Information is currency for democracy.
- Thomas Jefferson
A day without sunshine is like, you know,
night. -
Steve Martin
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when it fails to work as advertised, it's the customer that gets labeled as
defective. - Kevin
Killion
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Courage is the most important of all
the virtues, because without courage you can't practice any other
virtues consistently. You can't be consistently kind or fair or
humane or generous, not without courage, because if you don't have
it, sooner or later you will stop and say, "The threat is too much.
The difficulty is ...too high. The challenge is too great. ~ Maya
Angelou
What do
Darren Allman* and David Perkins** have in common?
UPDATE:
Monday, May 17, 2010 - The reference to Coach Concepts, LLC was
removed today from the Linked In page for Mr. Perkins, Chap Club Board
Member and appointed Bond Committee Chairman. Here is a PNG copy of the Linked In page as it existed on the Internet just two
days ago on May 14, 2010: Linked
In - David Perkins and here
is the
Google cache
version.
POSTED:
Friday, May 14, 2010
Coach
Concepts, LLC
Link:
Secretary of State website: Darren Allman, Registered Agent,
Coach Concepts, LLC - formed April 6, 2010
1. First the superintendent appoints David Perkins (Chap Club
Athletic Booster Club Board of Directors) to chair the “Community” Bond Advisory Committee which clears
the way for him to review district information that he otherwise could
not access … information that is hidden from the public.
2. Following the review, Mr. Perkins conducts a “phone survey” about the
bond and claims that it is “private” thereby controlling the timing and
extent of disclosure … all of this during a bond election. Now the
public and even the elected officials are kept in the dark.
3. Finally, a ten minute Internet search (by KeepEanesInformed) turns up
a business partnership between Perkins and WHS head coach Darren Allman.
(Coach Concept, LLC created April 6, 2010 and phone survey conducted
April 12, 2010)
4. Now we have Jim Strickland (EISD board president and sports promotion
salesman) jumping to the defense of this whole plan (doesn’t he seem to
CARE an awful lot?) … even kicking the one board member who dares to
speak up for the public’s right to know.
There should be a clear distinction between an advisory committee and
the governing board. When members of the bond advisory committee hold
information, they hold power. When they intentionally hold information
from board members, controlling the time and extent of release, that's a
problem. During the May 10, 2010 meeting, EISD board members asked if
the district could reimburse Mr. Perkins for the costs of the survey so
that they could review all of the information. The answer was no.
The EISD board of trustees should review the approach of other entities
who have an effective and transparent process for selecting bond
advisory committee members and then create policy to guide future
selection. The board should also require
written conflict of interest disclosure when the Head Football Coach/Athletic
Director opens a private business with a Chap Club booster club board
member/Chair Bond Committee (or when any employee in a supervisory role or board member is
involved in a business venture with booster club board members or agents
of the district).
Instead, the President of the Board of Trustees
publicly
slams the only board member who dared to speak up and
defending an approach that keeps both the public and the board in the
dark during the bond election cycle.
