VIDEO INCLUDED: Public Information Request Documents Frailey’s ‘Voter Registration Initiative’; His Actual Remarks Warn Teachers Of Salary Cuts & Job Losses If November Bond Issue Fails; Says Teachers Should ‘Pay Attention’ To Next School Board Race Too - ‘Just Pay Attention’

An email from Katy I.S.D Chief Operations Officer Thomas Gunnell to the district’s Chief Information Officer Lenny Schad confirms that the district was already engaged in what Gunnell termed a “voter registration initiative’ on August 3 - just two weeks before the August 17 convocation of the district’s classroom teachers and other employees.

It was at this convocation that Supt. Alton Frailey advised employees that the district was monitoring their voter registration status.  It was during these remarks that he noted three members of the school board would be up for election next May encouraging employees to “pay attention, just pay attention.”  Frailey also used his convocation remarks to warn classroom teachers that if the impending November bond election failed, the district could face a round of employee layoff and cuts in salaries.

The story will continue after letting you know that the relevant portions of Frailey’s comments are on the attached video which also has slides produced by George Scott Reports embedded into the video.  Those inserts should be self-evident.

Frailey’s comments towards the end of this section of his remarks are startling in the apparent message he wanted to send to employees in the context of not informing employees of another big option available to the district should the November bond election fail.  His warning to district employees that layoffs and salary cuts may ensue from a failed November bond election will be dealt with extensively by George Scott Reports in future columns.

George Scott Reports’ attorney Larry Watts requested extensive data from the district regarding Frailey’s comments at the convocation.  Both Watts and Scott received documentation this week.  Scott and Watts will continue to review the material they received from the district to determine whether the district has fully complied.

There is one exchange of emails between Schad and Gunnell that documents some of the district’s efforts leading up to Frailey’s remarks at the August 17 convocation.

Schad notifies Gunnell in a morning email under the subject of “Voter List” that “after working with the new Harris file, I have numbers I feel good about.”  The memo to Gunnell then describes the number of employees “I could match up on name, DOB (date of birth) and address.”  Schad also provides Gunnell the number employees who could not be found on the Harris County voter registration lists.

Later that day, Gunnell responds to Schad’s email by writing: “Thanks so much for the quick turnaround which will help us focus our voter registration initiative.  Pass along my personal thanks for these really smart people who figured out how to do this.”

The information requests submitted by Watts and Scott sought extensive information.  It does not appear that district has responded fully to the request made under the public information act.  Neither Scott or Watts have been notified by the district that it has sought to keep some information private by exercising its authority to seek an opinion from the Attorney General of Texas.  The deadline for seeking an opinion from the Attorney General is passed and all information sought in the original request  is now presumed to be public.

All of the material will be carefully reviewed over the Labor Day weekend in the context of the original request and all options will be carefully considered, Scott and Watts said.  Here’s a link to the story published on the original information request.