Lynn Walsh

A story written for the Radio Television Digital News Association:

What’s Your ‘News-Year’ Resolution?

Dec 28 2010
By Lynn Walsh, Texas Watchdog

Another year is coming to an end and for most people that means promises of new beginnings for a new year.

New Years resolution stories pop-up in news coverage all of the time, but what about taking the time to make your own journalistic-resolutions to welcome in 2011?

Think of the impact committing to just a few changes in the way you report stories could do for your audience. Think of how much better the coverage could be with a few slight changes. Or maybe it is as simple as reviewing your own personal journalism ethics? Below are some ideas to get you thinking:

1. Say no to “press-release reporting.” Press releases come into newsroom mailboxes and in-boxes in hoards it seems. When on deadline it can be easy to pick one out of the pile and use it as your pitch for the day, but is easy what you want to be known for? I am not saying press releases are useless but with the increase use of technology your viewers have probably already heard the news of what is in the press release. Also, the internet has made it easy to share the news from the press release in other ways than taking up valuable minutes in a news cast. Use them for guidance sure, but don’t take the easy way out.

2. Create/Review your personal code of ethics. There are a variety of ethics codes for journalists out there and it is great to check those out, but I think you should also have your own. If you do not, take some time and create one. If you do, take some time to update it. Use the ethics codes that already exist to get some ideas and have a baseline for your own.

3. Vow to make phone calls daily. I have been told this time and time again from veteran journalists and when I actually do this, it really does pay off. (I have learned that two to three calls a day is pretty manageable.) Call people when you do not need them for the story you are working on right now, call them just to chat and ask how they are doing. Sometimes these phone calls can lead to blog posts, twitter updates, or future stories. I know this is one that I will be putting on my resolution list.

4. Learn a new skill. Whether it is HTML, taking better photographs or learning more about social media, learning something new makes you a better journalist, more valuable to your news organization and leads to better stories for your viewers. Think small or if you have the time think big, but learn something new.

5. Think like your viewers. Sometimes you get used to covering education or government and you start using the jargon that goes with it in all of your stories. Take a step-back and make sure the words you are writing, saying or tweeting would make sense to someone who does not follow your beat or your story on a daily or even weekly basis. When it comes to budget stories, make it easy to understand and relate to something your viewer would buy.

6. Use and develop multimedia reporting techniques. The internet is not going anywhere and it will continue to change. If you want to have a future in this industry, I truly believe you have to attempt to learn and understand multimedia reporting techniques and new technologies. There is a lot to take in and it is always changing, so start small if you have to, just remember: taking baby steps is better than standing still.

7. Give back to the industry. Join one of the many non-profit journalism organizations in your area or field. Whether it is just becoming a member and interacting with fellow journalists or taking a bigger role and sitting on a committee or becoming a mentor, it is important to get involved. Journalism is not dying and there are a lot of really great journalists out there. Get in touch with them, young or old, because sometimes the reporting world can feel a little lonely and with all of the writing and reporting that is going on across the country there is no reason to feel lonely!

You could get your whole news organization together to join in on the fun too! The more people you have involved the easier it will be to stick to the promises you made to yourself and your viewers. If you still need a push, think of how much better your coverage as an organization would be if you and every other reporter in the company agreed to do be better reporters by making a few changes!

A story produced for Texas Watchdog:

Houston ISD’s Yates High hopes new principal Coleman will ‘bring back that pride’
Friday, Jan 14, 2011, 07:41PM CST
By Lynn Walsh

The key to success at Houston’s Jack Yates High School is student data and working with the community and alumni, according to new principal Samuel Coleman.

“We want to provide a holistic solution to address student need,” Coleman said Friday afternoon during a district “meet and greet” with the new principal. “Part of that means we have to take some time, we have to take a look at data, we have to ask good questions and be real receptive to the answers that we get,” he said.

Coleman is replacing former Yates principal Ronald Mumphery, who the Houston Independent School District investigated last year for multiple allegations of sexual misconduct with former students and HISD employees dating back to the 1980’s. Mumphery was reassigned by the district in September and soon retired. HISD police said Mumphery will not face criminal charges.

“We finally have someone to take control, to lead us,” Marcus Brooks, a 1991 Yates alum, said. “This is good for the new era we are trying to go into.”

Brooks said previous leadership has not necessarily hindered Yates’ success, “but with so much chaos and different ideas from so many different people, it is time for a change — whether that is good or bad, we’ll see.”

According to Coleman, people like Brooks will be a key to the future success of students at Yates.

By “working with community groups and alumni associations to try to figure out what other support they can provide, maybe mentoring or other ancillary things,” he said, Yates can meet students’ needs.

Brooks agreed. “The kids these days don’t have a sense of tradition and respect that has gone on here, even before my time,” he said. “I’m an eighth-generation Jack Yates alumni in my family. We just have to bring back that pride, the overall pride that used to be here.”

Yates, in the city’s historically black Third Ward, has a rich history as one of the two oldest black high schools in Houston (an honor it shares with its Fifth Ward rival, Wheatley High). It has remained a boys’ basketball powerhouse — rated No. 1 in the nation last year by USA Today and holding back-to-back 4A state basketball titles — but it has struggled academically in recent years and is rated only “academically acceptable” by the Texas Education Agency, one step above failing.

Newly appointed HISD school board President Paula Harris said the decision to hire Coleman was hard. “Usually, I get calls saying, ‘They sent us who they want,’ or ‘Oh, we don’t want these people,’ but, really, the only calls I got was, ‘Man, it’s a hard decision. There really are some quality, quality candidates being brought before us,” she said.

Coleman previously served as a special education program manager for the San Diego Unified School District, the same district from which HISD Superintendent Terry Grier came to Houston. Harris said she was not able to interview or meet all of the candidates interviewed and the community and staff played a key role in Coleman’s hiring.
Mr. Coleman on stage

One community member voiced concern at a recent school board meeting over the decision to hire Coleman, saying he was “inexperienced.”

“Come talk to me,” Coleman said. “I understand that part of the reason people may feel that way is because I am kind of unknown. And so, part of that means I have to prove myself, and I am looking forward to the challenge.”

Coleman also said he has the experience. As a special education administrator, he was in charge of more than 60 schools and 8,000 students. “My experience is varied,” he said. “For parents that are concerned about my ability to lead, I invite them to come meet with me, and I’d be happy to share my data.”

The new principal told Texas Watchdog he is glad parents and community members are showing concern over his hiring because it shows that they are willing to be involved and “that means this (Yates) is a good place to be.”

Coleman will begin his leadership role at Yates later this month, HISD said.

Have you had a chance to meet Principal Coleman? What do you think the future of Yates High School will look like? Texas Watchdog wants to hear from you. Contact Lynn Walsh, Lynn@TexasWatchdog.org, (713) 228-2850 or on Twitter, @LWalsh.

An investigation for Texas Watchdog:

Former principal of Houston ISD’s Yates High, Ronald Mumphery, will not face criminal charges: HISD
Monday, Jan 10, 2011, 02:32PM CST
By Lynn Walsh

The former principal of one of the city’s major high schools will not face criminal charges over allegations that he harassed female employees and once stuck his tongue into the ear of a school cheerleader during an alleged sexual advance, the Houston school district said.

Ronald Mumphery, the former head of Yates High School, will not be prosecuted after the Houston Independent School District’s own police department “found there was not sufficient evidence to support any criminal charges,” HISD spokesman Norm Uhl said.

Uhl said no report has been created on HISD Police’s findings in the case, though one may be written later.

In an e-mailed response to other questions posed by Texas Watchdog, Uhl suggested the news organization file a public information request.

Among the remaining questions is whether HISD police consulted with the Harris County district attorney’s office about Mumphrey.

By policy, DA Pat Lykos’ office does not discuss whether it is investigating a case or whether a case has been forwarded to it for potential prosecution. “We do not confirm or deny whether we are investigating a case until a case gets filed,” Terese Buess, with the DA’s office, said Monday.

A 30-year veteran of the district, Mumphery was reassigned by the district in late September. At that time, HISD said Mumphery had been accused of unspecified “professional misconduct,” without elaborating. He filed paperwork with the school system a few days later to retire.

The allegations against Mumphery date back to the early 1980’s and include allegations of staff members exchanging sexual favors for preferential treatment and overtime pay from the principal and allegations that Mumphery grabbed and sexually touched a 17-year-old cheerleader and student back in 1984.

The sexual harassment allegations were outlined in an HISD investigation report and include multiple witnesses and alleged victims’ testimonies.

There was no answer at Mumphrey’s home telephone listing earlier today.

Mumphery had previously served as principal at Houston’s Cullen Middle School and an assistant principal at Jones High. He earned more than $109,000 during the 2009-10 school year, according to an HISD salary database.

The allegations against Mumphery came to light, records show, after Houston school Superintendent Terry Grier received an anonymous letter in mid-September.

HISD began to investigate, reaching out to numerous former students and employees, including a current HISD employee who said she was accosted by Mumphrey when she was a student of his 16 years ago.

The woman told investigators she was a cheerleader at Yates at the time, and the report says Mumphrey was a teacher and coach there.

According to the report:

In an interview with the school district, the former cheerleader detailed the incident that occurred back in 1984: “She alleged that as soon as she came in the room he started talking sexually to her. She said she was shocked and about to leave when he grabbed her arm, pulled her to him and stuck his tongue in her ear.”

The former cheerleader said she immediately ran out of his office to the principal at the time. According to the report, Mumphery allegedly ran after the young woman, telling her to stop, but she kept running. (To read the full report and details about the other allegations. click here.)

Have questions about the Mumphery investigation or other HISD issues? Texas Watchdog wants to hear from you. Contact Lynn Walsh, Lynn@TexasWatchdog.org, 713-228-2850 or on Twitter @LWalsh.

Keep up with all the latest news from Texas Watchdog. Fan our page on Facebook, follow us on Twitter and Scribd, and fan us on YouTube. Put our RSS feeds in your newsreader.

A story written for Texas Watchdog:

Houston ISD, others to push legislature for upfront payments for public records
Monday, Jan 10, 2011, 10:51AM CST
By Lynn Walsh

Want public records from your local school system? You might want to be ready to fork over the cash before you get the records.

Houston’s public school system will be among the Texas governments asking legislators to allow them to require people to pay up front for public records requests before the district makes the records public– something not currently allowed by Texas’ open records law.

This isn’t the first time local government agencies in Texas have asked for such a change, an open government advocate said.

“In recent years, HISD — and, it’s my understanding, other districts, too — have seen an increase in public information requests, and although we do not have a problem complying, we felt that the district should be adequately compensated to reflect the time and resources we spend on complying with these requests,” Rebecca Flores, the Houston Independent School District’s government relations director, said in an e-mail.

Lawmakers have also asked school districts to identify situations in which the districts are legally obligated to do something, but for which the state does not provide the funding to cover the costs, Flores said. The state legislature convenes next week in Austin.

Right now the law requires a government agency, like HISD, to “provide a requestor with an itemized statement of charges” if the request will cost the district more than $40. This statement, according to the law, is “to be provided before copies are made … the itemized statement must be provided free of charge.

The Houston district also wants the ability to ignore requests from anyone who still owes money from a previous records request.

“The Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas believes there are fair and reasonable cost allowances already on the books,” said Keith Elkins, the foundation’s executive director. “Providing public information should not be about making a profit but about providing quality customer service to taxpayers, who already pay HISD’s bills.”

According to the legislative agenda trustees unanimously approved in October, the school district wants legislators to:

“Allow districts to charge the actual costs for the production of all materials, including the recovery of actual costs of personnel time, to comply with open records requests. Districts should be able to require actual payment of costs prior to compliance and failure to pay after committing to pay relieves districts of any obligation to comply with additional open records requests made by that entity until past balances are paid.”

Right now the Texas Public Information Act requires school districts, like all government agencies, to only charge what the state attorney general allows them to, unless they submit a request for an exemption, said Joe Larsen, a Houston attorney who is also a board member for the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas.

“Governmental bodies must provide a detailed cost estimate for any charges in excess of $40,” Larsen said. “The requestor must either confirm within ten days that he/she will accept the charges or the request is considered withdrawn. As a practical matter, the requestor must pay before he/she gets the stuff.”

Texas public information laws outline specific costs for some items like a DVD, which is $3, and a CD which is $1. Other items like a tape cartridge or magnetic tape can be charged at the actual cost of the item, according to the law.

The law also allows HISD and other government groups to charge for computer programming costs and the labor costs associated with gathering the information.

According to Elkins, this is not the first time government agencies have gone to the Texas legislature to try exempt their records from the law’s cost provisions. “The bill is worded slightly differently each time, but the bottom line is the same: They want to make a profit from the sale of electronic copies of their records to the public,” Elkins said.

HISD is also asking that school districts be allowed the same exemption from infrastructure fees that state agencies colleges enjoy, like the new Houston drainage fee, Proposition 1, passed by Harris County voters in 2010. HISD trustees took a stand against the fee last year and said it would cost the district 70 teaching positions.

The 82nd session of the Texas Legislature is set to begin next Tuesday, Jan. 11.

Do you think government agencies should be allowed to charge upfront costs for public records? We want to know what you think. Contact Lynn Walsh at Lynn@TexasWatchdog.org, 713-228-2850 or on Twitter @LWalsh.

A story produced for Texas Watchdog:

Audit report recommends axing nearly half of Houston ISD’s magnet schools
Friday, Jan 07, 2011, 04:56PM CST
By Lynn Walsh

Almost half of the Houston public schools’ 113 magnet programs have been recommended for the chopping block by an outside group brought in by the school district.

The final report from Magnet Schools of America highlights 55 magnet programs the third-party national education group believes the Houston Independent School District should eliminate — a move that would save the district nearly $8 million in magnet funding. HISD spends $17 million a year on magnet programs.

“This is just a springboard,” HISD Superintendent Terry Grier said Friday. “Trustees and staff have to look at where we are, be honest and analyze that what we are doing is best for all kids in the district. There will be some tweaks to this. These are all just recommendations.”

MSA recommended eliminating magnet programs that do not meet its requirements for a magnet program, schools having limited building capacity and schools that are part of the district’s school turn-around program, Apollo 20.

HISD trustees will ultimately have the final say on what changes, if any, happen with HISD’s magnet program.

MSA recommends that changes start in the 2011-12 school year — during that year, HISD school buses would continue to ferry students back and forth to the magnet programs recommended for elimination, and those schools would continue to receive 40% of their total magnet funding that year. But when that school year ends, all funding to those programs would cease, according to MSA’s recommendations.

(View all of the documents associated with the MSA review here. Texas Watchdog has also created a database with funding information, MSA recommendations and state accountability ratings here.)

Criticism over the amount of money HISD spends on magnet programs — some of which are at failing schools — coupled with the overall effectiveness of the programs and the funding discrepancies between the programs prompted the MSA review process, which began in October.

“We have magnets that were never authorized to be magnets,” Grier said Friday. “I believe to be a magnet school, you ought to be an exemplary school.”
Houston ISD 2011 magnet school audit documentstexaswatchdog

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HISD MSA magnet review Individual School Summaries From: texaswatchdog Reads: 104
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Outside Consultants Suggest Plan for HISD Magnet Schools From: texaswatchdog Reads: 112
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Houston ISD 2011 magnet audit – current proposed magnet schools 2011 From: texaswatchdog Reads: 65
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Houston ISD 2011 magnet school audit — attachment Phase I/Phase II/Interim From: texaswatchdog Reads: 46
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Houston ISD magnet school audit final report Jan. 6, 2011 From: texaswatchdog Reads: 56
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Houston ISD 2011 magnet school audit Magnet Demographics Charts From: texaswatchdog Reads: 48
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Houston ISD 2011 magnet school audit principal’s meeting briefing From: texaswatchdog Reads: 46
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HISD 2011 Magnet School Audit School Feedback Form From: texaswatchdog Reads: 26

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Grier also said that some of the schools are spending magnet money on non-magnet expenses like school nurses. When asked how this could have happened, Grier said he wants to focus on the future.

“We need to develop a better accountability system, and we will do that,” Grier said. “MSA recommends a magnet review every five years. Frankly, I think it should be every three years.”

This MSA review cost the district $269,000, the school district said.

Grier said some principals have said the information and data used by MSA was inaccurate. While he does not suspect widespread data problems, Grier said there could be some.

“Help us correct it,” Grier said. “Let us know so we can fix it.” Most of the errors, he said, were due to incomplete data and data-entry flaws.

According to HISD, 42,000 students are enrolled in magnet programs this year. HISD says it plans on holding community forums in different areas of the city to obtain feedback from parents and community members.

HISD trustees are also set to discuss the magnet review at a board workshop Monday. Follow @TexasWatchdog on Twitter for live updates during the meeting or search for #HISD.

Is your child’s magnet school one of the 55 on the list recommended for closure in the new magnet audit? Texas Watchdog wants to hear from you. Contact Lynn Walsh, Lynn@TexasWatchdog.org, 713-228-2850 or @LWalsh on Twitter.

A story written for Texas Watchdog:

Local Democrat questions GOP turkey-and-bike give away at Houston public school
Thursday, Jan 06, 2011, 05:55PM CST
By Lynn Walsh

A program by local Republicans to give free turkeys and bikes to kids at a Houston elementary school crossed the line into a political event and should be stopped, a local Democratic activist and blogger says.

The Harris County Republican Party has donated turkeys to students at J.R. Harris Elementary in southeast Houston for the past nine years, according to a complaint filed with the district by John Cobarruvias of Houston.

“There needs to be an investigation,” said Cobarruvias, who has filed a formal complaint with the Houston Independent School District. “Bringing candidates into a school and having the students make banners for the Republican candidates is not OK.”

According to county GOP newsletters, more than 200 bicycles were given to third, fourth and fifth graders who passed all three sections of state achievement tests. The bikes were distributed in May 2009.

In December 2009, the party continued its “tradition of donating holiday turkeys to economically disadvantaged families” at Harris, according to one newsletter.

“First and foremost this activity must stop immediately,” Cobarruvias wrote in a letter to HISD trustees and Superintendent Terry Grier. “Partisan political activity in a public school is illegal. And second, I am requesting the HISD board to call for an investigation into this activity to determine if rules and/or laws were broken with appropriate action being taken.”

HISD Trustee Manuel Rodriguez said he has been told by the district that nothing was against the law.

“After checking with the district, there was probably some gray area, but nothing that was illegal,” Rodriguez told Texas Watchdog. “They were not handing out GOP literature. They made posters, but that was not, per se, a political event.”

Cobarruvias, who blogs at Bay Area Houston, disagrees. “We cannot have them listen to the president of the United States, but they can bring their candidates into the school and everything is OK?” he asked, referring to how some parents in Houston and elsewhere objected to allowing public school students to hear a live talk by President Obama on the importance of education in 2009 . “It’s about more than political differences.” (For an opposing blogger viewpoint on the giveaways, here’s a piece sharply critical of Cobarruvias at Rhymes with Right.)

In an e-mail to Cobarruvias, Sam Sarabia, head of HISD’s elementary schools said:

“There was no such activity this year at JR Harris. As you are aware, we do accept partnerships which are willing to assist our children. At no times do we allow political banners inside the school or promote one political party over another one.”

“No turkeys were given out this school year,” Sarabia told Texas Watchdog. He said HISD would accept bicycle donations from the county GOP again this year or in the future.

Dem Cries Foul Over Free GOP Turkeys: MyFoxHOUSTON.com

“At this point, yes,” Sarabia said. “This is a 10-year partnership. If they were to offer any incentives for student performance, we would accept them. It is almost like a scholarship for these students,” he said.

In the past, he said, the bicycles were handed out during school assemblies. But because of a new state law, now and in the future, the bike donations or other incentives for students in HISD would be handled with a voucher system.

“If there are 100 students at the end of the year that qualify for an incentive, each would receive a letter and a coupon for the bike in a sealed envelope,” Sarabia said. “In the past, yes, there was an assembly, but not anymore.”

At press time, neither the Harris County Republican Party nor the principal of J.R. Harris Elementary responded to phone calls from Texas Watchdog. However, blogger Rhymes With Right has published here a spirited defense of the GOP incentive program.

Do you think it’s acceptable for a local political group to give turkeys and bikes to elementary school students? Texas Watchdog wants to hear from you. Contact Lynn Walsh, Lynn@TexasWatchdog.org, 713-228-2850 or on Twitter @LWalsh.

A story written for Texas Watchdog:

Student performance rates high in criteria used to evaluate Houston ISD chief Terry Grier
Tuesday, Jan 04, 2011, 04:10PM CST
By Lynn Walsh

Improving student dropout rates, increasing college readiness and improving the public’s confidence in the school system are some of the criteria used to evaluate the top official at the Houston school system.

In the Houston Independent School District, the top official, Superintendent Terry Grier, is evaluated by the board of trustees.

For Grier, most of the criteria he is evaluated on focus on increasing student achievement. Specifically, trustees evaluate his effectiveness at improving dropout rates, increasing the number of students taking and scoring high on Advanced Placement exams and preparing students for college, according to HISD.

View the complete appraisal HISD trustees use to evaluate Grier here.

The school board most recently evaluated Grier several months ago. HISD released the criteria used in his evaluation to Texas Watchdog following a request under state public records laws.

About 30 percent of HISD’s Class of 2009 failed to graduate, according to a 2010 district report, with a dropout rate that year of just under 16 percent — a figure that HISD has worked to decrease over the past few years.

Grier arrived at HISD in September 2009. He had previously headed the San Diego, Calif., public schools.

Under Texas law, the evaluations completed by trustees are not considered public information but the criteria used to evaluate a superintendent are. Those criteria are approved by the board of trustees.

Other categories in which Grier is evaluated are improving the quality of teachers and principals, providing a safe environment, increasing the effectiveness and efficiency of district management, improving the public’s support and confidence in HISD schools and his ability to create a positive district culture.

How would you evaluate Terry Grier based on these criteria? Texas Watchdog wants to hear from you. Contact Lynn Walsh, Lynn@TexasWatchdog.org, 713-228-2850 or on Twitter @LWalsh. For the latest Houston school news, follow #HISD on Twitter.

A story produced for Texas Watchdog:

Houston ISD paid millions last year to outside law firms, records show
Monday, Jan 03, 2011, 06:03PM CST
By Lynn Walsh

CORRECTION: This story has been updated to reflect that law firm Linebarger Goggan Blair & Sampson has offices in Houston, and that the firm is paid fees from the delinquent property taxes it collects.

After a year in which it paid millions of dollars to outside law firms, the Houston school system is preparing to decide which firms it will do business with in 2011.

Last year, 28 firms made the list of those the Houston Independent School District could use, according to HISD spokesman Jason Spencer. HISD trustees were expected to see the proposed list of firms for 2011 at a board workshop Thursday morning, but that meeting has been cancelled, and trustees are expected to take up the issue later this month.

The law firm that made the most from its work with the Houston school system is one that collects delinquent property tax payments for the school district. According to the HISD online check register, the national firm Linebarger, Goggan, Blair & Sampson made more than $8.1 million from HISD tax collection services — HISD gets the back taxes, Linebarger receives a fee for their collection, and the more back taxes the firm can collect, the more it makes, Spencer said. The firm has multiple offices in Texas, including in Houston.

The law firm has donated to HISD trustee campaigns, including the top two candidates in the District 8 trustee race last November. The law firm donated $1,000 each to both Judith Cruz and Juliet Stipeche. Stipeche won the election and is the new trustee for District 8.

Other law firms bringing in lots of cash from HISD include Texas-based Martin, Disiere, Jefferson & Wisdom, which received more than $512,000 for investigation services; Rogers, Morris & Grover, which received almost $355,000 in 2010; and Bracewell & Giuliani, which received more than $302,000 for services ranging from personnel and benefits to special education legal issues.

(Using HISD’s online check register, Texas Watchdog created a spreadsheet with all of the approved law firms for 2010, their approved specialty and how much the district paid them last year.)

HISD approved law firms in 16 different categories last year: personnel, administration and benefits, immigration law, investigations, special education, construction law, real estate law, special counsel to the board, general school law, small claims, naming rights/facilities use, tort claims, workers’ compensation, bond counsel, tax collection, tax audits and hearing officers.

Contact Lynn Walsh, Lynn@TexasWatchdog.org, 713-228-2850 or on Twitter @LWalsh.

A investigation for Texas Watchdog:

Boxes of Houston ISD records yield additional details about gifts, freebies in E-Rate controversy
Monday, Jan 03, 2011, 03:04PM CST
By Lynn Walsh

Top technology employees at the Houston school system were privy to friendly lunch invitations, happy hour parties, sporting event tickets and after-hours smoking meet-ups courtesy of vendors doing $75 million in business with the school district, documents show.

A happy hour at Dave and Busters, a baseball game invitation, a secret gift to one employee and requests for trinkets are the latest examples to be revealed of the gift-giving culture between Houston Independent School District employees and vendors through the federal E-Rate program, which funds computers in schools.

The gifts — which began as early as 2005 and were provided as late as 2008 — cost the school system $105 million in federal funding, plus an additional $1 million in direct costs.

Some of the E-Rate swag available to HISD workers, including offers of personal loans and trips to Las Vegas, had already been made public. However, Texas Watchdog turned up these additional details by using state public information laws to gain access to boxes and boxes of e-mail correspondence between HISD employees and E-Rate vendors and documentation associated with the investigation into the gift-giving.

The more than 25 boxes of documents show friendly and sometime flirtatious e-mails between HISD employees and E-Rate vendors, countless invitations to sporting events, lunches and happy hours and careful and precise control over communication with federal E-Rate officials.

The investigation did not yield criminal charges for anyone involved in HISD but did in the Dallas Independent School District. A DISD official is now in a federal prison in Fort Worth, and the former owner of one of the vendor firms is being held at a federal facility in Bastrop.

Three companies were at the center of the federal investigation involving HISD: Analytical Computer Services, Micro Systems Enterprises and Acclaim Professional Services. From 2000 to 2006, ACS earned more than $68.4 million through E-Rate, and Micro Systems received more than $9.8 million from 2000 to 2003, documents show.

Allegations of accepting gifts, sporting tickets and lunches were included in the Sept. 3, 2008, memo from Bracewell & Giuliani lawyers to officials with the Federal Communications Commission. Texas Watchdog’s most recent review of documents found e-mail correspondence related to some of the gifts described in the memo, including:

* Fanny packs: HISD employee Lori Cummings sends an e-mail to both Laura Palmer, an HISD assistant superintendent of technology, and Scott Blankenship of Micro Systems, asking when more free fanny packs will be available. “Scott, when can we expect 100 of the above? Laura spoke with you last week regarding this. We to stuff items into them …”

* Rockets suite tickets: Among the thousands of pages of documents made public to Texas Watchdog was a copy of the $300 check then-HISD Superintendent Abelardo Saavedra wrote to ACS owner Frank Trifilio to reimburse the firm for tickets to a Houston Rockets playoff game. Along with the check was Saavedra’s letter to Trifilio, saying: “Thank you for your hospitality during the recent Rockets playoff games. As you know, I cannot accept gifts from vendors. I am reimbursing $300 for the three playoff games that my guest and I attended in your suite. If this does not adequately reimburse the value of the tickets, please let me know so I can ensure full reimbursement.”
* Free cellphones: E-mail correspondence included a list of Nextel phone numbers and the corresponding HISD employee using those phones. The Bracewell & Giuiliani memo had said E-Rate vendors had provided HISD employees with free Nextel phones to use.
* Trinkets: In an e-mail, Palmer asks about “trinkets” from Micro Systems: “I need some trinkets…do you have left from the stuff Lori gave you?” HISD employee Andrea Teasley replies, ”just the drink holders from MSE. I ran out of my little gifts…”

Along with Palmer, William Edwards, then HISD’s assistant superintendent for technology, and Steve Kim, then HISD’s head of computer networking, were accused of accepting gifts from E-Rate vendors, documents show. None of the three currently work for the school system.

Close-up of box

Invitations to lunch and social events from the E-Rate vendors were common, the documents show. An e-mail from Palmer to fellow HISD technology employees thanks them for attending a party at Collina’s restaurant.

On another occasion, Heather Konlande, an employee at ACS, emailed Kim, Edwards and other HISD employees, inviting them to an “HISD appreciation Happy Hour at Dave and Busters.” The goal of the social hour, according to the e-mails, was “to have fun as well as have casual discussion on how we at ACS can improve and ultimately make your jobs easier by providing even more services.”

Kim was invited to a baseball game via e-mail by Allan Folz of ACS but turned it down, saying, “On any other day I would have jumped at the opportunity. However, I have plans tonight that I cannot break. Please let me know if this happens again.”

Another e-mail shows Kim agreeing to a lunch invitation from a Hewlett-Packard representative, the turning the invitation down saying, because it is “RFP season…” The representative responds by inviting Kim to drinks after a Rockets game: “Boo. OK, how about drinks after the Rockets game tomorrow?” Kim does not respond.

In November, HP was forced to pay more than $16 million to the federal government and people in Houston and Dallas in the aftermath of allegations of fraud in a federal program supplying computers to the Houston and Dallas school districts.

In another e-mail from May 2002, Mark Jones from Micro Systems invites Kim to smoke with him at the Downing Street Pub, a haven for Scotch and cigar lovers on Kirby. Jones writes:

Just an FYI that I’ll be at Downing Street tonight from around 6:30-10:00ish. I didn’t bring anything to smoke so I will be getting some local stuff. Let me know if you’re coming and I’ll pick out something nice for you to smoke.”

According to the documents, other instances of lunch invitations and gifts include:

* Discussion about a “secret gift” given to Kim by Frankie Wong, the owner of one of the E-Rate vendors being investigated. Wong is currently in federal prison.

* In one e-mail, Blankenship, of Micro Systems, offers to repair a broken HISD computer for free. Palmer refuses the offer, saying, “regarding your question to request a gratuitous repair; I do not plan to set such a precedent. The vendor won the bid due to low and fair pricing. I have no reason to take advantage of this.”
* In another e-mail, Palmer declines a congratulatory gift from a vendor associated with Classroom Connect.
* Wong asks Kim to have lunch with vendors from NetBotz in another e-mail.
* An invitation from Wong to Kim, Edwards and Lehman to attend a Micro Systems happy hour.

Several e-mails showed trouble with communication between HP, ACS and Micro Systems. E-mail correspondence shows HISD employees had a hard time getting in touch with Trifilio and Wong when a service problem came up.

While the amount of money the companies collected piled up, the relationships between the companies and HISD employees became more friendly. HISD documents show:

* Friendly e-mailing back and forth between Karyn Dubose of Micro Systems and Steve Kim. In an e-mail Dubose said, “hee hee! This is from yesterday morning! You are working way too late! I believe he left you a message. Karyn.” Kim responds in an e-mail, “interesting. I didn’t get it until 12:38 am. I’m going to blame your mail server = ).”

* A vendor requests an HISD e-mail address and access to other accounts that would have provided the vendor access to student data. Palmer submits the request through e-mail to Kim who said, “I will leave this one to your decision, however, I do have some very strong objections to this.” It is unclear whether the person ever received the access requested.
* Friendly e-mail correspondence between Wong, Blankenship and Kim, including some inside jokes.
* In December 2001, Wong asks Kim if he would serve as a reference in Wong’s bid to do business with the Clark County, Nev., school system in Las Vegas.

QUESTIONS ABOUT ID CODES

In an interview several months ago, Trifilio said his firm was wrongly connected to Micro Systems because some of HISD’s E-Rate paperwork used the same identification code for both ACS and Micro Systems.

The 25-plus boxes of documents Texas Watchdog reviewed strengthens his argument.

E-mails suggest HISD employees were unclear as to whether ACS and Micro Systems had separate E-Rate codes.

In a 2005 e-mail, HISD procurement specialist Ken Phillips asks: “So, is ACS named on the E-Rate extension request and we are only required to have extensions with that company or is it ACS and MSE?” The response from project manager Jacqueline Martin: “It is ACS only.”

Almost a year later the issue comes up again — this time, about whether or not multiple vendors can use the same ID number. The conversation is stopped by Palmer who writes, ”please set up a meeting. This is not an e-mail topic.”

“We were the scapegoat” in the controversy because of confusion over vendor identification numbers, Trifilio told Texas Watchdog. Micro Systems and Acclaim took on some of the contracted work because the district believed the volume was too much for one company to handle, Trifilio said.

E-Rate obtains the ID numbers from the Universal Service Administrative Co., which administers E-Rate under the direction of the FCC, said Richard Patton, HISD’s internal E-Rate watchdog. Patton said he was not aware of any problems with the vendor ID numbers like what Trifilio described.

Confusion over how to process E-Rate vendors and trouble communicating with them was not all the HISD documents show. Other e-mail correspondence shows Palmer trying to control what was shared with E-Rate auditors. In an June 2005 e-mail, Palmer chose a shorter response, instead of a longer one with more details, to be sent to E-Rate auditors who had posed questions to the district:

“I would [send] the short one because it does not cause someone (like an E-rate auditor) to it a second thought. Sometimes you just do not want to draw attention…I think my language, below, is all we need to satisfy the E-rate administration. If they saw a lot of additional language, it may obscure the issue….”

The e-mail is in response to an E-Rate official asking HISD’s legal department for contracts associated with ACS in June 2005.

Do you have more information about what’s going on in HISD? Contact Lynn Walsh, Lynn@TexasWatchdog.org, 713-228-2850 or on Twitter @LWalsh.

Photos by Lynn Walsh/Texas Watchdog staff.