Booster Clubs

Information is currency for democracy.

-Thomas Jefferson

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The best protection of the Texas Public Information Act is enforcement of the Texas Public Information Act.

- Dianna Pharr

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To avoid criticism, say nothing, do nothing, be nothing.

- Albert Einstein

If you aren’t completely appalled, you haven’t been paying attention.

Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.

- Martin Luther King, Jr.

My vision for Eanes can't be seen on a Jumbotron ...

- Eanes ISD parent

The truth is like the sun. You can block it out for a time but it ain't goin' away.

- Elvis

No man stands so tall as when he stoops to help a child.
- Abraham Lincoln

Judge each day not by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds you plant.

- Robert Louis Stevenson

All children deserve an equal playing field.

- Ed Allen, Westlake Picayune April 2008

Information is currency for democracy.

-Thomas Jefferson

It's about power and money and the law firms who control and run the school districts.

- K. Yeaman, Mom

Nothing is more destructive of respect for the government and the law of the land than passing laws which cannot be enforced.

- Albert Einstein

All you need in this life is ignorance and confidence; then success is sure. - Mark Twain

The best protection of the Texas Public Information Act is enforcement of the Texas Public Information Act.

- Dianna Pharr

BOOSTER CLUBS

According to Eanes ISD board policy GE in place when we requested the following public information:

Booster clubs who handle any monies through dues collections, fund-raising, etc., shall have an annual audit. This should be approved by an audit committee of the organization. An annual financial statement must be filed with the Superintendent. This statement must provide the following information for each fiscal year:

a. Beginning cash balance.

b. Total revenue and expenditures by major category.

c. Closing cash balance.

This report is due on or before July 1st of each year. (Note: Eanes ISD changed board policy during 2006 - new due date is September 1.)

- Chaps Club Financial Statements * read EISD Board Policy GE below

* Open Request dated March 23, 2004 (requesting 2002-03 to present)

* Attorney General assistance - July 14, 2004

* EISD certification dated September 14, 2004 to the Office of the Attorney General

that no responsive documents exist.

* A community member, surprised at the lack of responsive documents, offers assistance and we obtained these documents on October 6, 2004. Note: 2002-03 documents still outstanding.

- WHS Booster Club Financial Statements * read EISD Board Policy GE below

* Open Request dated March 23, 2004 (requesting 2002-03 to present)

* Attorney General assistance - July 14, 2004

* EISD certification dated September 14, 2004 to the Office of the Attorney General

that no responsive documents exist.

* A community member, surprised at the lack of responsive documents, offers assistance and we obtained these documents on October 6, 2004.

Protecting the status quo, good 'ol boy network, business as usual ...

Ghost busting
Brownsville Herald - TX United States

"This kind of thing has been going on forever," Buck Wood, an Austin ethics attorney and former Capitol worker, told The Associated Press last week. Such misuse of funds is outright theft, as it takes money from unwilling taxpayers and diverts it from projects that might actually benefit the public, instead of only those people who have finagled such sweetheart deals.

Remember ...

Speaking of "finagling," Buck Wood is also the attorney/lobbyist who represented lobbyist Thomas Ratliff (son of professional lobbyist Bill Ratliff) in a very friendly lawsuit "against" Eanes ISD back in 2006 ... timed just before the legislature met in 07. Eventually, Ratliff dropped the sweetheart lawsuit but not until a law was passed to make obtaining public information cost-prohibitive. Ratliff lobbied hard for this bill, testified, and wrote a congratulatory letter to the superintendent when it passed and then, of course he and his attorney Buck Wood dropped the lawsuit.

Interesting that just a few months before Ratliff filed the lawsuit, KeepEanesInformed gathered Eanes ISD public information, specifically Ratliff's emails between and among a school principal and fellow booster club members. KeepEanesInformed had already confirmed (for years) that the district was not complying with board policy that requires that a financial audit is provided to the superintendent annually from each booster club.) The emails obtained by KeepEanesInformed, just before Thomas Ratliff and his buddy Buck decide to "sue" the district, indicated that apparently $2900 was missing from one bank account. Further, there were multiple bank accounts and no one could figure out who the accounts (and money) belonged to ... the district or the booster club. Ratliff encouraged the others to "keep this under our hat." (Sorry, folks, Ratliff's hat is "invitation only.")

Well, as 'ol Buck would say, "This kind of thing has been going on forever."

Visit Community Update 4 and Community Update 11 and Community Update 15 to learn more.

Community Update Index here.