Not so long ago, the Harris County Department of Education was an obscure organization that helped local ISD’s be more efficient and ran federal Head Start programs under budget. They are no longer obscure for a variety of reasons and it is very important that the people elected as Trustees for the department be dedicated to the mission of the department. There are two open seats on the board that are being contested in the Republican primary. Here are my choices and reasons for them.
County School Trustee At Large Place 5
This race pits RW Bray against former trustee Mike Wolfe. I’ll be voting for RW Bray. Bray is committed both to the community and to his country. After serving in the US Air Force JAG corps, he is now serving in the Reserves and has been Ellington Fields Law Office Superintendent for the past five years. You might remember Bray from his run for Texas Senate against now deceased Mario Gallegos and then another try for the seat in the special election. During that campaign, Bray brought the Republican message to the minority community, perhaps a thankless task but one that is vital to the future of the party. He is an excellent communicator and will serve the Harris County Department of Education with honor and dignity.
Mike Wolfe’s tenure on the board was not honorable or dignified. I consider Mike a friend but facts are facts. The positions have a six year term. I filed a Public Information Act request with the department, asking for records of meeting attendance and correspondence between Mike and the board/department. Over his term of six years, Mike was requested to be at 154 meetings – he was absent or left early (at times causing a loss of quorum) 76 times, or 49.4{997ab4c1e65fa660c64e6dfea23d436a73c89d6254ad3ae72f887cf583448986}. A dedicated elected official simply cannot miss half of his or her scheduled meetings and be effective. Click here to view his attendance record.
As well, Mike just couldn’t seem to get along with the board or the staff. Here are just a couple of examples. Click here to view the board’s censure of Mike.
WHEREAS Mr. Michael Wolfe has failed to notify the Department or other board members of his whereabouts for over three months. Board agenda and other official Department information mailed to the address he identified have been returned to the Department unread. Phone calls, emails, and other attempts to communicate with him have been met with non-response; and,
WHEREAS Mr. Michael Wolfe while publicly criticizing the Board and the Department for lack of fiscal responsibility has failed to participate responsibly in HCDE fiscal matters such as the budget development process, the tax rate setting and the associated audit activities. Of the critical, three-month series of meetings leading up to these vital fiscal decisions, Mr. Wolfe attended only the 35 minute wrap-up budget committee meeting; and
WHEREAS Mr. Michael Wolfe ignoring warnings by the Board and superintendent, did continuously act in direct violation of the Board’s granted authority and approved board-operating procedures by contacting department staff to schedule meetings and visits, interviewing client school administration, and conversing with the press directly. Many of these incidents resulted in miscommunications, deliberately distorted information and wasted resources of staff, administration and the Board; and
WHEREAS Mr. Michael Wolfe, has continuously created or publicly supported untrue communications about the Department’s growth, its budget, and the actions of the Board all of which resulted in the Department and the actions of the Board being portrayed as fiscally irresponsible; and
Click here to view a letter regarding protocol and how a board member should interact with the staff of HCDE. There are many more examples of Mike’s inability to work with the board that I have not extracted from the PIA response.
This is not meant to be a hit piece on Mike. In fact, I called him, told him about my PIA request, and gave him the response to my request from the HCDE. The purpose of this is simply to inform you, the voter, about Mike’s actions when you gave him the trust of your vote. He did not live up to that trust during his term of office. Accordingly, I urge you to vote for RW Bray and bring a new, fresh perspective to the board.
Website: BrayForTexas.com
County School Trustee At Large Place 7
The other open seat pits long time educator Dianne Williams against former Harris County Tax Assessor Collector Don Sumners. Again, the choice in this race was easy for me. Dianne has the experience to help the board in its mission and just as important, she has the right temperament.
Don Sumners cannot compete with Dianne when it comes to education and the complex issues surrounding it. He is running to be an agitator – he does not support the department or its mission. Rather than helping the department continue to lower educations costs in the county, he wants to eliminate the department altogether, driving up total costs for taxpayers on the whole. This is not conservative in any way, shape, or form. As well, Don has serious personality issues – recall what he did after losing his last election to current Harris County Tax Assessor Collector Mike Sullivan.
“I’m disappointed Don Sumners has chosen to put his personal feelings ahead of fulfilling his duties and responsibilities to the taxpayers of Harris County,” Sullivan said. “His unwillingness to afford me the opportunity to have any meaningful transition is simply petty and mean-spirited.”
Yes, petty and mean-spirited describes Don these days. But worse than that is being cowardly and not doing the job taxpayers elected you to do. Read what George Scott wrote about Sumners’ term as Harris County Tax Assessor Collector:
I was an employee of HCAD when Sumners came on the HCAD Board. While they are personally good people as far as I could tell, the HCAD Board members demonstrated little interest in anything other than getting the rolls certified as quickly as possible for the jurisdictions they serve. I genuinely thought that Sumners would be different.
Rather, in a board full of scarecrows, Sumners degenerated into the biggest public policy coward of all. He rarely said anything. He did even less. He came. He left. And, he made no difference. In his entire tenure on the HCAD Board, I am not aware of one single thing he did to advance the cause of accountability or reform of the property tax system that had any level of fundamental substance.
It was a far cry from the Don Sumners I had lunch with a year or so earlier before he went on the HCAD Board over at Barry Klein’s property tax group. Sumners was getting ready to represent himself in property protest over at HCAD. Man oh man! Sumners was pissed. HCAD was not treating him fairly. HCAD was not treating the citizens of Harris County fairly. It was quite a discussion.
I remembered that lunch when Sumner won his election. My thought was that it was going to get interesting around HCAD. Finally, there will be a person who has blood pressure on the board. Though not as literary as Waiting For Godot, perhaps we should think of Don’s tenure on the HCAD Board as Waiting For Don although the wait is now almost over and he never came.
So many issues. So much opportunity. Why is it that when so many of our leaders get their chance to make a difference they crumble?
HCDE Board President Angie Chesnut has also weighed in on these races. Click here to read her note titled “The Truth”. Here is a portion:
Mr. Wolfe was previously elected to the HCDE board. During his 6-year term, his was contentious and disruptive. He did not communicate with the administration or the Board. He was ultimately censured by the Board for his irresponsible actions and statements. He stated he intended to dissolve HCDE. He ran for re-election and lost to a Democrat. His website recently stated HCDE should be eliminated and he would work to that end. He has not demonstrated any interest in supporting or providing educational opportunities for students and schools in Harris County. He frequently and knowingly misleads people regarding HCDE and the Board.
…
Mr. Sumners has made two statements that are not correct. First, he claimed credit for the HCDE Board rejecting a tax increase. At that time, Mr. Sumners was Harris County Tax Assessor Collector. Mr. Sumners’ statements were questionable and therefore, I did not consider them in my decision and I doubt many of the other board members did either.. The Board determined that the tax rate already in effect (the Effective tax rate) was adequate to support the Board’s approved budget. Thus, the decision was to reject the Administration’s request for a tax increase. It is inappropriate for Mr. Sumners to claim credit for the Board’s action. Second, Mr. Sumners stated that HCDE made some errors regarding a proposal called “Early to Rise”. The proposal was presented to HCDE by a group formed from the Greater Houston Partnership, called Harris County School Readiness Corporation. They required a petition bearing the signatures of 75,000 voters. The petition asking for a 1{997ab4c1e65fa660c64e6dfea23d436a73c89d6254ad3ae72f887cf583448986} increase in taxing authority for early childhood education was presented to the County Judge with a request to add the petition language to the ballot. The HCDE Board only authorized the Superintendent to review the proposal. Neither HCDE Board , nor its staff took part in any way in securing the petition, nor did the Board act on the petition. The County Judge rejected the request to place the item on the ballot. Mr. Sumners was not present at any of the meetings concerning the “Early to Rise” program. His perception of the proceedings and process is simply not valid.
I urge you to consider all of the facts and when you do, I think that you will join me in voting for Dianne Williams and RW Bray.