It is going to be a long day tomorrow at the Harris County Department of Education for those of us that want to get all the information we can on the Early to Rise initiative. Here is the schedule:
The Harris County Department of Education Board of School Trustees will meet in a work session August 20, 2013 at 9:00 a.m., 6300 Irvington Boulevard in the board conference room to review and discuss the Early to Rise Initiative.
During this workshop no action will be taken.
Government Relations Committee Meeting
The Governmental Relations Committee of the Harris County Department of Education Board of School Trustees will meet in a work session August 20, 2013 at 12:00 p.m. or immediately following the 9:00 a.m. Board Workshop, 6300 Irvington Boulevard in the board conference room to discuss the business of that committee. During this committee meeting no executive session will take place and no action will be taken.
A Regular Meeting of the Board of Trustees of Harris County Department of Education will be held August 20, 2013, beginning at 1:00 PM in the Board Room of the Administration Building, 6300 Irvington Boulevard, Houston Texas.
If you browse through the agenda for the board meeting, you will see one item that pertains to the Early to Rise initiative:
8. EXECUTIVE SESSION Under the Texas Government Code pursuant to any and all purposes permitted by Sections 551.001-551.084, including, but not limited to: 551.071; 551.074
A. Private consultation with Board attorney(s) to obtain legal advice concerning early childhood education tax initiative.
I spoke with Board President Angie Chesnut this morning about the closed session. She told me that the board was going to discuss the initiative publicly and then go into closed session for legal advice from their attorney. One thing that Mrs. Chesnut made clear is that she is going to insure that the public has full and complete transparency about the matter. She is going so far as to place tablets in the back of the room so that citizens that are uncomfortable speaking in the open forum can write questions that they have for the board members to consider. She confirmed that no vote will be taken tomorrow and no vote has been scheduled at this point. I’m happy to see that she is going the extra mile to insure that the public has as much information as possible about this initiative.
Interestingly, Mrs. Chesnut was unaware that the department has already hired Fulbright & Jaworski to represent them in all legal proceedings surrounding the initiative. The agreement begins on page 453 of the long form board agenda. A special thank you to HCDE watchdog Colleen Vera for finding that agreement buried in the agenda. I have extracted the agreement for you to review:
HCDE – Fulbight & Jaworski agreement
Here is the relevant text:
This letter confirms that Fulbright & Jaworski LLP (“Fulbright”) will represent Harris County Department of Education (the “Department”) in connection with the negotiation of an Early Childhood Services Agreement between the Department and the Harris County School Readiness Corporation (the “Matter”). Our acceptance of that representation (the “Representation”) becomes effective upon the execution and return of the enclosed copy of this letter.
That’s some hubris on the part of Supt. John Sawyer. I spoke at one of the board meetings earlier this year and asked the board to reign in his signature purchasing authority precisely because of things like this.
If you want to speak tomorrow, you need to arrive 10 minutes early and fill out a card. You will be allowed to speak for five minutes, which is a lot longer than you think! The meeting will be held at the HCDE headquarters at 6300 Irvington Blvd. Rep. Debbie Riddle has promised to attend and I’m certain there will be some media present – the lack of a vote might reduce their numbers.
I’ll be there all day, attending the workshop, committee meeting, and board meeting so be sure to say hi.
Remember that Paul Bettencourt and James Calaway appeared on Khambrel Marshall’s Newsmakers yesterday. That “debate” is now online. Click here to view it.
And if you are really bored, you can listen to my conversation with Mark McCaig yesterday on his weekly radio show.
Jennings and McCaig on Early to Rise
Click here for the BJP Early to Rise information page!