What's going on, Albuquerque?

APS Foundation pissing away $50,000 on a PR campaign...why you should be outraged.

Have you seen the new commercials airing on the TV stations? This is money supposed to be spent on scholarships but instead has been given to the New Mexico Broadcasters to help APS raise their dismal public profile.

You can thank Paula Maes for this waste and theft of educational dollars. ( She has the blessing of Winston Brooks). I can't disclose my source.

You should be outraged because Paula Maes serves 2 masters...the APS board and the New Mexico Broadcasters who pay her to land and place business on TV and radio.

This is unethical, wrong, and not the first time Paula Maes has blurred the lines.

Rise up and throw her off the APS board. She does not do justice to the needy students of APS...she serves her own self interest in her paid position of the Broadcasters Association.

Tags: APS, FRAUD, FROM, MAES, PAULA, RADIO, SCHOLARSHIP, STEALING, STUDENTS, TV

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Permalink Reply by Dull John on December 21, 2011 at 11:28pm

Call the APS Foundation. Read their mission statement and ask for answers.

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Permalink Reply by Johnny_Mango on December 22, 2011 at 3:06am

From their stated purposes and mission statement, the money does not appear to be misspent. Moreover it is not public money anyway. The Foundation administers "gifts" for the "advancement" of APS. They seem to do a lot of good. It is headed by Phil Casaus, former editor of the ABQ Tribune--a man of unquestioned integrity. Paula Maes is only one of a 25 member Board of Directors...and an ex-officio member at that.

Paula Maes' real conflict of interest, if there is one, centers on her stance against KANW, the district's radio station that competes with the broadcasters she represents. In the past she has tried to put it out of business.

One other thing... your disregard for the facts leads me to believe you have other issues with APS. You also seem to be hiding behind a fictitious name and using this forum to promote hatred for an institution that many of us respect. Charges of "waste and theft of educational dollars" are serious enough that you should put your own name to the piece. Btw, my User-ID in the real world is Jon Knudsen. What's yours?

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Permalink Reply by Lebowski on December 22, 2011 at 8:43am

I am usually the first person to jump in and point out government corruption...this isn't it. Phil Casaus is a wonderful man and the foundation does really good work for APS. 100% of their budget is from donors. I have absolutely no problem with what they're doing, or what they have done for APS and the kids.

You sound like the typical teacher's Union whistle blower to me...am I right? Well let me tell you who is wasting our money and hurting kids...the teacher's unions. They have virtually ruined public education.

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Permalink Reply by Johnny_Mango on December 22, 2011 at 8:54am

He doesn't sound like a union whistle-blower at all. In fact the union president is also an ex-officio member of the board of directors. As far as what is ruining public education, you should probably spend some portion of your life working with children in a classroom setting before you start ranting about unions. Blaming unions for what's wrong with today's youth is laughable.

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Permalink Reply by Francis Kittredge on January 2, 2012 at 5:16pm

The problem with public education today is the overwhelming interference by politicians and bureaucrats. The union, especially in southern right to work states, has at best a tangential influence. In no way can it be blamed for the godawful policies under which public schools must struggle. NCLB, for example, was not a union effort but was the result of both political parties. The increase to class size was not the result of union effort, but was instead the result of short sighted and dishonest politicians and bureaucrats. Sorry, but harping on the union, and no I am not a union member, is a pointless waste of time.

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Permalink Reply by Lebowski on December 22, 2011 at 9:04am

I didn't say today's youth...I said public education. Today's youth and the breakdown of the family etc is another topic.
There's no question that there is a stark difference between the quality of education in a public school vs. a charter or private school. There is one primary common denominator...unions. You make a lot of assumptions about what I know...you can't chalk all of the public education failures up to funding or parental involvement. Education costs, per student, are as much as 30% higher in a public school. There is a problem in public education, I say we let it sort itself out in the market. Vouchers ought to serve that purpose.

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Permalink Reply by Dull John on December 22, 2011 at 9:24am

What surprises me is that you miss the point. $50,000 of APS Foundation money to the New Mexico Broadcasters Association...an organization that pays Paula Maes to acquire these funds from "advertisers".

Conflict of interest. Period.

I am not a hater of APS, I just believe in such a time of need, with lack of textbooks and graduation numbers at an unacceptable level, with APS being ranked so low in quality education, a $50,000 expenditure on PR is pure vanity and serves no real purpose .

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Permalink Reply by Zuzu Petals on December 23, 2011 at 8:24pm

I know I'm coming in when this conversation is almost over, but..I really like those commercials! I graduated from high school in ABQ public schools and I went on to achieve all of my career goals. I was able to pursue a bachelor's degree and now I'm in grad school. I get sick of people who believe that people who are educated in the public schools in New Mexico don't know anything and can't achieve anything. Much of this criticism I've heard is from people who are spending huge sums at Academy. I wish the decision to buy the commercials wasn't so conflicted, but I think those commercials are really good.

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Permalink Reply by cc on December 26, 2011 at 5:06pm

I would like to see these ads - missed them. For a long time I have thought APS needed better PR - ways for the public to actually see what is going on in classrooms. The goal would be for folks without kids in school to know the success stories.

Yes, Dull John, 50K seems too much. I do have to admit that I would be the last person to understand how much money is generally spent for TV ads - bet it would shock me how much it costs - the reality of how much stuff costs really does hit hard and feels outrageous. On the other hand, foundations are meant to do this kind of work - raising funds to promote. I would be curious how it compares to other ad campaigns, and other budget line items.

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Permalink Reply by Dull John on December 29, 2011 at 9:31am

All of you miss the point and I've done more digging so here is additional information and I will make this as clear as possible ...

The TV stations airing the commercials are NOT receiving money...they DONATED the airtime.

So where did the $50,000 go? TO THE NEW MEXICO BROADCASTERS ASSOCIATION!

WHY? TO PAY PAULA MAES, APS BOARD PRESIDENT WHO IS ON THE PAYROLL OF NMBA!

If you can't see the conflict of interest in this and the ethical PROBLEM in this then you must all be victims of an APS classroom of lower learning.

WAKE UP...our children are beefing robbed by an APS board president that has only her self interest in mind. Ask New Mexico Broadcast Association to open their books!

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Permalink Reply by Zuzu Petals on December 29, 2011 at 8:36pm

Gotcha. I suppose the money should be spent on something that you would profit from, perhaps? What is the difference between your self interest and someone else's? So instead of raising some outrage, which didn't happen, now you're driven to insult? "Beefing robbed?" you cannot even spell.

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Permalink Reply by Francis Kittredge on January 2, 2012 at 5:18pm

No, the money should go to underwrite novels for middle schools . . . . . . oh, wait, Winston Brooks has outlawed the use of novels in middle schools . . . . never mind . . .