Peyton Wolcott - Edu-Conferences

Conservative Commentary - Edu-Conferences

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

WHO REALLY PAYS WHEN VENDORS
UNDERWRITE EDU-EVENTS?
By Peyton Wolcott
Published April 23, 2006 - Updated January 27, 2008

Remember this "wining & dining supes" photo?
Nicknamed "Stilton at the Hilton"?
It was first posted here in early February, 2006.

In the event these pages are new to you, I reported then that it appeared a Texas Regional
Education Service Center had paid for a lavish reception for Texas public school executives
during an edu-conference.

Region 4 ESC's subsequent protestations that no taxpayer dollars were used to fund this
soiree raise more questions than they answer. As it turns out, Region 4 ESC is asserting
that PBK Architects, specialists in "Educational Facilities Solutions," was the underwriter.

Background
While in Austin for the Texas Ass'n of School Administrators
Midwinter Conference on January 31, 2006, I dropped on Region 4
ESC's reception (above right) at the Austin Hilton armed with only my
camera and a press pass, entering after asking permission of
Region 4 ESC personnel stationed at the entrance.

The facts as we know them
The TASA Mid-Winter Conference literature only refers to this event
as 'ESC Region 4 Reception 6 p.m. Hilton Austin Hotel—Meeting
Room 406.' The Hilton's lobby signage (blue screen at below) only
stated the names of Region 4 ESC and TASA; as you can see for
yourself there was no reference to PBK Architects, which Region 4
ESC now asserts was the underwriter. Further, I saw no signs
prominent or otherwise in the reception hall bearing PBK's name.
ESC 4 says such signs were posted but has no photos to back up
their assertion, and in this photo there are no PBK signs visible.
There were no placards on tables or cocktail napkins or other similar
visible with PBK's logo.

PBK Architects' proposal for Region 4
ESC's "Additions & Renovations"-- exterior above,
grand staircase below

What the Texas Edu-Missioner says
My query to Texas Education Commissioner Shirley Neeley (Feb. 3, 2006) - I would appreciate a quote...as to
the appropriateness of using taxpayer dollars earmarked for Texas schoolchildren to pay for alcohol at a party for
public school executives. [No response]

What Region 4 ESC's in-house attorney Angela Bishop says
March 6, 2006 - "The reception was paid for by a private underwriter and not by taxpayer dollars."
March 7, 2006 - "Region 4 ESC was not offered, did not request, has not received, nor will it accept any
'considerations as a result of PBK's sponsorship of this event.' "
March 17, 2006 - "PBK is currently serving as the architect for Region 4 ESC's expansion and renovation project."

PBK active in Region 4 ESC--Katy ISD's Leonard E. Merrell Center one example
According to PBK, amenities for the Leonard E. Merrell Center include "Arena with 5,794 stadium seats and an 80'
x 140' arena floor; 1,312+- seats can be retracted resulting in an arena floor that is increased to 120' x 180' with
4,290 fixed seats remaining." View more including an interior photo of Katy ISD's Leonard E. Merrell Center here.

April 24, 2006
My query to Region 4 ESC
exec. dir. Bill McKinney

OTHER QUESTIONS
ON THE TABLE:

(A) Who really paid for this
living-large reception at the
Austin Hilton (above)
during the TASA Midwinter
Conference?

(B) What do fancy
cheeses and wines and
tuxedoed waiters have to
do with teachers and
students in classrooms?

1. What is the total projected
budget for Region 4 ESC's
"Renovation & Expansion"
project?
2. Where on the Region 4 ESC
website might I find information
regarding the particulars of this
project?
3. How much will PBK be paid
for this project for their services?
4. How was PBK selected? Via
an open bid, closed bid, or other
selection process?

MORE ABOUT "STILTON AT THE HILTON"
An open bar featuring fine wines and beer along with prime
beef and a lavish array of European cheeses ranging from brie
to bleu to Stilton were on the menu Tuesday, Jan. 31 in Austin
when Region 4 ESC (Houston)--according to lobby signage
(see photo of blue screen below)--appeared to have treated
administrators visiting the TASA 2006 Midwinter Conference; a
bevy of snappily dressed tuxedo-clad waitpersons served the
reception. Region 4 ESC has since asserted the event was
sponsored by PBK Architects, a vendor with whom they are
currently doing business.

SEE BELOW for another example of supes living well while far from home: Austin-area supe
Nola Wellman stayed at The Hotel Adolphus in Dallas at $200 per night during the same
school year a local TV station reported that "Luxuries are just the beginning of what this
school now has to do without" and "The district is strapped for money." (SOURCE--News 8 Austin, Mar. 2005)

The supe stays at the Adolphus & other questionable charges

TASA MONKEY BUSINESS

Former TX comptroller (and failed lt. gov. candidate)
John Sharp's humor draws yuks from supes
By Peyton Wolcott
January 2006

While it has been my assumption that Eanes ISD supe Nola Wellman had a
perfectly reasonable explanation for staying at a four-star hotel at a time when her
district is doing without luxuries, I have yet--three months after asking in Feb.
2006--to receive that explanation. And I remain eager to learn how Eanes' being
"strapped for money" reconciles with their supe's staying in a luxury hotel featuring
"early Flemish tapestries" that will help the supe feel "less like a visitor than an
aristocrat returning to the private quarters of [her] European country manor."
Literature for the Adolphus states:

Fine dining at the Adolphus

WHEN John Sharp addressed the Texas Ass'n of School
Administrators Midwinter Conference earlier this week, the
Texas Tax Reform Commission chair shared his plan for tax

reform (drop property tax caps from the present $1.50 per
$100 for M&O to $1.00, then make up the diff with business
taxes).

Sharp also told two jokes, the first about a monkey having sex
with a lion, and the second about a dog urinating on its elderly
owner's trouser leg in Victoria, Texas, Sharp's hometown.
Both drew huge laughs and applause from the crowd. Used
to be, this sort of humor was reserved for guys huddled
together in a back room.

The Adolphus exterior,
lobby and guest quarters

Worse, the supes laughed and applauded. As one friend put
it, "I always thought school superintendents were better than
that."

Apparently not.

QUESTIONS ON THE TABLE: Do taxpayers anywhere pay their school taxes so that their junketing supes can feel less like a
visitor than "an aristocrat returning to the private quarters of [their] European country manor?"
Is this the sentiment in taxpayers' minds and hearts as they're signing their ever-larger property tax checks?
And what does a supe's fine dining or hotel experience have to do with our children's classroom experience with their
teacher--who most likely had to dip into their own pockets to pay for basic supplies?

Fact: Texas Gov. Rick Perry, a Republican,
appointed Sharp, a Democrat, to head TTRC.

TO:
Johnny Veselka, exec. director - Texas Ass'n of School
Administrators (TASA)

RE:
Guidelines for speakers at TASA-sponsored conferences

Johnny, what guidelines does TASA suggest to speakers it
engages for TASA-sponsored public education events?
This comes up because of two jokes/anecdotes John Sharp
told the general audience on Tuesday, January 31, 2006 at
the TASA Midwinter Conference in Austin. One involved a
monkey having sex with a lion, and the other involved a dog
urinating on a man's trouser leg.
How appropriate do you feel such comments were at a
general convening of K-12 public school educators, the folks
who are entrusted with the tender care and education of
children in Texas?
Especially given that the educators' attendance at such event
was by grace of Texas taxpayers; this would include not only
TASA's conference fees and TASA dues, but also travel,
lodging, meals and other incidental expenses associated
with a three- or four-day trip to Austin?
When I listened to the tape recording I made of the event, I
was surprised at the loud level of general laughter and
applause these two jokes/anecdotes generated from the
audience.

RE: "Aramark Dome Suite $206.50" -
Charges billed to Eanes ISD Platinum
Business Card Bank of America Ref.
#247****24 (Aug. 2005)

It is my assumption that there is a perfectly reasonable explanation for Eanes supe
Nola Wellman's charging $206.50 worth of expenses for the "UIL Football: Texas
Football Classic -- Austin Westlake vs. Leander" event at the Alamodome in San
Antonio at a time when the district has announced that it is "giving up luxuries* and
I remain--three months later--eager to learn how Eanes' being "strapped for
money" reconciles with these charges.

Literature for the Alamodome states:
"The Club Level permits only those guests holding a 200 level ticket to access
the concourse. The concourse features carpeted walkways, upscale lighting
fixtures and lounge areas with leather seating arrangements . . . . Each
executive suite provides guests with plush theater-style seating, upscale
furnishings refrigerator, two televisions, private phone, coat closet and wet
bar area. For every two suites there is a personal suite attendant to service
guests with their food and beverage needs."

"Luxuries are just the beginning of what this school now has to do without . . . . Eanes was among the
hundreds of districts that successfully sued the state for more school dollars . . . . Superintendent Nola
Wellman said her district is strapped for money." (News 8 Austin, March 2005)

RE: 35.00 Late Fee for Nola Wellman Eanes
ISD Platinum Visa Business Card" billed to
Eanes ISD Platinum Business Card
Bank of America Ref. # (None) (Dec. 2004)

It remains--three months after first asking--my assumption that there is a perfectly reasonable explanation
for Eanes ISD supe Nola Wellman, the lucky recipient of a Platinum VISA Business Card--to cause Eanes ISD
to incur a $35.00 late charge at a time when the district is "strapped for money"* and how such a statement
reconciles with $35.00 in avoidable charges which benefit neither school children nor teachers nor
taxpayers.

"Eanes was among the hundreds of districts that successfully sued the state for more school dollars . . . .
Superintendent Nola Wellman said her district is strapped for money." (News 8 Austin, March 2005)

OTHER QUESTIONS STILL ON THE TABLE WITH EANES ISD:
A $35.00 late fee on a district credit card at a time when most districts are cancelling
credit cards? Most businesses require their execs to pay for travel and other
expenses out of pocket then file for reimbursement. Why are school districts different?

Johnny Veselka

John Sharp

STATUS: Sent queries to both Messrs. Sharp
and Veselka on Feb. 3, 2006. No responses
rec'd as of today--will post when they come.

TO: John Sharp

CC: Gov. Rick Perry

RE: Jokes at TASA conference

John, wondering if you have
reconsidered your choices of humor in addressing Texas
public school executives in your capacity as chair of Governor
Perry's Texas Tax Reform Commission on Tuesday afternoon,
January 31, 2006 at the TASA Midwinter Conference in Austin.
This comes up because of two jokes/anecdotes you told the
large audience comprised of K-12 public education executives.
One involved a monkey having sex with a lion, and the other
involved a dog urinating on a man's trouser leg.

How appropriate do you feel such comments were at a general
convening of K-12 public school educators--the folks who are
entrusted with the tender care and education of children in
Texas? Especially given that the educators' attendance at such
event was by grace of Texas taxpayers (this would include not
only TASA's conference fees and TASA dues, but also travel,
lodging, meals and other incidental expenses associated with
a three- or four-day trip to Austin)?

What was the name of the elderly man in Victoria with the dog?
And the lady's name you mentioned? I'd like to spell them
correctly in my book and website, and to contact them for a
follow-up.

John Sharp's speech to Texas public education executives featured a joke about
a monkey having sex with a lion, and another about a dog urinating on a Victoria
("my hometown"), Texas resident's trouser leg.

What are your thoughts?

Does this seem appropriate to you?

Are you wondering if your supe laughed with the crowd and went
along with the humor, or walked out?

Rest assured. If your supe was there, he/she didn't walk out. I was watching
the exits. No one walked out in protest.

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

****
"The Adolphus Dallas hotel ushered in a
grand new era of sophisticated Dallas lodging.
Amid such treasures as early Flemish tapestries and
a Victorian Steinway once owned by the Guggenheims,
you can recall the splendor of bygone days and almost feel the
presence of the famous guests who stayed here before you.
Once you are shown through our carriage doors, you may just feel
like royalty yourself . . . .
In the luxury of your guestroom, you may feel less like a visitor
than an aristocrat returning to the private quarters of your
European country manor."
****

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POP QUIZ:

Do you still picture your
supe at education
conferences as munchin'
and dunkin' donuts while
listening to sober and
scholarly dissertations--
all the while scrimping to
save the district
desperately needed
dollars by staying at the
Super 8?

Jan. 31, 2006

H a d t o a s k

$35.00
late fee

Construction giant PBK'S
name is conspicuous for
its absence on the Hilton's
lobby signage

HOME

Stilton at the Hilton

Neeley's response to the above query after I re-sent it (Mar. 3, 2006) I am just now opening my email
and will respond to your request. I suggest that you contact Dr. Bill McKinney, the Executive Director of
ESC IV, for specifics about the event. I was not in attendance, but from my 29 years as an educator in
Region IV, I can tell you that events such as this one are NEVER at tax payer expense. Dr. McKinney has
outstanding partnerships with the business community. He excels at getting business partners to
underwrite receptions and special events such as this reception. Dr. McKinney would NEVER use tax
payer money to fund alcoholic beverages at ANY function Region IV hosts.