I’ve been to many governmental entity meetings over the years, so I can’t say that the Harris County Department of Education tax increase hearing that I attended yesterday was the worst. But it does rank somewhere in the bottom 100 or so. Good grief, these people have the power, yes POWER, to raise your taxes, take money out of your pocket, and they sat there and argued in public without seeming to know what they were talking about. No wonder citizens don’t bother to attend these things.
Let’s cut to the chase: the board of the Harris County Department of Education wants to raise your taxes by…well, there is a lot of argument about that but here is a simple breakdown based upon two of the Harris County Department of Education’s own worksheets: the 2012 Effective Tax Rate Worksheet and the 2012 Rollback Tax Rate Worksheet.
There you go: a MINIMUM of 8{997ab4c1e65fa660c64e6dfea23d436a73c89d6254ad3ae72f887cf583448986}. At the meeting itself, they said 8.9{997ab4c1e65fa660c64e6dfea23d436a73c89d6254ad3ae72f887cf583448986} but there are so many numbers floating around, and ways to distort them, that I think it best I stick to what they have published. Speaking of published, you’ll note that they published a notice saying that they were going to increase “total tax revenues” by 5.7{997ab4c1e65fa660c64e6dfea23d436a73c89d6254ad3ae72f887cf583448986}. How do they arrive at this number? By law, of course. From the “Truth in Taxation” (now there is a misnomer) FAQ:
If a governing body — other than a school district, small taxing unit or special water district — proposes to adopt a tax rate that exceeds the lower of the unit’s effective or rollback rate, it must publish a quarter-page notice in a local newspaper to announce two public hearings.
See, they don’t use the actual rate from last year, they use the rate they calculated in that worksheet I linked to above. So they can call it 5.7{997ab4c1e65fa660c64e6dfea23d436a73c89d6254ad3ae72f887cf583448986} but it is in fact 6.3{997ab4c1e65fa660c64e6dfea23d436a73c89d6254ad3ae72f887cf583448986} versus last year. And note from my little worksheet that the increase doesn’t include the 1.62{997ab4c1e65fa660c64e6dfea23d436a73c89d6254ad3ae72f887cf583448986} increase due to increased property values, which could be appraisal creep or new construction or a combination of both.
But heck, who cares, right? No, seriously, who cares? Two members on that board sure don’t. One is a Democrat, so you sort of expect that attitude, but the other is a guy that I have supported and defended in the past. Hey, fool me a hundred times but on the 101st, I figure it out! First, the Democrat, Debra Kerner. Ms. Kerner flat out stated “I don’t care about the 8.9{997ab4c1e65fa660c64e6dfea23d436a73c89d6254ad3ae72f887cf583448986}!” Earlier, she had complained that they were wasting time talking about such an insignificant increase when you look at it in terms of dollars per household or percentage of their total budget, because taxes only constitute 20{997ab4c1e65fa660c64e6dfea23d436a73c89d6254ad3ae72f887cf583448986} of the total budget anyway. Hey, at least she’s honest. Who cares about a million here or a million there when you can go get more federal grant money!
Not to be outdone, Republican Roy Morales brought some props to show just how ridiculous it is to worry about such a small increase! He held up a package of what looked like cheese crackers and said, “Look! This is all we are talking about!” And then for some reason, he held up another pack and muttered something about how we could have two.
Wow. If Republicans care so little about tax increases, we are doomed. At least the good Lt. Col. (Ret.) eats whole grain cheese crackers.
Fortunately, not all of the Republicans on the board are like Lt. Col. (Ret.) Morales. Marvin Morris and Mike Wolfe put up a good fight. Marvin stated that he doesn’t see how the board can raise taxes 6.3{997ab4c1e65fa660c64e6dfea23d436a73c89d6254ad3ae72f887cf583448986} when the economy is only growing at 1.5{997ab4c1e65fa660c64e6dfea23d436a73c89d6254ad3ae72f887cf583448986}. Mike then made the point that the actual increase was closer to 9{997ab4c1e65fa660c64e6dfea23d436a73c89d6254ad3ae72f887cf583448986}, for which he was attacked by Kerner and Morales. Even Board President Angie Chesnut tried to argue with Mike, thinking that he was referring to the tax rate and insisting that the increase was only 6.3{997ab4c1e65fa660c64e6dfea23d436a73c89d6254ad3ae72f887cf583448986}. Mike was eventually vindicated, when the budget director did a calculation on screen and the total tax burden would be increased by 8.9{997ab4c1e65fa660c64e6dfea23d436a73c89d6254ad3ae72f887cf583448986}. Again, I kept it simple in the chart above, using only the numbers provided from HCDE’s public worksheets. So my 8{997ab4c1e65fa660c64e6dfea23d436a73c89d6254ad3ae72f887cf583448986} is low and conservative but bear in mind that the members themselves disclosed that taxes will be increased by 8.9{997ab4c1e65fa660c64e6dfea23d436a73c89d6254ad3ae72f887cf583448986} if they pass their increase.
And frankly, I think that they are going to pass it. Board members Evans and Henley rarely attend meetings because of personal issues, so we are most likely looking at a repeat of the initial vote, in which Chesnut joined Morales and Kerner as Yeas, with Morris and Wolfe as Nays. There is a bit of hope in that Chesnut asked for more budget documents to review. I’ll tell you this much – if they do pass this ridiculous increase, the calls to eliminate the Harris County Department of Education will grow louder and have more force behind them.
Lastly, why do I say this is a “ridiculous” increase? I mean, apart from the fact that it will raise taxes between 8-9{997ab4c1e65fa660c64e6dfea23d436a73c89d6254ad3ae72f887cf583448986}? Because the stated reason for the increase was that they need the money for a new startup business called the “Cloud Project”. You read that correctly. In addition to the other businesses that they run, they think there is a market for a new cloud computing service. Yep, they think they can do it better than Amazon or HP or IBM or anyone else. There is scant mention of this project on their website, just three documents have references to it. The September Dollars and Cents newsletter lists it once, a one million dollar budget line. And the FY 2012-13 BUDGET AMENDMENT REPORT – GENERAL FUNDS 100-199 lists the same one million dollars budget line. The 2013 Budget Book uses the term “cloud” 8 times, and details the expected expenditures:
Do you think that government agencies should be in the profit business? Using your money for seed capital?
I certainly don’t.
Ridiculous.
Dave, I find the HCDE to be a revolting waste of Harris County Taxpayers money. Has anyone ever asked them how many “schools” they are actually in charge of or why their budget is so massive for such a small group of people?
I think if someone were to look into the money they spend and the bang for the buck that Haris County gets from these fools they would be amazed at the waste. Its a shell for more of the money grab that seems to be so prevalent in government.
Matt Dexter
They’re budgeting $41,725 in FICA/Medicare on total wages/salary of $190,000?
That’s 22 percent, about three times the statutory rate.
On Oct. 25 Roy Morales will be speaking at the Downtown Pachyderms about Harris County Department of Education. Might be a good time to ask some questions.
Five will get you ten that Roy puts the crackers on his HCDE expense report.
Matt Dexter,
I’ve been for the elimination of the HCDE for quite a while but to be honest, it was based upon the opinion of others. Lately I’ve been trying to find out more about what they do and if they serve a purpose that cannot be duplicated. Here is a study that is about a year and a half old:
http://www.hcde-texas.org/docs/221-4185{997ab4c1e65fa660c64e6dfea23d436a73c89d6254ad3ae72f887cf583448986}20MGT{997ab4c1e65fa660c64e6dfea23d436a73c89d6254ad3ae72f887cf583448986}20Final{997ab4c1e65fa660c64e6dfea23d436a73c89d6254ad3ae72f887cf583448986}20Report{997ab4c1e65fa660c64e6dfea23d436a73c89d6254ad3ae72f887cf583448986}2012-07-10.pdf
It is very long and detailed but it does present a different picture than my perception is. At this point, I still don’t see the value of the organization, especially given the enormous size, but I’m trying.
Roy Morales has a vested interest in the million spent on cloud computing. He is partners with the vendor that will get the contract. Conflict of interest much? Should he even be allowed to vote if he stands to gain from the contract? both in his pocket and through campaign contributions???
Roy Morales took a grassroots spot to the Republican National Convention and then didn’t even bother to show up. He is a disgrace to the party.
Given his likely financial conflict of interest with Phonoscope, outgoing Trustee Roy Morales should recuse himself from this vote.
What are the specific ties between the cloud project and Phonoscope? And what ties Roy to Phonoscope?
Mike, like a 2009 $3000 campaign contribution from the owner of Phonoscope?
Roy Morales is a paid consultant for Phonoscope. He routinely abstains from votes that pertain to Phonoscope. Lee Cook, who founded Phonoscope along with entertainer Bing Crosby, has given tens of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions to both Roy Morales and former HCDE Trustee Raymond T. Garcia.
Phonoscope does almost all of our IT work at HCDE, as far as I know. When Roy Morales is asked if Phonoscope will receive the contract for this Cloud Technology, he would not deny it.
I firmly believe that Phonoscope is the only likely vendor for this project and after Roy Morales leaves HCDE come January, I’m sure he will be back at HCDE meetings on behalf of Phonoscope. It is my view that Roy Morales will directly benefit financially from the proposed 8.9{997ab4c1e65fa660c64e6dfea23d436a73c89d6254ad3ae72f887cf583448986} HCDE tax revenue increase of close to $1.5 Million Dollars, of which $1 Million Dollars will be earmarked for the Cloud Technology, most likely going to Phonoscope.
Roy Morales apparently first got to know Phonoscope founder Lee Cook when Roy Morales worked for the City of Houston before being let go by the City right before his first unsuccessfull run for for Houston City Council.
In fact, I’m told that last year Roy Morales was considering resigning from the HCDE Board, but I’m told the Superintendent talked him into staying in order to have more support for tax increases.
The funny thing is in almost every example I can think of, Roy Morales usually changes his mind on tax increases at the last minute when the grassroots and the media get involved and Roy Morales succumbs to conservative pressure.
Also David, regarding that study that you link to above, I was told that I would have to sign a confidentiality agreement to see the drafts of it. HCDE President Angie Chesnut, who has voted for every tax increase since I have been at HCDE, told me that she didn’t want me releasing information in the drafts to the media that would embarrass HCDE. Harris County Taxpayers paid hundreds of
millionsthousands of dollars for that study and the drafts.CORRECTION: HCDE paid hundreds of thousands of dollars, not hundreds of millions of dollars for the management study you link to.
well I have heard enough. I refuse to support Roy for any future office ever again.
And Angie voted for every tax increase? she is the darling of Ed Emmett. is that really true?
I don’t know if Angie voted for every increase or not. I do know that she really believes in the work they are doing and is the primary reason that I’m trying to learn more about the HCDE and what they do before continuing to say they should be abolished. And I didn’t know that she was the “darling of Ed” – why do you say that?
Dave,
I read the “study” that you made mention of and what I find disturbing is the fact that they used their own staff to complete surveys and then commended themselves for using an “independent” group to conduct the study. Its a SHAM!
Furthermore, here is text from the study that shows what a load of bullsh*t they try to sell:
MGT conducted the onsite review of HCDE during the weeks of April 5 and 12, 2010.
The visits included interviews with numerous Department administrators and staff at the
central office, auxiliary facilities, schools,various HCDE clients, and other state service providers. The Department office staff compiled additional documentation in response to MGT’s data request list, and our team collected information on policies, procedures, programs, and system practices in all areas.
First, HCDE doesnt have any schools, so when they say they visited school, I’d love to see the campus they went to where they spoke with administrators and staff…
Second, the office staff goave them the information used for the study. What did they expect the results to be, DUH?
Finally, HCDE plays fast and loose with statistical information and information requests, especialy from within their own area of responsibility. It is no wonder that they give themselves such a glaring review.
Thanks for sharing the link. I think if you read between the lines, you can see that it a self rewarding review of how they say they are so valuable, do such a great job and are of vital importance.
Look no furhter than the above comments from one of their own trustees to see what a crackpot organization this is…. I hope that they are not long for this world and someone, somewhere exposes the SHAM that is the HCDE.
Dave, you and I didn’t agree on the Lykos issue(s), but this is somewhere where I think we will agree that this is a WASTE!
Matt Dexter
Matt, thanks for the comment – like I said, I’m still trying to figure this one out.
“First” – I’ve been told that HCDE had 5 campuses and I’m hoping to visit them. The study indicates that they do.
“Second” – well, honestly, all “independent” studies that I’ve been associated with in the private sector always base their answers on the information obtained from staff. So, no, I don’t discount this “study” simply because they did the same.
I don’t know about the “fast and loose” comment – can you provide examples?
Yeah, i get that I misjudged Roy over the years. My bad, not much I can do about that.
About the DA race, I lost. That is the end of it for me. And I think, read “I THINK” that I’m right in my previous judgments that the HCDE is a waste of money. But, having met Angie Chesnut, I have to say that I might be wrong and need to continue researching the issue. Hey, if I was wrong about Anderson….. 😉
I am a retired teacher who agrees with Matt, HCDE is a SHAM. Our tax dollars do NOT provide direct services to students. All the services HCDE provides are covered by grants or fees. They do operate 4 ALTERNATIVE schools with a TOTAL enrollment of 423 students – NOT per school– TOTAL. But, the school districts pay TUITION for each student and students do NOT have to reside in Harris County to attend. The students do NOT leave their home districts rolls so all testing and accountability is still in the hands of the home districts. There are over 50 other alternative campuses in Harris County, so if you are going to visit HCDE’s, you need to visit the others also to see that HCDE is in no way the ONLY entity in the county which can provide alternative schools.
The school districts also pay PER HOUR for the therapy services used, PER TEACHER for workshops, etc. Other services like adult education are paid through grants. HCDE is just the middle man to distribute the grant funds. If they were truly GREAT, EVERY school district in Harris County would keep HCDE so busy that HCDE would not be traveling all over the US in search of clients?
As far as the MGT of America review paid for by HCDE, IMMEDIATELY before MGT of America was to give their first report to HCDE, someone decided that EVERY Board Member who wished to hear what MGT of America had to say in a conference call had to sign a NON-DISCLOSURE agreement or they could not receive the information. That means the taxpayers paid over $200,000 for a report that elected officials – still to this day- may not view in its entirety unless they agree to never disclose what they find! An open records request was filed for the information AFTER the final report was issued, but HCDE is still fighting its release and, according to HCDE’s documents, only Angie Chesnut and Jim Henley participated.
I attended the Board Workshop where Texas Cloud Consortium was presented. Roy Morales was the ONLY board member present. On the very first slide in the HCDE presentation, Phonoscope and ATT were the two companies listed as service providers. After the presentation, I asked if Phonoscope would make money through TCC and the HCDE presenter said most likely they would. HCDE tells me that they are not required to keep or post notes of their workshop meetings, but you could file a request for the Power Point presentation presented that day to see it for yourself.
The reason for the concern that someone at HCDE will profit from TCC is because HCDE has claimed that TCC is patterned after CFP, their last business venture where they also used our local education funds as start-up capital. A previous BOARD MEMBER is still paid about $100,000 PER YEAR as a CONSULTANT for CFP. Also, in the MGT of America report on page 5-32 it states that some STAFF members also receive CONSULTANT contracts with CFP. So there is a possibility that Board members as well as current consultants and staff may profit personally from TCC just like some do with CFP.