School boards wind up in front of judges often enough in wide-ranging legal actions. In an unusual turnabout, a former judge in Pueblo now hopes to wind up on his local school board – and is promising reforms he says will bring a much-needed dose of transparency to the board and the district it oversees.

Retired Chief District Court Judge Dennis Maes – described by the Pueblo Chieftain as “the most consistent and vocal critic of the board of education of Pueblo City Schools” – declared his candidacy for a school board seat this week. And as the Chieftain’s Jon Pompia reports, the former jurist aims to shake things up. Among other things:

…Maes is calling for “a thorough and extensive audit of school operations, from personnel to facilities.”

A school budget, he continued, “should reflect the reality of the situation rather than one which is comfortable to the sensibilities of the board.”

Maes also criticized the board for conducting too much business out of public sight:

“We can no longer accept the type of dishonest behavior and explanations that surrounded the still unexplained firing of (superintendent) Dr. Constance Jones and the retaliatory rejection of a highly qualified baseball coach,” Peter Terrence Montoya.

“Absent confidentiality concerns, the board and administration should have no qualms about explaining certain decisions that were reached after a deliberative and impartial process.”

In his sweeping indictment of district affairs, Maes also bemoaned the flight of “outstanding teachers and administrators and their many talents, because they were treated unfairly…” And he even took a shot at a fellow member of the bar, the board’s counsel:

“It is unacceptable that the highest paid employee is the school attorney with little or no emotional ties to the community and resides in Boulder.”

Looks like he really threw the book at the district. Now, what if he actually gets elected?