Bullying in schools has become a national cause celebre. But what about bullying by school superintendents? The recent tweets in which he personally attacked both Gov. Martinez and Sec. Skandera and called them names are apparently only the most recent instance of his bad behavior.
According to the blog Diogenes’ Six, Brooks was a bully back in his days in Kansas as well.
I can’t imagine the head of New Mexico’s largest school district essentially calling the Secretary of Education who makes $258,560 a cow and getting away with it without serious repurcussions, can you?
Brooks should resign. But I’m not holding my breath. Maybe there is a spot in the NFL for him.
Winston Brooks’s appallingly bad judgment in his tweets regarding Education Secretary Scandera, should be considered a firing offense. He has exhibited this pattern of behavior in the past, but this time he really stepped over the line. There is absolutely no excuse for his behavior.
Winston Brooks may have exercised bad judgement in using social media to express himself, and his personal opinions. However, people forget that we have a Constitution which allows us, as human beings to express ourselves. Unfortunately, it appears everybody forgets we have freedoms such as ‘freedom of speech’, simply because someone is an employee of the state.
There is a fact that the Secretary-Designate of Education is not qualified for the job, that is according to the state constitution. So, she should resign, and the governor should find a qualified replacement who will not polarize the educational community in this state. That being said, at least Winston Brooks is ‘qualified’ to work in his job as leader of a large school district in New Mexico. Whereas Hanna Skandara is not qualified.
A New Mexico Voter
The first amendment’s protection of free speech is highly misunderstood. Yes, you do have a right to express yourself. However, your employer has a right, some would say responsibility, to ensure that the organization is represented in a positive light and that sexist and racist remarks are not tolerated.
To your point about Skandera. She is indeed qualified under the New Mexico Constitution. The document states that the Secretary must be a “qualified, experienced educator.” Skandera taught at Pepperdine University.