The stewardship of public trust and treasure at the UNM

In the Journal this morning; link sub req

Ten UNM employees are to be laid off, their jobs to be outsourced.

Chris Vallejos, an Associate Vice President at UNM, said outsourcing (golf) course maintenance will save UNM $100,000 to $200,000 a year.

Which begs the question;

How many other functions at the UNM could be outsourced at a net saving to tax payers of $10,000 to $20,000 per year, per employee?

And,

What consequence will befall Chris Vallejos, an Associate Vice President at UNM, who has been in charge of golf course maintenance for years (?), while wasting $10,000 to $20,000 per year, per employee?

My guess; nothing.

Or is that just too cynical?

The thick plottens in Schmidly hiring

The Journal has an article this morning about the caliber of the
candidates that the UNM President's son "bested" in the hunt
for a brand new $94K a year job at UNM. link sub req

Brian Schmidly had some serious competition for the opening
for Associate Director of Sustainability at the UNM.

According to the Journal, Schmidly was hired by Physical Plant Director Mary Vosevich. Vosevich said that Brian Schmidly was the most qualified and that his family ties had no effect on her decision. President Schmidly said he had nothing to do with his son's hiring.

He obviously had nothing to do with his son not being hired, either.

The older Schmidly had a responsibility to the UNM that, at best, he ignored. Co-incidentally, or not, it worked out just great for his son.

Among the qualifications for the job; seven years of direct experience. The UNM President's son is getting credit, apparently, for being a student and a member of a family of educators.

"He's been around higher education all of his life, certainly, as a student. His family has been in the educational field for years"

On the damage done by the "apparent conflict of interest",
Staff Council President Loyola Chastain said;

"This is another demoralization issue for the staff at UNM"

There is damage done by the appearance of a conflict of interest.

It is not potential damage, it is not possible damage, it is actual damage. It is actual damage done by UNM hiring practices which either do not prohibit creating the appearance of a conflict of interest, or which were not followed in the hiring practices that create the appearance of a conflict of interest.

In either case, stakeholders lose, UNM employees lose, the credibility of the leadership of the UNM loses.

People will bitch for awhile, and then Brian Schmidly will assume his new job, anybody who created any real static will be dealt with, and the good ol' boys will have won again.

So much for government of the people, by the people, and for the people. It has been given short shrift again in favor of government of the good ol' boys, by the good ol' boys, and for the good ol' boys.

... and their offspring.

"We need parents to engage ..."

Whenever people get together to talk about how to improve the education of our children, it isn't very long before someone says;

"We need to engage their parents."

There are a lot of aspects of a child's life that affect their participation in their education. And talking about aspects over which we have no control, is pointless.

Sure, lets do everything we reasonably can to engage parents, and every other thing we can do to improve a child's life outside of school.

But let us not seriously consider any plan, the success of which
depends on changing things that we cannot change.

We need, to the extent possible;
to provide everything a child needs to succeed at school,
at school,

because there will always be kids whose lives
hold no promise of ever meeting those needs.

This was brought home to me when I was chiding a student for not doing the homework that I had assigned. I found out later that the kid lived in a box on the back porch of his house.

Lets us not consider a plan that meets the need of children whose parents we can engage,
but does not address the needs of children who have no parents to engage.

We cannot focus only on reading and 'riting and 'rithmetic.

We cannot focus only on No Child Left Behind testing.

There is a very real possibility that path to success on NCLB
tests, and the path to addressing the real needs of children,
are diametrically opposite.

For me, I would rather graduate young adults who were decent human beings with decent values, and with a capacity to be effective and efficient lifelong learners,

than to graduate, or drop out, a bunch of burned out, disinterested, and unmotivated young adults with no real hope of amounting to anything;

even though they were once able to once pass a few tests
on reading, 'riting, and 'rithmetic.

The "appearance of a conflict of interest" is a bell rung

When UNM hired the president's son, Brian Schmidly, the
appearance of a conflict of interest happened. It didn't "begin",
it wasn't suggested, it wasn't implied; it happened.
The appearance of a conflict of interest happened in its entirety.
The damage has been done.


The reputation of a leading university has been soiled.

Again.

If this hiring was not prohibited by UNM policy,
then shame on the people who write UNM policies.
It should be a violation of policy.

What a shame it is that there will still be no revolt;
it still has not gotten bad enough to put and end to it.
Taxpayers have been pushed only to the point of bitching
some more.



All that is necessary for evil to prevail in the world
is for good men to do nothing. edmund burke

NMAGO falls flat on Inspection of Public Records Act enforcement

APS Custodian of Public Records, Rigo Chavez has created conditions for the surrender of public records which make it impossible for me to inspect and/or copy them.

The accommodation (of my legitimate disability) that I seek would be easier for APS, and cheaper for taxpayers. There is no downside for the District, except that it would make it possible for me to look at the record of APS Modrall and point to the evidence that APS Modrall has used unwitting taxpayer support of education to fund litigation against the public interest.

The refusal to make the accommodation serves only one purpose, and that is to make it more difficult to exercise my right to inspect and or copy public records. The refusal to accommodate my disability is absolutely and completely unjustifiable by an ethical argument.

Never the less, Assistant Attorney General Zachary Shandler writes;

Our jurisdiction ... is limited to the IPRA determination;
it is up to the parties to resolve accommodations
regarding disability issues.

So there you have it; the good ol' boys don't have to surrender public records, and it is left up to a stove in old shop teacher to find some way to make the good ol' boys follow the law.

What crap; what unmitigated, unvarnished and inexcusable crap.

It is unfortunate that the leadership of the APS, Winston Brooks, cannot be shamed into compliance, as he and the other good ol' boys simply have no shame to play on.

cc Winston Brooks upon posting.

Bill Reed and I shook hands.

The last time APS Chief of Police, Bill Reed's hand touched mine, he was holding mine behind my back, as he arrested me for standing in the back of a regular school board meeting, wearing a paper elephant mask; protesting the fact that the leadership of the APS is ignoring the elephant in the room; the ethics and accountability scandal in the leadership of the APS.

I regard our handshake as a new beginning.

Are there other men and women of character and courage and honor in the leadership of the APS?

Of course there are.

There are men and women who would end good ol' boy leadership in favor of honest accountability to meaningful standards of conduct and competence for public servants within their public service.

We don't know who they are because they have yet to stand up for what they believe in.



When I was a public servant whose job it was to convince youngsters that their character counted, I had occasion to give them a tee shirt. On its front and back it read;

Stand up for what you believe in,
even if you are standing alone.

And then to the eternal shame of the leadership of the APS,
students who came to believe that character counts,
were left to stand alone.

A student in the APS who is looking for a principled resolution of a legitimate complaint against any of the good ol' boys, is denied that right. The system will not stand in defense of the complainant. That student will stand alone against the good ol' boys.

As will employees, as will taxpayers, as will all stakeholders.

The leadership of the APS, the "bad" ones,
would rather be accountable to each other than accountable to
meaningful standards of conduct and competence,
impartially enforced by someone powerful enough
to hold them accountable, even against their will.

The first annual Impartial Standards and Administrative Accountability Audit of the entire leadership of the APS will reveal few standards and virtually no accountability. The Meyners Audit of the APS Finance Division proved that conclusively.

The Meyners Audit revealed that the APS Finance Division,
trusted by tax payers with a billion tax dollars per year,
has never had;

1. adequate standards, nor
2. adequate accountability, nor
3. adequate record keeping.

Unless there has been a miracle of biblical proportion,
millions of tax dollars are lost or stolen.

And the leadership of the APS will not stand for questions about
the public interests in the APS Finance Division; they will not answer
legitimate questions and promise to be candid, forthright, and honest.

An impartial audit of any division in the entire APS will reveal
the same thing; no standards, no accountability, and no records kept.

If the allegation were untrue, Rigo Chavez, Monica Armenta,
Winston Brooks, or somebody could hold up a few sheets of paper and say;

• here are our meaningful standards of conduct and competence, and
• here is the system by which we are held accountable to those standards; an impartial system powerful enough to hold us accountable even against our will.

They are so far from being able to do that, that cannot participate in a candid, forthright and honest discussion of administrative standards and accountability.

Of course there are decent men and women in the leadership of the APS.

But how can well tell them from the rest?

It is time for them to stand up to be counted;
it is time for them to stand up for what they believe in.



There are only two reasons not to stand up for what you believe in;

1. a lack of moral courage, and/or
2. a calculation of cost and benefit which reveals that the belief is unworthy of the sacrifice required to defend it.

Sacrifice is the currency of commitment.
Commitment is proven by willing sacrifice;
commitment is proven only by willing sacrifice.

There is no equivalent gesture.

Everything else is just talk.

It is time for the good and decent administrators to stand up for what they believe in.



I would suggest that every administrator pick a side;
good ol' boys, ot standards and accountability,
good, or evil.

And then stand up for what you believe in.

Even if you are standing alone.

I'm not saying that the good ol' boys are evil;
but when Edmund Burke wrote;

All that is necessary for evil to prevail in the world,
is for good men to do nothing.

These are the people he was writing about.

If we really want students to grow up embracing honor and courage and character, someone has to show them what it looks like.

Why don't you show kids what honor and courage and character look like?

Why don't you show these kids what it looks like to hold oneself
honestly accountable to meaningful standards of conduct and competence?

Why don't you stand up for a standards and accountability audit that will end the reign of the good ol' boys that have run the APS for one hundred years?





Disclaimer regarding my feelings about Bill Reed or about any other individual member of the APS Police Department;

Though I have often referred to the APS Police Department as a Praetorian Guard at the command of APS Modrall, I have never intended that that reflect on any individual member of that department. I have named the names of those whom I believe need to face accountability. The rest as far as I know, are decent hard working honorable men and women of character and competence.

It is the one purpose for which the APS Police Department
is abused, that makes it a Praetorian Guard.

What ever else it is, it is a publicly funded, private police force that is neither accredited nor certificated by anyone except the leadership of the APS. It reports directly and only to the leadership of the APS Modrall.

It's Praetorian purpose is to conduct the sole investigation of any complaint made against any one of the good ol' boys, and then to surrender all of the evidence from that investigation to the exclusive custody of the good ol' boys,
to do with as they choose.

When former APS Police Chief Gil Lovato had the opportunity to speak on the issue of the internal investigations that had been conducted by him and the Praetorian Guard he said,

When the truth gets out, there will not be
a single senior APS administrator left standing.

Pearce Udall debate an asshander of epic proportion

Politics aside, Steve Pearce handed Tom Udall his ass in last
night's debate. Udall was absolutely crushed by Pearce who
was at the top of his game.

Udall could make no point that Pearce could not rebut.
Submitted as a prime example, Udall accused Pearce of being
a Bush groupie, and Pearce responded by listing a number
of times that Udall had in fact supported Bush on issues where
Pearce had stood against him.

Great stuff.

No wonder Udall has been ducking this confrontation for so long.


KOB TV has video of the debate in four parts. link

Jon Barela as a board member

I watched Jon Barela at the board meeting tonight.
He announced that he has already met with every principal in
his district and is planning a second visit with each.

He appears competent, energetic, enthusiastic and intelligent.

All else equal, he seems like he would be an above average,
maybe even an exceptional board member.

Alas and alack, all else is not equal.

Jon Barela, like the rest of the leadership of the APS will not
stand up as a role model of the student standard of conduct.

Jon Barela, like the rest of the leadership of the APS will not
agree to be held honestly accountable to meaningful standards
of conduct and competence as a public servant, by an impartial
system powerful enough to hold him accountable even against
his will.

Jon Barela, like the rest of the leadership of the APS will not
will not support an honest and impartial administrative
accountability audit despite overwhelming and compelling
evidence of the need for such an audit.

Jon Barela, like the rest of the leadership of the APS will not
tell the truth, he will not agree to sit and accept legitimate
questions about the public interests in the public schools,
and then respond to them candidly, forthrightly and honestly.

Ergo, Jon Barela is unacceptable

• as a role model of the student standard of conduct,
• as a senior public servant and steward of the public trust and treasure, and
  
• as a "leader" of the APS.

cc Jon Barela upon posting.

Complaint against Jon Barela, rev. 3

NMGOP Rules Committee Chair, Lou Melvin
is still not happy with the form and format of my complaint.

Rev 1 was deemed unacceptable for action because it was submitted to her ears, but not to her eyes.

Rev 2 was submitted in the form of an email for her to read. It was deemed unacceptable because I did not include (because I had not been asked to include); "The Action Desired".

We will see how Rev 3 flies; it is written, and it contains all of the elements of which I have been apprised. It was emailed to Lou Melvin upon posting.
c/o Pam Kingston's email address (Melvin does not have an email address of her own.)

To Whom It May Concern:

This email constitutes the filing of a complaint.

THE RULE:

1-4-1. WHEN A PARTY OFFICER BECOMES A CANDIDATE FOR PUBLIC OFFICE

In the event the State Chairman, or any other State Officer of the Republican State Central Committee, shall file as a candidate for Public Office, and more than one Republican files as a candidate for that office, the State Officer shall immediately vacate the Party Office. In that event, the successor shall be selected in the manner for filling vacancies as in these Rules provided.

THE OBJECTION:

Jon Barela contested for a vacant seat on the Albuquerque Public Schools Board of Education (a Public Office) against at least three registered Republicans; Kathy Frazier, Mike Gibson, and Arturo Candelaria.
Jon Barela did not vacate his seat as required by NMRP Rule 1-4-1.

THE ACTION DESIRED:

Jon Barela must be required to vacate his state office as required by NMRP Rule 1-4-1.

This complaint was filed for the first time on Monday October 6, 2008.

My name is Charles MacQuigg

Ms. Melvin was asked to estimate when the complaint would be heard by the Rules Committee. Her response was;

"Currently, all members of the Rules committee are involved with election issues."

I interpret this to mean that the complaint will not be heard for another month or so. Hopefully it will be heard before Jon Barela runs against these same republicans in the February election for the seat on the school board.


update; confirmation that the email was received by the person whose email address, my communication with Ms Melvin takes place.

Your message

To: Pam Kingston
Subject: Re: rules committee meeting
Sent: 10/15/2008 9:07 PM

was read on 10/16/2008 8:39 AM.

Public Information Officers

are public servants hired by public servants.

They are paid tax dollars to deliberately deceive the public
about the state of public resources and power.

Consider for example; Rigo Chavez,
APS' Director of Communications.

And consider Monica Armenta,
APS' Executive Director of Communications.

Who split between them, the better part of a quarter of a million tax dollars a year, and

neither of whom will tell you why

No one in the entire leadership of the APS
is honestly accountable as a role model
of the student standard of conduct.

Why doesn't Jon Barela just 'fess up?

There is no law, no rule, no regulation, no policy which prevents
Jon Barela from responding immediately to a complaint that he
violated NM Republican Party Rules by not vacating his state
office before contesting against other republicans running for
the school board.

If he has a good and ethical explanation, there is no reason to
keep it secret even one day longer.



Today is the eighth business day in the complaint process
and the tenth day that Jon Barela has had to figure out

what would Scooby doo?

He is a senior role model of a standard of conduct that requires
a candid, forthright, honest, and rather immediate response
to the complaint.

He is responsible along with the rest of the leadership of the
APS for enforcing that standard of conduct upon students.

APS School Board meeting tonight

Again they will be asked to name a time, a day, and a place
where they will stand for legitimate questions about the public
interests in the public schools, and then respond to those
questions candidly, forthrightly, and honestly.

Again they will refuse.

Despite the fact that they insist that they want to create
communication between themselves and stakeholders, and

despite the fact that insist that they want to improve public
perceptions of the APS, and

despite their obligations as the senior most role models of a
standard of conduct that requires candid, forthright and honest
responses to legitimate questions.

They model only hypocrisy.

The Albuquerque Journal's education reporter will be there.
She will write nothing about the ethics and accountability
scandal in the leadership of the APS; never has, never will.


The proof, it is said, is in the pudding.
The pudding does not include any opportunity for stakeholders
to ask legitimate questions of the leadership of the APS.

If the leadership of the APS had any intention at all
to be honest with stakeholders, they would provide
an opportunity for stakeholders to ask legitmate questions
without filtration.

They will not, and that is compelling proof of their intention to
continue to hide from stakeholders and the truth.

It is compelling proof of their underlying and overarching dishonesty.


How can stakeholders trust them while they continue to refuse
to offer any indication that they are trustworthy?

How can stakeholders trust them when they continue to refuse
to provide answers to even the simplest and most fundamental
questions like; a request for an honest accounting of the money
they have spent at 6400 Uptown Blvd?

The truth is that they could not care less whether or not
stakeholders trust them. Their day to day existence is
uneffected by the issue of stakeholder trust;
they are still going to get a billion tax dollars a year to spend.
Stakeholder trust does not play.

It doesn't play at least until the next mill levy or bond issue election.
And then they will pay the piper.

"APS Board Candidates Need Transparency, Too"

is the title of an editorial opinion is this morning's Journal link

From that editorial;

Board member Marty Esquivel wants to make that election more transparent and its candidates more accountable by adopting a resolution that encourages them to disclose their campaign contributions and spending, and provides a way for them to do so.

The editors conclude that;

The move promises to foster trust in the APS board,
its members and its decisions.

In a move to guarantee that trust in the leadership of the APS is never restored, the leadership of the APS steadfastly refuses to provide stakeholders any opportunity to ask legitimate questions of the leadership of the APS,

and then to expect candid, honest and forthright responses.

In a disconnect of monumental proportion, APS Superintendent Winston Brooks and the board of education steadfastly refuse to be honest with stakeholders and yet expect to restore public trust.

The Journal's education reporters have watched the board and superintendent refuse to tell the truth over and over and over again, and will not share that truth with stakeholders.

Stakeholders who trust either the leadership of the APS or
the Albuquerque Journal to tell the truth about the public
interests in the public schools will find out eventually that their
trust has been betrayed by both the leadership of the APS and
by the Journal.

NM Republican Party integrity test

There is a complaint floating around in the leadership of the
New Mexico Republican Party. The complaint is against
a state officer.

A week after the complaint was filed, no action has been taken.

They say it is because the complaint has reached only their ears,
but not their eyes.

What bullshit.

Good leadership tolerates due process.

Great leadership expedites it.

There is no good and ethical reason to deny due process to a
legitimate complaint. To do so creates the appearance of a
conflict of interest. It raises the possibility that the good ol' boys
are cutting some slack for one of their own.

Jon Barela contested for a school board seat against fellow
Republicans without having first vacated his office as
First Vice Chairman of the NM Republican Party
as seems to be required by party rules.

The investigation of that complaint requires reading the rule
and then asking Jon Barela if there is a good and ethical
explanation for his apparent failure to obey the rule.

His answer should not take weeks to articulate. In fact,
the longer he takes to write it, the less credibility it has.
At some point he has not only to respond to the complaint,
but also some responsibility to explain why it has taken him
so long to respond.

The integrity of the leadership of the NMGOP rides upon the
question of whether or not that complaint will ever see due process.

So far, the lack of due process implies a lack of integrity.

That suspicion of a lack of integrity attaches itself to candidates
like Darren White who were appointed by these same
good ol' boys, independent of the wishes of stakeholders.
If they are good ol' boys accountable to no one and no rule,
it stands to reason that they would not appoint someone who
would be a threat to their cushy little arrangement.

"Activities keep kids motivated"

In the Journal this morning, you find an article link sub req
by Winston Brooks.

In his essay, Supt. Brooks argues that "after school" activities
will keep students motivated to stay in school.

While I support his argument that we need more after school
activities, I would disagree that they have a profound effect on
motivation in school in general.

Most troubling about the argument that "it is all about after
school activities", is that it supplants the argument that every
aspect of the curriculum during the school day should be subject
to a great deal of scrutiny about the role it plays in motivating
students.

Every class, every subject must be examined in the light of its
effect on engaging students. Any offering, no matter how
valuable it seems in the long run, that acts to unmotivate or
disinterest students will cause as much harm as good.

It is not so much what a student learns, as it is that they grow
into decent human beings with the skill set necessary to become
life long learners.

If a student has the capacity to learn, they will have the
opportunity to learn what they need to know,
when they need to know it. It is possible for a child to
be an interested, motivated, and successful learner,
with no particular interest in history, or literature,
or maybe even in math.

The simple truth is that students will not learn anything
against their will.

The process is not one of "teaching", it is one of "learning".
There is no such thing as an unmotivated and disinterested
"learner", the concept is oxymoronic.

There needs to be a discussion of whether on not we really
need every child to be on the same page in every subject
on every day. It flies in the face of reason. It is only done
that way because that is the way it has always been done.

It is time to think outside the box.

Jon Barela's defense; classic good ol' boy response

It is apparent that Jon Barela's response to a complaint that
he violated NM Republican Party Rules when he chose
not to vacate his state office before contesting against other
republicans,
will be to pretend that he has not heard the complaint.

I talked on the phone with the chairperson of the NNGOP
Rules Committee, Ms. Lou Melvin, on Monday, October 6, 2008.
She made a commitment during that phone call to then call
Mr. Barela and ask him about the circumstances surrounding the
complaint.

I would argue that, unless Ms. Melvin was being deliberately
dishonest with me, that she did in fact contact Mr. Barela.
I would argue that it is fair to suppose that Jon Barela was
aware of the complaint either Monday afternoon or Tuesday.

I personally cc'd a post link to Mr. Barela on Friday.
He had, and has, every opportunity to respond to a complaint
that he is in violation of a rule that is clear on its face.

His apparent response thus far; he still hasn't heard about the complaint.

Either that, or he sees no obligation to respond to the complaint
candidly, forthrightly, honestly, and rather immediately.

Which brings us to his several obligations as one of the most
senior role models of the student standard of conduct.

The student standard of conduct would require a student
who is the subject of a complaint to step up and address the
complaint. A student is required to respond to the complaint
candidly, forthrightly, honestly, and rather immediately.

The lesson students learn from watching the leadership of the APS, is to respond to a complaint by stonewalling the issue. If the complaint goes far enough, students will witness large sums of tax dollars going to the Modrall, or some other law firm, to litigate an exception for Mr. Barela.

Why do we tell children about George Washington and the cherry tree? Why is that among the first stories that we tell them?

It is because there is no point in having rules if there is not accountability to those rules. And further that, it is to be admired when someone stands up and voluntarily accepts accountability to the rules. And further still, that there are higher standards of conduct than the lowest standard of conduct (the law) and those that hold themselves accountable to a higher standard of conduct than the law are to admired accordingly.

Which brings us back to the lesson that Jon Barela and the
rest of the good ol' boys teach students in the APS every day;
that is absolutely alright to avoid the consequences of
misconduct by any means at your disposal.

The school board teaches it to the Superintendent,
who teaches it to a myriad of mid level administrators,
who teach it to principals, who teach it to teachers,
who teach it to students.

Then we wonder why when a child is asked about their
misconduct, their first inclination is to avoid the consequences
that they have earned.

If we really want children to grow up to embrace honor and
courage and character, someone has to show them what it
looks like.

I would encourage Mr. Barela to step up as a role model.
I would encourage Mr. Barela to show staff and students what
it looks like to embrace character and courage and honor.

I expect that he will not.

I expect that he will continue to stonewall the issue until after
another election in February cements his position on the APS
Board of Education.

Then he will offer,

Oops, my bad.

... and that will be the end of it.

Obviously filing a complaint is of no consequence in enforcing
rules when one of the good ol' boys is involved.

Every generation expects the next generation to be
the first generation to hold itself honestly accountable
to meaningful standards of conduct and competence;
while they busy themselves excepting themselves from
honest accountability to any standards at all.

Every following generation then falls short of the expectation
set for them, following instead; the example that is set for them.

We should not be so worried that our children
never listen to us, as we should be worried that
they are always watching us. sinclair

cc Jon Barela upon posting.

I say Juris Mustelidae; what do you think?

Early last week, I called the Republican Party of New Mexico
to lodge a complaint against Jon Barela.

Jon Barela just ran against at least three other Republicans for a seat on the Albuquerque Public Schools Board of Education.

The Republican party rules require sitting state officers to vacate their offices before contesting for public position against other Republicans.

Jon Barela still is the First Vice Chairman of the
New Mexico Republican Party.

Jon Barela obviously did not vacate his office.

I have received a response to my complaint;

Email written by Lou Melvin
Sent for Lou Melvin by RPNM

Mr. MacQuigg,

A friend saw my name on your blog and gave me a copy of the entry dated October 7, 2008, since I do not have e-mail.

I checked my correspondence at the Republican Party of New Mexico office, and no written or e-mailed copy of the complaint mentioned in your blog has been received for me as Rules Committee Chairman. Further, to my knowledge, no written or emailed complaint has been received by any member of the Republican Party of New Mexico Rules Committee to this date.

Please send a written copy of the complaint as you indicated in your blog as having been filed, and which was requested by me during our earlier phone conversation.

A copy of the complaint is necessary to share with the committee members before any action can be formally considered.

Lou Melvin, Chairman
Republican Party of New Mexico Rules Committee

It is as I suspected;

no action has been taken.

None can be unless and until I skip through another hoop or two.

The question is; should it make any difference at all,
how a complaint is delivered?

If the good ol' boys that "lead" the Republican Party of New Mexico, had any inclination at all to enforce the rules,
do you really suppose that they would be waiting on a complaint made in a particular format?

Did they wait on a complaint in a particular format before they crucified Fernando C de Baca?

No practical, good, and ethical purpose is served by not acting
on the complaint as submitted. It amounts to nothing but
game playing in order to weasel out of accountability.

An entire branch of the practice of law is devoted to it.

Juris Mustelidae;

Juris as practiced
by members of the weasel family,
or; legal weaselry.

An emailed complaint has been sent.

Finally the good ol' boys will be able to enforce their rules.




For the record, and on my honor;
I was assured by Ms. Melvin that in contacting her,
I had contacted the rules committee and no further action
was required of me. No request was made that the complaint
be re-submitted written form.

Day six in the adjudication of the complaint against Jon Barela

and still nothing from the good ol' boys who run the Republican
Party of New Mexico.

Still nothing on Jon Barela's apparent blatant and egregious
violation of their party rules.

Rules are for fools (and the politically powerless) apparently.

And who cares if 89,000 of this community's sons and
daughters follow his example?

Anybody at all?

"To educate a man in mind and not in morals is to educate a menace to society."

According to Theodore Roosevelt.

If one accepts the premise, then the APS is graduating about
7,000 menaces to society every year.

Why has the leadership of the APS decided, without the participation of stakeholders, to drop character education from the curriculum?

There is really only one reason; the leadership of the APS does
not want to be held accountable as role models of any standard
of conduct higher than the lowest standard of conduct of all;
the law. Truth be known, APS Modrall is not accountable even
to the law.

If these allegations are not true, how else do you explain the
abandonment of character education in APS curriculum?

There is no other explanation.

If there were, Winston Brooks would offer that explanation
right here. ________________________________.

He won't, even anonymously, because he cannot.
No one in the leadership of the APS can offer any explanation,
so they won't. They won't even talk about character education
in any forum where they might be asked to explain, defend, or
even acknowledge their abandonment of any emphasis at all on
character education.

There is not, apparently, anyone in the entire leadership of the
APS with the character and the courage to hold themselves
honestly accountable as a role model of the student standards
of conduct and competence.

This is not simply an intellectual exercise. Were there meaningful
standards of conduct and competence for anyone in the APS,
truancy would decrease, the number of drop outs would
decrease, classroom and campus misconduct and disruption
would decrease, bullying would decrease, test scores would
improve, and graduation rates would increase.

There is every reason to restore an emphasis on character
education and no reason to abandon it except for the cowardice
and corruption of the leadership of the Albuquerque Public Schools.

cc Winston Brooks upon posting.

Jon Barela ignores APS BOE Code of Ethics

Jon Barela is a member of the Albuquerque Public Schools
Board of Education, and as such subject to its code of ethics.
link

Jon Barela, only weeks into his appointment is already in
blatant violation of a number of rules.

In particular, I call attention to the following rules; each of which
is being violated by Barela.

1. Make the education and well-being of students the basis for all decision making;

4. Establish an open, two-way communication process with students, staff, families and all segments of the community;

6. Accept responsibility and accountability for one’s own actions and behaviors;

7. Avoid conflicts of interest or the appearance thereof and refrain from using the board position for personal or partisan gain;

9. Delegate authority for the administration of the schools to the superintendent and establish a process for accountability of administrators;

Jon Barela violated Rule 7 by accepting appointment to the board. The board was in need of another member who would support at least two of the board's current priorities;

1. to avoid an honest and impartial audit of the APS Modrall relationship, and
2. to conceal the nature of the good ol' boy organizational structure of the leadership of the APS.

Since Jon Barela has recent ties to the Modrall law firm, and because he is currently one of the good ol' boys himself, he has created the appearance of a conflict of interest by accepting the appointment. The appointment was absolutely unnecessary as the vacant seat would have been filled by election in a matter of weeks.

No one in the entire leadership of the APS obeys Rule 4. There is no "two way" communication. Jon Barela and the rest of his cronies in the leadership of the APS steadfastly refuse to answer legitimate questions about the public interests.

In refusing to respond to a complaint that Barela violated NM Republican Party Rules when he did not vacate his state office in that organization, when he opposed other republicans vying for the seat on the school board; Barela is in violation of Rule 6.

Jon Barela joins the rest of the leadership of the APS in obstructing an immediate full scale forensic audit of the entire leadership of the APS. Despite overwhelming and incontrovertible evidence of public corruption and incompetence in the leadership of the APS (the Meyners Audit and the public corruption and criminal conspiracy in the APS Police Department, to name but two examples), Jon Barela and the rest of the leadership of the APS refuse to begin an honest administrative accountability audit, and further refuse to explain, defend, or even acknowledge their opposition; in violation of Rules 1, 4, 6, 7, and 9.

If our interests lie in getting the 89,000 of our sons and daughters who are students in the APS, to embrace honest accountability to meaningful standards of conduct and competence,
then someone has to show them what they look like.

It will not be, apparently, Jon Barela.

For the record we are now in day five of the NM GOP's
response to the complaint that Jon Barela has violatied
republican party rules, and still no response from the
good ol' boys that run the republican party in NM.


cc Jon Barela at barela_jon(at)aps.edu upon posting.