to be next APS Superinendent

Tommy Lang and the Journal have manifest their
support for the "wonder principal" Linda Sink, as the
new APS superintendent. (link sub req)

Apparently the only thing Ms. Sink didn't do while
she was working at AHS, was to hold herself
honestly accountable as a role model of the
student standard of conduct.

Same as now.

APS Superintendent Candidates Will Evade Question

The candidates for the next superintendent of the APS
have no choice but to evade the question.

Will you be accountable as a role model?

Consider their choices, there are four; answer yes,
answer no, refuse to answer, or evade the question
(stonewall).

Easiest to hardest;

Stonewall.

It is the easiest because they can do it in secret.

The media would not ask the last superintendent
to answer the question.

They will not ask the current superintendent
to answer the question.

They will not ask the next superintendent
to answer the question;

as a matter of privilege.

Answer no.

Harder, because the candidate would eliminate themselves from serious consideration as the next superintendent.

The public would never stand for the school board
hiring a candidate that admits on the record that
they have no intention of being held accountable
as a role model for students.

Refuse to answer.

Again, this choice would end the candidate's chance of being hired.

The public would never stand for a candidate who refused, on the record,
to answer the question;

because they know what refusing to answer the question really means.

Answer yes.

This represents an impossibly difficult answer to extract from any candidate. They cannot answer yes.

There is in fact, not a single senior administrator or
board member in the entire APS
who will answer the question, yes.

The problem is that in order to be able to answer yes,
in order to actually be a role model for students,
one would have to hold themselves honestly
accountable to the student standard of conduct.

Whatever else role model means,
it means if you hold students accountable to a standard,
you hold yourself accountable to that same standard;
as an example, as a role model.

If the new superintendent were actually accountable
to the student standard of conduct,
s/he would have to hold subordinates accountable
to that same standard as well;

a widely recognized, accepted and respected
code of ethical conduct.



Which means they would all be subject to an immediate full scale accountability audit.

Which means the end to incompetence, corruption, and
the practices that enable them, in the leadership of the APS.

Which means public humiliation and disgrace, firings,
and if there is justice, civil and criminal prosecutions.

The good ole boys club would be wiped out entirely.



And since no superintendent is really going to do that;



No one is going to answer yes.
They can't answer no.
And, they can't refuse to answer.

They have no choice; they must evade the question,

Just like Paula Maes,
and every single member of the school board is doing.

Just like Linda Sink,
and every single member of the senior administration of the APS is doing.


Nobody will know about it because
the media in Albuquerque are as corrupt as
the leadership of the APS.


Thomas J Lang, publisher
Kent Walz, editor
Phill Casaus, editor
Sue Stephens, channel 7
Michelle Donaldson, channel 13, and
Thomas Pearl, channel 4.

Shame on you for not asking the question yourself
these many years.


Shame on you more
for not asking it now.

Did APS Superintendent Linda Sink "Lie"

"A half truth is a whole lie." unk

Linda Sink said,

“APS has had great success with Character Counts!”
link

Is the statement the truth? candid, forthright and honest?
Is it even half the truth?

I would maintain that in a school district where
there is not a single administrator or board member
who will pledge allegiance to the Pillars of Character Counts!

even though it is being represented as the student standard of conduct,

has failed so miserably with Character Counts! that there is nothing that balances it, much less surpasses it, and would justify a statement that implies, district wide, “APS has had great success with Character Counts!”.

Their abdication as role models of the Pillars of Character Counts!; including the abdication of the President of the Character Counts! Leadership Council herself

is such an egregious betrayal of the principles of Character Counts!

that Linda Sink cannot honestly say “APS has had great success with Character Counts!”

And she has lied to stakeholders.

Taking national Character Counts! staff to schools which do not fairly, accurately, and honestly represent the presence of CC in any school except a very few and exceptional schools, is deceitful.



Linda Sink, and the leadership of the APS, could respond to this allegation. They have Monica Armenta, and a million dollars worth of spin doctors, and Carole Smith, APS' Character Counts Director, to gather every success story that has been accomplished district wide.

Let them all work together to assemble the positive side of the ledger; and then place it along with the statement; “APS has had great success with Character Counts!”

On the other side, let them admit that there is no administrator or board member in the entire APS that can claim to be honestly accountable to the Pillars of Character Counts!, the student standard of conduct; and that they have, one and all, abdicated from their responsibilities as role models of the student standard of conduct.

Let stakeholders view them side by side and
determine for themselves whether or not

Linda Sink lied.



The greatest success that (the leadership of) the APS
can point to; is that they managed to except themselves
from accountability to the student standard of conduct
(and the law) without stakeholders finding out.

A tip of the hat for that ,goes to Thomas J Lang,
Kent Walz,Phill Casaus, Michelle Donaldson,
Sue Stephens, Thomas Pearl
and their ilk, for their help in the cover up.

Darren White, Kari Brandenburg; Dishonest

You can at least understand why the leadership of the APS does not want the law enforced, with regard to their
criminal abuse of Darren White's NCIC data base.

You can also understand why
Darren White does not want the law enforced.

But it is his job, it is the commitment he made,
it is the oath he swore.

How bad could the truth be, that he needs to
hide the truth more than he needs to enforce the law?

And Kari Brandenburg, how bad could the truth be,
that she needs to hide the truth more than she needs to
enforce the law, meet her commitment, and live up to
the oath she swore?

These points would be moot, except for
Thomas J Lang, Phill Casaus, Kent Walz,
Michelle Donaldson, Sue Stephens and
Thomas Pearl;

each of whom has be given an individual opportunity
to respond, refute, or rebut the allegation that

they are covering up an ethics and accountability scandal
in the leadership of the APS, that manifest itself in
felony criminal misconduct using Darren White's computers.

And instead, each chooses to stonewall.

The only reason to stonewall
is to defend an indefensible position.

Stonewalling is dishonest.

And so is the leadership of the APS,
Bernalillo County Sheriff Darren White,
District Attorney Kari Brandenburg, and
media who are hiding all of this from stakeholders.

There is no such thing as "ethics reform" in government

that does not include absolute transparency
in the administration of the public trust and treasure.

Anything else is at best,
a baby step in the right direction.

Gradegate; Final Score

NM Secretary of Education, Veronica Garcia,
for her botched gradegate "investigation" and for her
decision to prevent a public hearing of the evidence;
off scot-free.

Paul Calderon, NM Educator Ethics Bureau; for his part in the botched "investigation";
off scot-free.

Beth Everitt; off scot-free.

Nelinda Venegas, and Susie Peck; off scot-free.

Miguel Acosta, and Teresa Cordova; off scot-free.


The only person to suffer any consequence at all;
Elsy Fierro, publicly accused of gross ethical misconduct,
guilty or no,
and then denied the opportunity to clear her name.

This is so bad for stakeholders; so wrong,
and so just like the corrupt leadership of the APS
and the NMPED.

What did Elsy Fierro do wrong?

I read with interest the many comments on blogs and forums; mostly against Fierro.

Many commenters regard these shenanigans as Elsy Fierro's efforts to get away with something.

I don't know Elsy Fierro, and I don't know anymore about Gradegate than anyone else reading the newspapers and listening to the news.

I can't help but think that
the only person who wants an open public hearing,
the only person who wants the truth to come out;

must not have as much to hide as everyone else.


Which indicates to me that she really is the scapegoat
for a decision that was made by more senior members
of the leadership of the APS; who are still needing
the cover provided by Veronica Garcia and the media.

A casual search of media headlines reveals that
all the news people are pushing Garcia's version;
"There is no case without the student records."

Even though these "crucial" records were unnecessary
up to now, and their absence up to now, did not
prevent Garcia et al, from formally, and publicly,
charging Fierro with ethical misconduct so gross
as to warrant loosing her license.

Seems reckless and incompetent to me.

In my book, Veronica Garcia and the senior leadership of the
APS look far guiltier than Elsy Fierro; and I for one
would have been interested in hearing Fierro's version of the truth.

Fierro, through her steadfast insistence on airing
the truth, has earned the benefit of the doubt.

Everitt, Maes, and Garcia on the other hand,
seem to be the beneficiaries of no doubt at all;

and their misconduct should have been revealed
in a public hearing.

"Judge's decision forces state to drop Fierro ethics case."

according to the headline in the Trib. link

Except that it isn't true.

"Education Secretary Veronica Garcia said in a news release Thursday that without access to the records, the department could no(t) ... pursue the case." (emphasis added)

Judge Nash disagreed and; "... suggested in her written decision that the state could have continued with its case." (emphasis added)

"While the records are extremely useful, NMPED can present at least some of the information through witness testimony," Nash wrote." (emphasis added)

Whoya gonna believe, a highly respected District Court Judge or Veronica Garcia?

The "state" wasn't forced to drop anything.
Veronica Garcia chose to drop the case
in order to maintain a cover up.

And to cover the the trail that leads to public
corruption in the highest levels of the APS and
the NMPED, she has dragged the red herring
of "student records" out to cover her scent.

Susie Gran writes; "The state Public Education Department will drop its ethics case against an Albuquerque school administrator after a judge refused to allow crucial records to be disclosed." (emphasis added)

How was it that Veronica Garcia was able to
publicly accuse Elsy Fierro of ethical misconduct
so gross as to warrant action against her license;
if she had not yet seen the evidence that she
now claims is "crucial" to pursuing her case?


The student records are a red herring,
dragged across the trail of a bunch of corrupt
public servants, to hide their trail.

The trib bought it hook, line, and sinker,
or worse,
they know it's crap, but printed it anyway.




The student records are a red herring.

The leadership of the Trib are fish mongers;

and their paper is fit mostly, for wrapping fish.

"You can't just tell the truth; you don't know how someone might try to use it."

according to West Point graduate and former
APS Superintendent, Peter Horoscak.

It was his justification for not changing school board policy to reflect the right of teachers and other stakeholders to know the truth about what was going on in their schools.

That was almost fifteen years ago, and
damned if that isn't the way the leadership of the APS
feels about it still.

"It takes a Village to Raise a Child"

the ones who are raised instead by TV, video games
and by other children, are turning out deficient
in important aspects of their character.

How is it that School Board President Paula Maes
gets to choose for this community
that their will be no character education
in the Albuquerque Public Schools?

How can Thomas J Lang, Phill Casaus, Kent Walz,
Michelle Donaldson (KRQE), Thomas Pearl (KOB)
and Sue Stephens, sell out 89,000 of our sons
and daughters in the APS to hide Paula Maes'
abdication as the most senior role model in
the leadership of the APS?

"Schools committed to character education, ..."

must;

1. Define core ethical values in terms of observable behaviors and hold all school members accountable to standards of conduct consistent with those behaviors
2. Help members of the school community recognize, value, and act upon core ethical values.
3. Integrate character development into all aspects of school life and deliberately plan ways to Imbue every area of the school environment -- including the classroom, the cafeteria, the hallways, and the playground -- with evidence of core ethical values.
4. Provide students with real-life challenges to help them develop a practical understanding of the moral requirements of the core ethical values.
5. Provide a meaningful and challenging academic curriculum that respects all learners and helps them succeed.
6. Develop students' intrinsic commitment both to core values and to the academic curriculum.
7. Involve all school staff in modeling and promoting core ethical values, and provide staff with the same opportunities for personal and academic growth afforded students.
8. Require strong moral leadership from both staff and students.
9. Recruit the help of parents and community business, religious, government, and media.
10. Continuously assess the progress of character education by evaluating the character of the school, the character of the students, and the success of the staff as character educators.

Dr. Thomas Lickona

"There is no such thing as ...value-free education.
Schools teach values every day, by design or default.
When schools do not teach values,
they are teaching that values are not important."

"... we must consciously set about creating a moral climate within our schools."

"I believe that a values vacuum exists in American society, and that teachers must not be casual or apologetic about confronting it. We must make an explicit commitment to formal character education. We must integrate character education into the fabric of the curriculum and into extracurricular activities. We must train teachers in character education -- both pre-service and in-service. And we must consciously set about creating a moral climate within our schools."

Bob Chase, President National Education Association

link

Is Character Education the Answer?

"As incidents of in-school violence become more common, and strict disciplinary techniques and increased security measures fail to control the problem, many parents, educators, politicians, and social leaders are looking for reliable methods of prevention. Is character education the answer?"

So begins the examination of the potential of character education to pro-actively address the problems that stand between students and their education. Link

If you are a stakeholder in public education
I am betting that you will bookmark this site;
Education World, for your further reference.

"All of us in business and the entire adult community need to do our part in helping build young people of high character. There isn't a more critical issue in education today." (emphasis added)

Sanford N. McDonnell, Chairman emeritus of the former McDonnell Douglas Corporation.

Michael Josephson and Jessica Ellis

... the founder of Character Counts! and the National VP who visited APS last week;

They are apparently comfortable with the local
Character Counts Leadership Council, and its
president Paula Maes modeling only hypocrisy
for 89,000 students in the APS.

They see no problem, apparently, with the
President of the Character Counts Leadership Council,
rejecting the Pillars of Character Counts as her own
standard of conduct, even for the measly few hours
each day that she serves as APS' most senior
role model of the student standard of conduct.

They are comfortable with the deliberate deception being visited on APS stakeholders.

I would assume at this point, that they will remain comfortable for as long as the APS continues to buy crap from the CC store.

I am beginning wish I had never met
Michael Josephson or heard of Character Counts!



"We will remember, not the words of our enemies,
but the silence of our friends.
MLK

Gradegate Cover Up Successful

The NM Public Education Department will drop its case against Elsy Fierro, according to the Journal this morning link sub req)

The public will never know why State Education Secretary Veronica Garcia (friend of Beth Everitt and Paula Maes) "investigated" the scandal without asking Everitt, Acosta, or Cordova to answer a single question on the record.

Stakeholders will never know which board members and administrators pulled strings for County Commissioner Teresa Cordova and former School Board Member Miguel Acosta;

clearing the way for the next politico looking for
special treatment.

Nothing has changed, nothing has gotten any better;
it is just more of the same old, same old.

No wonder some many have given up trying
to end the culture of corruption in NM politics
that will keep us forever,

50th in everything.

Paula Maes will not allow APS audit.

Albuquerque Public Schools BOE President Paula Maes
is on the record saying she will not support any audit
that will allow "... (Asst. Supt.) Tom Savage, for example ..."
to be held individually accountable for his conduct and
competence as a public servant.

The reason that she will not allow an audit that would
expose any corruption and incompetence in the leadership
of the APS is;

Paula Maes does not want to expose of any corruption
and incompetence in the leadership of the APS.


Even though stakeholders have an unequivocal,
utterly unmitigated, and clearly expressed interest
otherwise.

What Perversion of the Rules of Public Service

allows public servants to respond with "no comment"
to any legitimate question about their public service?

... just wondering

and since I am wondering anyway;


I wonder why we continue to put up with it.

Beth Everitt continues to be paid

and she continues to refuse to explain, defend, or even acknowledge her decision to place APS Police Chief Gil Lovato on administrative leave for a half a year at full pay;

rather than allow him his day in court

where he and lawyer Sam Bregman said;

the now thoroughly disgraced Gil Lovato
would tell the truth, and not a single administrator
in the leadership of the APS

would be left standing.


... lest all of that be lost to memory.

noBrainer Baffles Brandenburg

The question is simple; should criminal charges be filed against members of the leadership of the APS and the Bernalillo County Sheriff's Department?

If DA Brandenburg is a competent attorney;
it should be the matter of minutes, not months,
to determine whether or not the misconduct of
APS leaders and sheriff's department employees
warrants the filing of criminal charges.

There are at least two reports sitting in her lap;
one by an impartial professional investigator.

All she has to do is read them.

District Attorney Kari Brandenburg has three choices;
file charges, dismiss the allegations, or continue to
do nothing except stonewall.

Each choice has pros and cons.

1. file charges

• pro; the public interest is protected and public records would be surrendered to public knowledge.
• con; Brandenburg forfeits forever, her membership in Albuquerque's privileged class.

2. dismiss the allegations

• pro; APS administrators, board members, Darren White, and Brandenburg would all benefit personally and immensely. Darren White could run for congress without ever having to explain, defend, or even acknowledge his failure to safeguard the public trust and treasure.
  
• con; the truth is going to come out sooner or later, and when it does, Brandenburg's reputation would be destroyed; maybe she might be the subject of criminal charges of her own, for conspiracy and dereliction of duty.

3. continue to stonewall

• pro; while it is unethical, it works as well as a dismissal for those who cannot be held accountable for ethical misconduct. The truth remains hidden, and the corrupt and the incompetent are enabled to continued to evade accountability.
• con; the public interest is being betrayed; nothing in the leadership of the APS, BCSO, or DA's Office will ever change; and public servants will continue to serve their own interests at the expense of the public interest, and without consequence.
• con or, CON! (depending on your perspective); It requires the aid and abet of the media (which was apparently, not all that hard to garner; and represents for them, a conette, or a conling). However, for the public who depend on the media to furnish the information necessary for their meaningful participation in their democracy, it is a CON!, boldface, all caps, exclamation point,
  

... if ever there was one.

Thomas J Lang

owns the fact that certain public servants can respond
to legitimate questions about their public service with;

" ... no comment".


It would appear that he and others in the media
are on "their" side, and not on ours.

How long would a recalcitrant and petulant servant
like School Board President Paula Maes
be allowed continue to serve her constituents,
if her constituents knew that she has
"no comment" on allegations regarding an
ethics and accountability scandal in the leadership of the APS;

And "no comment" to allegations that her husband's
law firm is getting rich litigating in the interests of
APS administrators and board members,
and against the public interest.

Paula Maes would not be able to hide the truth
without the aide and abet of newsmen and women
like Thomas J. Lang, and the other friends and
acquaintances that come along with being the
President and CEO of the NM Broadcasters Association

and with her membership in Albuquerque's privileged class.

Monica Armenta Stonewalls

Monica Armenta was asked for the names of the individual administrators and board members who are responsible for, "secretly", lowering APS' student standard of conduct,

and in so doing,
lowered their own standard of conduct, as well.

Armenta has ignored the question.

She is one of the highest paid administrators in the APS.
From the perspective of the taxpayers who pay her exorbitant salary, she has a responsibility to tell the truth.

In so far as the leadership of the APS is concerned,
her job is to hide the truth.

Ms. Armenta,
Who lowered the student standard of conduct,
and why?


We are waiting.

APS' Rigo Chavez is in violation of the law.

On Monday, January 7th, APS' Custodian of Public Records, Rigo Chavez, received a request for public records, reproduced here in significant part.

From the body of public records that includes every public record related to complaints filed by or against the APS Board, or APS Administrator, in any court in New Mexico; and for which the Modrall law firm received compensation of any kind;I would like inspect as few sheets of paper as possible in order to find out exactly

1. who made the complaints,
2. the substance of the complaint,
3. the substance of the counter complaint,
   
4. the conclusion of the Court,
5. any monetary disposition or settlement, and
6. the compensation paid to the Modrall Law Firm.

These records would substantiate my claim that Modrall has been spending tax dollars that represent public support for "education", to litigate exception to the law, and escape from accountability, for senior administrators and board members.

Alternatively, the records could demonstrate that I am full of crap, and the APS/Maes/Modrall arrangement is above board.

I want the records to make them public.

APS will not surrender the records
even in violation of the law.


It seems pretty obvious what the record will reveal.

There is no good and ethical reason to hide the truth.

APS seeks to preserve $60M in federal funding.

Puh-leeese ! !!

According to the Trib link, APS lawyers are just trying to protect APS from the loss of $60M federal education dollars.

What APS lawyers really seek to preserve is the secrecy surrounding the identities of the leadership of the APS who participated in the gradegate scandal.

It turns out that there is no penalty for lying to judges.
The judge will simply tell the liar whether or not
they believe the lie, and life goes on.

Consider their current ploy;

Dear Judge,
We are really honestly worried that if the APS hands over one student's records to a bona fide legal proceeding, that the federal government will have no choice but to respond by fining the APS $60M. Therefore, we are asking the court to order APS not to surrender the records, so that the state can claim it can no longer prosecute scapegoat Elsy Fierro, and will then drop the case, and the truth will never become public.

The judge will indicate that they either believe that crap,
or not, and no action will be taken against the lawyers and their public servant employers for spending more public resources to litigate nonsense, and against the public interest.

APS lawyers will spend however many dollars it takes
to make sure that there is never an open hearing
where the truth will be revealed.

They can afford to litigate indefinitely due to their large bore pipeline to unlimited taxpayer support of education.

A sweet arrangement for a school board president
who shares in the spoils.

Darren White Asked to Resign

If Bernalillo County Sheriff and congressional candidate
Darren White will not tell the truth about his conduct
and competence as a county sheriff

what makes anyone think he will tell the truth about
his conduct and competence as a congressman
where he will be exponentially more powerful
and exponentially less accountable than he is right now?

Darren White must tell the truth;
candidly, forthrightly, and honestly.

Either that,
or announce his decision to spend more time with his family.

Some politician will be the first to stand up

for transparent and inescapable accountability to unequivocal standards of conduct and competence for public servants within their public service

and every other politician will be among the last.

When incompetent and corrupt politicians talk
about "ethics reform"; what they mean is that;

they will begrudgingly give up a very few of the most egregious and indefensible of their influence peddling practices by making them against the "law".

What honest and competent politicians mean by ethics reform

1. is to identify an unequivocal higher standard of conduct*
2. and then to establish a system that is
   powerful enough, to hold even the most powerful
   among them, accountable to that standard
   even against their will.

The first legitimate exercise of public power
by a public servant, is to ensure that
that power can not be abused by anyone, ever.
Most especially, not even by themselves, in a moment
or in a lifetime of weakness.

If only legislators could be convinced that
they will not be reelected this year
if they don't get this right,
and pretty damn quickly.


Oh that there were a New Mexican politician
with the balls to draw a line on the floor,
and have people pick the right side of that line,

as a non negotiable precondition of
their continued service in the roundhouse.

Oh that there were a New Mexican newspaperman
with the balls to insist that one stand up.

Thomas J Lang could actually make that happen
if he were about telling the truth
about incompetent and corrupt public servants.

Oh that only he were.



There is a reward for readers who helps distribute this post;

you may count yourself among those who actually
did something to end the culture of corruption and
incompetence in public service, that keeps this state

50th in everything.



... an unequivocal higher standard of conduct*

*...higher than the law at least, which at it very, very best
represents only the lowest standard of human conduct
that most decent people are willing to tolerate.

Any other standard of conduct at all
is a higher standard of conduct than the law.

Brad Winter's Sense of Ethics Encouraging

Standing alone among city councilors and politicians
and (now) standing alone among the leadership of the APS,
as able to speak the words "ethical accountability" aloud.



If not a distant light at the end of a tunnel
then what?

APS Uptown Administrative Complex, "Taxing"

According to APS' John Dufay.

He wasn't talking about taxes, but he could have been.

I've been reading between the lines in a year old newspaper article regarding spending at the UAC. I will assemble a few quotes which will be presented out of context. That they are done so ethically can be verified by reading the first source link.

Background; the new board room renovation was unjustifiable in the context of the scarce financial resources in the district. Neither APS Communications, nor anyone else in the leadership of the APS has ever attempted to justify the new for a boardroom at 6400 Uptown Blvd.

Price tag:
$184,304 for bathrooms.
$440,920 for the boardroom.
$625,224 for furniture and "other" expenses (not including the technology still to be installed).

Not priceless - but not ritzy, either, says John Dufay, the Albuquerque Public Schools administrator who supervised the project.

Nevertheless, Dufay said he expected more criticism for the work at City Center, the twin towers of administrative offices that have been controversial from the start.

The City Center office complex was purchased in 2001 for $12.5 million. Renovation costs to date are approaching $6 million, but the work is not done, Dufay said.

The renovation of the first floor, which houses the boardroom, Human Resources Department, Community Relations Department, board offices and service center, carried a $831,146 price tag. More work will be done at additional costs, which have not been budgeted, Dufay said.

("... not budgeted"; why? Is it due to the incompetence of budget makers? Or were they left out deliberately to deceive stakeholders, due to corruption?)

As far as any oversight over the project by the protectors of the public interests, the school board;

"My general feeling is that it was more expensive that it was supposed to be," said board member Gordon Rowe of the new boardroom.

Board member Mary Lee Martin defended City Center as a "nice place to work" that employees deserve after spending years in the aging University Boulevard offices.

"Our employees suffered in the old building," she said. (define "suffered" please)

Still, she said renovation on City Center "was more than I wanted to spend. Everything went up and up and up over time. I have no idea how it got that expensive."

Dufay said the expenses mounted as building code violations had to be corrected.

(He does not point out that the code violations existed the time the purchase and should have been reflected in the purchase price, and should have been reported to stakeholder taxpayers.)

Much of the code work was done behind the walls and ceiling of the structure. Beams had to be fireproofed, a new water supply needed to be installed to support the sprinklers required, and false ceilings had to be torn out. ... delays were caused by the code work required by the city, he said.
(All of which were there at purchase and went unnoticed due to administrative incompetence, or, went undisclosed to taxpayers due to administrative corruption.)

The city-required work was not in the original renovation budget, Dufay said.

"Anticipating, perhaps, irate taxpayers who think their money was wasted..."


District officials had this (to say): The money for this project did not come out of property taxes.
(It came from the sale of public property which we all know, has nothing to do with property taxes.)

The (public property in question, the) Stronghurst property was valued at approximately $900,000, but details of the sale were confidential, said Rigo Chavez, district spokesman.

After the sale, all money in excess of the boardroom project will be set aside for additional renovations at the Uptown offices, Chavez said.



(Keep in mind please,
the need for the boardroom is yet to be justified.)

APS On The Verge of Surrendering an Honest Accounting of UAC Spending

APS Senior Administrator Brad Winter has promised
to surrender an ethical accounting of spending
at 6400 Uptown Blvd.

If there are any readers who recall any of the specific promises made by Brad Allison and the leadership of the APS when they justified the purchase to stakeholders;

I could use some refreshing.

For instance, I remember them saying that they would occupy only half the building and recover costs for tax payers by renting out the remaining upscale office space.

APS Police Hoping for Raise; Don't Hold Your Breath

Zsombor Peter reports in the Journal this morning
(link sub req) that

"APS officials say they're waiting on the outcome of this year's legislative session to find out exactly how much money they'll have to make good on those raises."

Reading between the lines, we can see that the leadership of the APS has not adjusted their priorities in terms of funding well deserved and long overdue raises for school police officers.

If they had, APS police officers would be getting a decent raise;

and the leadership of the APS would be waiting instead on funding from the legislature to see if they have enough money to add another floor of administrators to the Uptown Administrative Complex.

"Bob Woody, APS' labor relations director, said the district also would try squeezing some money out of next year's operating budget, depending on how much the state allocates."

Again, subject to "more important "operational priorities'".

... perhaps a sun deck, volleyball, and putting green on the roof of the Uptown Administrative Complex.


Coincidently, the $600K it would take to raise police officers salaries is roughly equivalent to the money paid to Monica Armenta et al, to deliberately deceive stakeholders on a number of issues, not the least of which is the issue of funding priorities of the leadership of the APS.

A Perfect (Political) Storm

"The phrase perfect storm refers to the simultaneous occurrence of events which, taken individually, would be far less powerful than the result of their chance combination."

1. Every legislator in New Mexico is up for re-election
this year.

2. Each has to run based on their record
of the next thirty days.

What will they have done in the next thirty days
to address this state's very most important issue;

ending the culture of corruption and incompetence that poisons politics and public service in the State of New Mexico.

Those who enable corruption and incompetence
really can be voted out at the next election.


Submitted to the world this day as;

a cause in search of a champion.

Governor Richard Sleights APS Stakeholders

Governor Richardson has decided that the agenda for the upcoming legislative session will not include any discussion of creating an APS Police Department.

The most tragic result of his decision is that the APS Police force will remain accountable to the leadership of the APS. And to no one else.

Although police officers are sworn deputies of Darren White, the APS police force is unaccountable as a police force, except to Paula Maes/Modrall, et al.

• They are certificated by no one.
• They are certified by no one.
• They are accredited by no one.

They are a publicly funded, private police force.

They are accountable as a police force to no one
but the leadership of the APS.

The Council of the Great City Schools said;

DO NOT DO THIS

They are a Praetorian Guard.


At least if they were a real police force, maybe
the FBI would ask them to explain how they came
to be running illegal criminal background checks on
administrator's girlfriends and whistle blowers,

on Bernalillo County Sheriff Darren White's
highly sophisticated and secure(?)
criminal information and data systems.



To the many fine members of the APS Police Force;
this allegation does not involve decision making
at the level of your valuable and under appreciated
public service. Please take no personal offense
as none is intended.

APS plans increase in communication efficiency.

There was a board meeting Monday. link

The main agenda item was;

A. Strategic Planning: Board of Education Goal 3
(Discussion/Action) Diego Gallegos
I. Review of Process
II. Goal 3 Increase efficiency of all communication processes between the Board of Education and all stakeholders.
(emphasis added)

The board actually has a stated goal of improving communication with stakeholders.


All the while, School Board President Paula Maes
thinks she can cancel a public forum whenever
she feels like it.
She thinks it is OK to remove
the public forum from the public record,
and has no intention of revisiting that decision.

And neither she nor any other board member or
administrator will stand and deliver candid, forthright,
and honest answers to legitimate questions.

That would seem to be the root of any communication problem, but I doubt the Dickie Gallegos mentioned it any of that in his presentation.

To most, communication implies candor, and forthrightness, and honesty.

I have concluded that communication means something different to the leadership of the APS.

To the leadership of the APS, communications means
make the most of the good, make the least of the bad;

and candor, forthrightness, and honesty be damned.

A Legitimate Question for Monica Armenta

If the Executive Director of APS Communications
is not able to answer legitimate questions,
who is?

Recently, the Albuquerque Public Schools Board of Education voted to lower the student standard of conduct.
They did it in "secret" from stakeholders.

The legitimate question on Ms Armenta's plate;

What are the names of every senior administrator and board member who participated in lowering the student standard of conduct,

by changing board policy;

so that students are no longer required
to model and promote the Pillars of Character Counts!,
a nationally recognized, accepted and respected
code of ethical conduct?


What are their names?

... in order that they may present themselves for
accountability to stakeholders.



cc Monica Armenta 9:52 am, this day.

Character Education Quality Standards

A self assessment tool for schools and school districts.

A standard, compared to which, APS falls woefully short


link
a tip of the hat to reader, Joseph for the link.