EDUCATION
APS ends 12-year fight by releasing report on former superintendent
A court-ordered release details 2014 concerns about Winston Brooks’ leadership, workplace relationships and his wife’s contact with district employees and board members
After more than a decade of court battles, Albuquerque Public Schools on Friday released a report shedding light on the sudden resignation of former Superintendent Winston Brooks in 2014.
Brooks came under growing pressure to resign as concerns about his leadership, his workplace relationships and the involvement of his wife, Ann Brooks, became the subject of a confidential attorney inquiry in 2014.
State District Judge Nancy Franchini ordered APS to release the report with only a small redaction. The deadline to release it was Sept. 11.
The report’s release ends a 12-year legal fight that cost APS nearly $1 million in judgements and legal fees.
Albuquerque attorney Agnes Padilla made the inquiry in response to allegations that Ann Brooks used her husband’s cellphone and email to make harassing communications with APS board members and employees, according to the report.
Ann Brooks, now 71, told the Journal late Friday that she learned about the contents of the report in a text from a friend but has not been permitted to see the 12-page document itself.
"I am shocked at what I read (in the text) and I am saddened (about the findings)," Ann Brooks said. She said she wasn't even living in New Mexico at the time she allegedly made the calls. She declined to comment further saying that she and her husband were instructed not to talk about the case.
Asked if Winston Brooks could come to the phone, Ann Brooks replied, "No, he doesn't take phone calls with people." The two live in the Wichita, Kansas, area.
A voice message left for Winston Brooks on Friday was not immediately returned.
APS spokeswoman Johanna King said that while APS has complied fully with the court’s order, the report contains “deeply personal information — as well as unfounded allegations or unwarranted rumors” about APS employees.
“The release of this report underscores concerns about the broader implications about the Supreme Court’s decision,” King said in a statement. “In this case, information from more than a decade ago is now being made public, with the potential to cause real harm to individuals whose private lives are reflected in those records. It raises important questions about how state law balances the public’s right to know with legitimate privacy interests.”
The so-called “Padilla report” was based on interviews with eight people, including Winston Brooks. It was prepared for the APS Board of Education in response to allegations that Ann Brooks had contacted employees and school board members, and that some of those interactions were hostile, intimidating or abusive.
"Several witnesses interviewed believe Ann Brooks may have accessed communications between employees or board members and (Winston Brooks), and likely reached out to employees and board members on behalf of (Winston Brooks)," the report said.
Several employees described receiving calls or messages from Ann Brooks.
An unnamed board member told Padilla that she received a call from Ann Brooks in late 2012 or early 2013 that asked her, "I want to know why you were in an elevator with my husband and had access to his cell phone," the report said. Ann Brooks also accused the board member of having an affair with Winston Brooks, which the board member denied, it said.
Brooks later apologized to the board member and acknowledged that his wife’s conduct had been inappropriate.
The most serious allegations followed a November 2013 controversy involving Brooks’ Twitter comments about state education official Hanna Skandera. Brooks apologized for the comments and was suspended by the APS Board for three days without pay.
Some of the allegations correspond with news reports that emerged at the time. In November 2013, an emotional Brooks called 911 to summon Bernalillo County Sheriff's deputies to his home.
Brooks told deputies he and his wife had been arguing all night because she accused him of having affairs with co-workers, according to the sheriff's office. He said his wife also hated New Mexico and wanted to move back to Wichita.
Padilla also examined whether she had accessed Brooks’ APS-issued phone, email or other district equipment. The inquiry does not draw any conclusions as to whether Ann Brooks had improperly accessed Brooks’ accounts or devices.
Brooks denied that anyone had accessed his equipment without permission.
The district court previously awarded the Journal and KOB-TV $626,000 for fees and damages. Attorneys for the Journal and KOB intend to ask the court for work done since the award.
The school district fought the Journal and KOB to prevent the release of the report since Aug. 7, 2014. Brooks resigned Aug. 15, 2014, with a $350,000 payout.
“It is anticlimactic,” Journal attorney Gregory P. Williams said Friday. “The report makes clear that APS should have immediately released it when they relied on it to pay Winston Brooks $350,000 and end his tenure as superintendent.
“The public had a right to know why the school district was taking such a drastic action. Instead, APS chose to fight for 12 years to keep it secret from its own constituents,” Williams said.
Journal investigative reporter Colleen Heild contributed to this report.