Honestly, I couldn't begin to tell you how much APS actually spends on a daily basis, litigating in the self interests of board members and senior administrators. I wouldn't be surprised to find, there is no one in the leadership of the APS who could tell you, or would if they could.
I'm talking about the money and effort they spend, simply to delay for one more day, the exposure of their particular corruption or incompetence. I offer as an example; the money they're spending to hide the public records of findings of at least three investigations into public corruption in the leadership of the APS; corruption including felony criminal misconduct.
I am suing APS over the right to inspect the findings of at least three investigations into public corruption and incompetence in the leadership of the APS police force and administration. There is no justification for continuing to refuse to produce the ethically redacted public records.
The Inspection of Public Records Act provides for a $100 dollar per day fine for every calendar day the leadership of the APS continues to refuse to produce the records. The leadership of the APS will not be paying the fine, taxpayers will. The money will come from "operational funds"; money which could otherwise be spent actually educating children.
To the extent that
operational funds, money that could be spent in classrooms, is being spent instead litigating exception to the law for senior administrators and board members, the money is being spent against the public interests.
It is litigation in interests of corrupt and incompetent administrators and board members over the interests of students.
This though the first rule in the APS School Board Code of Ethics,
link, reads;
Make the education and well-being of students the basis for all decision making.
How is student well-being served by using their classroom funding, to endlessly obfuscate and delay due process for complaints filed against senior administrators and school board members?
How many other complaints against APS senior administrators and board members are being denied due process by the manner in which APS litigates.
And, need I remind anyone; justice delayed is justice denied.
APS, taxpayers, are going to pay me for every meeting I couldn't participate in because of School Board President Marty Esquivel's unlawful abuse of the publicly funded private police force at his disposal. Over and above that, they are going to pay me for every meeting I miss between now and the time a federal court jury ends Esquivel's run from the consequences of his incompetence and corruption; striking down his unlawful banning letter .
There will be screw ups in politics and public service; people will be people. Taxpayers are going to have to pay for their screw ups. It's fair.
What isn't fair, is for operational dollars to be spent, not in pursuing a just resolution, but in forestalling one. Every day they don't lose, is a day they "win". If they're lucky enough, they can forestall their personal accountability forever. Likely none of the several lawsuits filed against APS Supt Winston Brooks will be settled during his tenure. Why should they?
Why should they, other than the self evident immorality in selfishly delaying justice, and the increasing costs of settlements to taxpayers and ultimately to students.
I talked to Marty Esquivel by phone one day early in the first school board campaign he and I were in together. I told him that I was interested in a "clean" campaign. We chatted for a while and in the course of that conversation, I communicated to him, my upset over the amount of money flowing into law firms litigating exception to the law for board members and senior administrators; the Modrall in particular.
He admitted to me that he knew quite well, how Modrall would jack up the cost of litigation and then settle before trial. Those settlements, of course, almost never include
any admission of guilt, public corruption or incompetence. Quite the opposite; settlements routinely include a statement disavowing any guilt of any kind, and another, that obligates the plaintiff to help keep the amount of the settlement secret from public knowledge.
At the time, APS insurer, United Educators, had raised APS' (taxpayers/operational funds) premiums, specifically, to cover the costs of inordinate litigation - far in excess of similar school districts.
Modrall was making so much money of APS at the time, APS wouldn't tell the truth about how much money they were actually funneling into a law firm run by the school board president's husband. I would hazard a guess that if you tried to find out even today, how much money is flowing into Modrall coffers through APS, a candid, forthright and honest answer would be hard to find.
They don't answer questions you know.
How many board members and their lawyers are running up bills as indefensible as they are unjustifiable, just to escape the consequences of their corruption and incompetence for one more day?
There is a reason why school board policy requires their lawyers to tell the truth (a detailed case analysis) about litigation to the entire school board.
And there is a reason as well that they're not following that policy in the litigation surrounding Marty Esquivel, Winston Brooks, Monica Armenta, Steve Tellez and Rigo Chavez. The whole board is yet to hear a candid, forthright and honest appraisal of the case against the heart of the leadership of the APS.
The reason no one knows about this save you, is the establishment media and their relentless refusal to investigate and report upon incontrovertible evidence of an ethics and accountability scandal in the leadership of the APS, and the cost to taxpayers, staff and students.
photo Mark Bralley
