Rumor Circulating That Several Local Candidates For Office In Fort Bend Elections Have Requested State Monitors For May 14th Ballot Measures!

This just in from the "FBISD Concerns" facebook page. Several posts emanating from facebook pages seem to support a rumor that an official petition has been issued to the Texas Secretary of States office election division requesting election monitors for the May 14th ballot. The public post in question has appeared on several well visited sites and states, "FYI: Confirmation that a petition request has been sent to the TX secretary of states election division requesting state election inspectors to monitor the 40+ polling stations for next Saturdays election here in our county (Specifically FBISD, Sugar Land & Missouri City stations). Apparently 4 of the requesters are current candidates in school board races and city council races from our area. Several other candidates are also supporting the requests for monitoring this cycle."

We will update this once it has been confirmed via local media and/or other sources.

http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/home.php?sk=group_195822643783611&ap=1

Chron: Jenney Email On Budget Crisis Released By Teacher's Federation--

Superintendent's e-mail "dropped like a bomb"
January 29, 2010 2:51 pm Zen T.C. Zheng wrote:

An e-mail from Fort Bend school district chief Tim Jenney sent out to employees throughout the district on Friday morning created shock waves, representatives of a teacher’s union said.

“It dropped like a bomb,” said Anthony Lacsamana of the Fort Bend Employee Federation. “Teachers were alarmed.”

In his message, which was obtained by the Houston Chronicle, Jenney warned that a set of cost-shrinking measures will be unveiled in late February to end a cycle of the district operating under a deficit budget.

“We must take drastic action to work toward developing a balanced budget for the coming fiscal year,” he wrote.

A total of $18 million must be cut in operating costs, he said...

Full article: http://www.ultimatefortbend.com/2010/01/superintendents-e-mail-dropped-bomb#comment-1000

FBW:Fort Bend County District Attorneys Office Initiates Preliminary Investigation Into Potential Violations Of TPIA & TOMA Acts By FBISD Leadership!

FBW Exclusive: FORT BEND DISTRICT ATTORNEYS OFFICE INITIATES A PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATION OF FBISD FOR POSSIBLE TPIA/TOMA VIOLATIONS (FOLLOWING THE APPARENT FAILURE OF THE DISTRICT TO COMPLY WITH THE TEXAS AG ORDER EARLIER THIS YEAR INVOLVING THE HIGHLY CONTROVERSIAL PLAN TO BUILD WHAT HAS BEEN DEEMED, by some, THE "GLOBAL TAJ MAHAL")!

Staff Report

A citizens-watch group, lead by Sugar Land resident Nancy Henschel, attended a meeting with Fort Bend County DIstrict Attorney John Healey today to present documents related to the apparent failure of Fort Bend ISD to comply with the Texas Public Information Act and possibly the Texas Open Meetings Act (TX gov't code chapter 552) when requests were made by several different FBISD taxpayers over the course of the last 10 to 11 months.

Last spring the FBISD superintendent, Tim Jenney and former SL mayor (and commercial developer) Dave Wallace, announced plans to push forward on a near $30 million dollar duplicate spending/building project called the Global Science & Technology Center in the midst of a then near $10 million dollar budget deficit and record bond debt (now approaching $20 million). At the time they made representations that there was wide-spread support for the project as evidenced through a survey the district had completed. Several citizens groups, including FBISDWatch, became involved and attempted, without much success, to gain access to all related communications and documents involved in this ongoing project.

At first the superintendent publically agreed to turn over all the requested documents at a board meeting, but later referred the case to the district legal vendor David Feldman. After repeated attempts by the district to block access and after the school trustees had already voted to support the duplicate museum project, the Texas Attorney General ordered the release of almost all requested files. A month passed, according to sources, and most of the documents had not been released with the exception of the FBISD "feasibility" study survey. This is the same report that leaders earlier claimed demonstrated "overwhelming" support from the public for the project. Once this information was finally released, most local media in the area reviewed the survey findings and found just the opposite to be true (about 60% opposed this funding use during a budget crisis).

Several news agencies became involved and also initiated TPIA requests of their own, only to be stalled by the districts legal vendor and communications office once again. Just a few weeks ago the central office announced that the district will be moving forward with the GSTC ground breaking soon, but still would not release requested information surrounding possible donations or amounts for the project. A precondition for approval.

This afternoon, after meeting with the district attorney, Ms. Henschel and the citizens group were assured that the case would be assigned to an investigator and reviewed for possible further action.

We will update this information as it comes in....

FBN Breaking News: FBISD Police Chief Will Leave Force By End Of The Year!

Controversial Fort Bend ISD Police Chief To Retire At End Of Year
September 24th, 2009 | by John Pape, Fortbendnow

Fort Bend ISD Police Chief J.L. Campbell has announced he will retire and the end of the year.

Campbell made his plans known to police personnel in a memo dated Tuesday. FBISD Chief Communications Officer Mary Ann Simpson also confirmed the chief had notified district administrators he plans to retire.

In the memo, Campbell told police personnel that “it is time for me to begin a new journey on my career path.” He said he would retire effective Dec. 31 after 15 years with the department....(search earlier articles on this item)

Full story: http://www.fortbendnow.com/2009/09/24/40729

http://www.fortbendnow.com/2009/09/24/40729/924-fbisd-police-chief-letter-fb

Background:

http://www.fortbendnow.com/2009/01/02/34462

http://fbisdwatch.blogspot.com/2009/01/fbisdwatch-issues-call-for.html

http://www.fortbendnow.com/2009/01/05/34534

http://missouricitychatter.blogspot.com/search?q=FBISDwatch+seeks+investigation

Watch Exclusive: Conflicted Trustees Vote To Move Forward With Approving More Spending & Record Budget Deficit!

Last week, former FBISD school board member Stan Magee issued a public comment asking where the $122 million dollar surplus "fund balance" had gone (now listed as nearly 93 million) on the FortBendNow.com website, while opposing further tax increases and supporting a balanced budget. He further issued a statement to the effect condemning the boards vote in June to move forward in building the $30 million dollar "Global Taj Mahal" duplicate spending project (see Global Science & Technology Center and HMNS project opening in October in Telfair).

Of special note, the same two board members whom had adamantly supported the GSTC project, David Reitz and former BOT president Sonal Buchar, seemed to lead the charge in the budget hearing for making drastic cuts in the operating budget over the next few years and then voted lock-step on an amended budget that actually increases spending over the administrations proposed budget. During the agenda session on the amendments to the budget, the trustees seemed to have quite a deal of difficulty implementing "Robert's Rules of Order", which govern most governmental meetings.

During the public comments portion, the district's teacher association made a very strong and successful case, to protect raises and healthcare benefits by using funds from the "fund balance" to attempt to reign in this years budget deficit projected at nearly 19 million dollars (the largest in the districts history).

Special note: The "fund balance", so often mentioned in the above piece, comes from prior district bond funds voted on by the public for school projects that were NOT used and then "slipped" (moved) to this account. The district regularly uses this account to fund other projects in the system.

Final comment: FBISDWatch will continue to post updates to this story as local media weigh in...


Background: http://blogs.chron.com/fortbend/archives/2009/08/fbisd_ags_rulin.html#c1452860

FBW EXCLUSIVE: FBISD REQUIRED TAX HEARING DRAWS LARGE CROWD AND MANY SPEAKERS IN OPPOSITION TO SUPERINTENDENT'S PROPOSED TAX HIKE!

FBISD REQUIRED TAX HEARING DRAWS LARGE CROWD AND MANY SPEAKERS IN OPPOSITION TO SUPERINTENDENT'S PROPOSED TAX HIKE!
staff report

In past years the FBISD tax hearings, required by law, have drawn few if any participants to the sometimes dry sessions, but in stark contrast to the previous events, large crowds and several speakers were present to protest a variety of issues that many felt were impacting this years proposed 3.5 cent increase to service the ever growing district debt.

All of the citizens that addressed the board made it very clear that they opposed any tax increase. One speaker, Nancy Hentschel of Sugar Land, was very concerned about the board voting for the controversial $30 million dollar Global "Taj Mahal" only a month ago while failing to provide all communications ordered released by the Texas Attorney Generals office two weeks ago. Kevin Tunstall, of Missouri City, spoke to the importance of governmental entities being responsive to the needs of the electorate and how this wasn't the time for such a jump in the rate. Bruce Hutton, of Sugar Land, spoke of why his family moved here and how the reputation of the district seemed in decline and whether or not, with declining academics, they could justify such a hike in the rate. Then Joe Garland another Sugar Land native approached the board and asked them how much more they needed and then emptied his pockets, he also asked them what happened to the "fund balance" of $94 million dollars and why they weren't using that to retire the current budget short-fall.

Several other speakers would also attempt to sway the trustees and as usual the board president, Bob Broxson, issued the obligatory warning to the audience (of taxpayers) not to applaud several times to little avail. Finally Michael Lee, of Missouri City, was called to speak and presented the school board with a 'Writ of Remonstrance' with over 500 petitioner-homeowners signatures from the district requesting the board step down for violating their oaths of office. The writ was notarized and is in the process of being recorded with the county......all in all a very interesting evening and one that will need monitoring as the budget season continues.

This report will be updated soon....