Peyton Wolcott - Edgewood ISD - Public Records Requests Status Report

P E Y T O N W O L C O T T

Conservative commentary - Edgewood ISD: Status report / public records requests

Q: Why file public records requests at a school district your children don't
attend and where you don't live?
A: Because Edgewood has filed five lawsuits against Texas taxpayers with the result that all
across the Lone Star state so-called "rich" districts send their "extra" money to "poor" districts.
Catch is, socialism doesn't work. And no one has taken a serious look at Edgewood to see if it's
working there, either. The first clue it's not working was Texas edu-missioner Shirley Neeley's
announcement on August 1, 2006 that Edgewood had slipped to "Academically Unacceptable,"
the lowest rung of the accountability ladder. Hence my requests starting the next day.

A PHOTO-GRAM:
My odyssey at Edgewood ISD

(1)
Aug. 1, 2006:
TEA announces
Edgewood ISD is
"academically
unacceptable"

My eight requests during August 2006 to view Edgewood ISD's
public records under the Texas Public Information Act

SUMMARY
August 2, 2006
EISD's business with Raul
Villasenor, First Southwest,
Ramirez & Co.
EISD supe Richard Bocanegra's
expenses
EISD supe Richard Bocanegra's
contract with salary
EISD logo

August 3, 2006
EISD supe Richard Bocanegra's
2004 communications
committee

August 4, 2006
EISD policy re forbidding photos
EISD documentation for EISD PD
case #2006-03923
EISD police department officers'
background, training,
education

Why address public
records requests to the
supe rather than his/her
designee? It's the law.
§ 552.201. IDENTITY OF
OFFICER FOR PUBLIC
INFORMATION. (a) The
chief administrative officer
of a governmental body is
the officer for public
information. NOTE:
Supes, like everyone else,
can delegate authority, but
they can't delegate
responsibility.

(2)
Aug. 2, 2006:
Faxed 1st
public records
requests to
EISD

Edgewood ISD receptionist; according to
police report, this is the individual who
called EISD's police department.

My requests generally bear the following lingo or similar:
Please note under TPIA guidelines that this is a clear and
discrete separate stand-alone request, entirely independent
of and unconnected to any other requests that you may
receive from me . . . . Should you have any questions, via
return email is the easiest, cheapest and fastest way to reach
me as I will be checking emails throughout the day today.
Thank you for your anticipated assistance.

Aug. 2, 2006 requests

Edgewood's response

Current status

RE RAUL
VILLASENOR & FIRST
SOUTHWEST
Bocanegra faxed me
the same-day res-
ponse at left--the last
I've received from
him. None of the
promised follow-up
has been received.

(6)
After leaving HR, going back to
car, while exiting noticed supe's
truck in EISD admin. parking spot.

RE SUPE'S 701 CODE
EXPENSES
No response of any
kind to date. EISD IS
NOW OUT OF
COMPLIANCE WITH
THE TEXAS PUBLIC
INFORMATION ACT.

RE SUPE'S
CONTRACT
After I pressed
Bocanegra re his
own contract--
assuming that even if
Edgewood personnel
were on vacation or
departed for greener
employment
pastures that surely
Bocanegra had a
current copy of his
current employment
contract tucked
away in his file
drawer--the district
produced a copy of
said contract.

Aug. 2 to Edgewood
Richard, I'd like to take a look at
EISD's expenses for October 2005
charged to code 701 (PEIMS
superintendent code). These would
include but not be limited to any and
all expenses in connection with your
attendance at the TASA/TASB
convention that month.

(10)
Aug. 4:
Filed more
public records
requests with
EISD.

Aug. 2 to Edgewood
Richard, kudos to EISD for posting
salaries on the district's website.
Hats off to you and your board and
staff for introducing this degree of
transparency to EISD's operations
and relations with the community at
large. Unfortunately, the largest
salary--yours--is missing. Therefore,
could you please PDF me a copy of
your most recent contract via email
to the following e-address:
peyton@peytonwolcott.com

RE EISD'S LOGO
This email was
received from Mario
Rios on Aug. 15:
"I have some
information that you
requested via open
records to Irma
Paine. It was the
question you asked
about the Edgewood
ISD logo cost and
year it was created.
There is no docu-
mentation for this
request so it does
not fall under TPIA
guidelines. I can
answer the question
via this email. The
logo was created in
1986. Due to the
lengthy time span,
we have no record of
the cost or designer
who created it."
NOTE: Although Rios
claims to have sent
this information re
the logo on Aug. 10,
such email was first
received by me on
Aug. 15.

Aug. 2 to Edgewood
Richard, I have just received your fax
[at right] dated today, and thank you
for your response. I will still be
coming to Edgewood tomorrow
morning and would like to view your
employment contract at that time;
presumably even with the absence of
employees you will know where your
own employment contract is kept.
Presumably you have your own copy
in your own files. I do have one other
question, and that is how much did
EISD pay for its logo (below) and
who sold it to EISD?

Aug. 3, 2006 request

Edgewood's response

Current status

QUESTIONS: Still on the
table with Edgewood ISD

RE SUPE'S
COMMUNICATION
COMMITTEE
No response
received of any kind.
EISD IS NOW OUT
OF COMPLIANCE
WITH THE TEXAS
PUBLIC
INFORMATION ACT.

NOTE: The question
on the table is this:
The 33 EISD
employees consti-
tuting the supe's
communication
com- mittee first met
on May 20, 2004
when supe
Bocanegra
announced its
formation, then
again on Aug. 19,
2004. Has the
committee met in
the two years since,
or is this another
example of a public
school admin-
istrator's announce-
ment of a grand new
plan--with no follow
through by either
supe Richard
Bocanegra or the
local press?

QUESTION: Is there any way
the current practice of many
school districts to make
requestors wait an automatic
14-day period could be
construed as "promptly"
producing responsive docu-
ments, without delay?

QUESTION: Which came first, the chicken or the egg?
Did Raul Villasenor land Edgewood's First Southwest business while he
served on Edgewood's board in the 1980's? Or did Raul bring Edgewood's
business to First Southwest as part of landing the job?

QUESTION: Edgewood's PR guy Mario Rios stated in EISD's parking lot on
Aug. 3 while I was being detained by the three armed police officers that he had
"fourteen days" to respond to my requests. Oh, Mario, have you had a chance
yet to take the Attorney General's Open Records training? The Texas Public
Information Act provides that:
An officer for public information of a governmental body shall promptly
produce public information for inspection, duplication, or both on application
by any person to the officer. In this subsection, "promptly" means as soon as
possible under the circum- stances, that is, within a reasonable time, without
delay. ______________
§ 552.221 (a) APPLICATION FOR PUBLIC INFORMATION; PRODUCTION OF PUBLIC
INFORMATION.

Aug. 4, 2006 requests

Edgewood's response

Current status

$120,479,691*

How we take back our children's education:
one person, one question, one school at a time.

ATTENTION EDUCATORS AND ADMINISTRATORS:
Every attempt possible has been made to verify all sources and information. In the event you feel an error has been made, please contact us immediately. Thank you.

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(3)
Aug. 3: Arrived at EISD administration
building, noticed "Recognized" sign on
front door and in main entry.

(4)
Checked in with receptionist in cage
(left) who said responsive documents
were waiting for me in HR.

(5)
I went across parking lot to
HR buidling (below), picked
up and paid for documents

(7)
Went back into admin. building, asked
receptionist (R) to ask superintendent
Bocanegra if he could speak with me
briefly, long enough to shake hands.

(9)
After a half hour wait for
Edgewood ISD's PR guy
Mario Rios to appear, I invited
the officers to come with me
to my car so I could show
them my identification. Mario
(R) arrived at the parking lot.

(8)
Another of supe Bocanegra's secretaries
entered the reception area and engaged me in
small talk until three armed Edgewood ISD
police department officers suddenly appeared:
Sam Talamantoz, M. Gonzales and T. Aguillen.

We spoke briefly, the 3
police officers melted
away, and I left, snapping a
few photos on my way out.

(11)
Aug. 10:
Around
Edgewood

(11)
Aug. 9:
Edgewood ISD
emailed police
report (R).

(12)
Aug. 19, 2006:
Around
Edgewood
again

Lisa's Restaurant

(13)
Aug. 19:
Beyond
Edgewood