Peyton Wolcott - Llano ISD - Andrew Jackson "Jack" Patton (TX)

PW NOTE: Most of us in our corner of Llano County were not very interested in Llano ISD; we're a golf resort and
the few people who live here full time are mostly retirees from somewhere else with no children at home. I directed my
own volunteer efforts to another district where our daughter was enrolled. It was only when local newspapers published
that superintendent Jack Patton had been arrested that we began paying attention. One paper published accounts that
seemed to be mostly defenses of Jack and his leadership team; this was the newspaper that received income for publishing
LISD's legal notices. Another newspaper published more information and this was the one we began reading. Shortly
afterwards the reporter at this second paper quit after filing an EEOC complaint and the short-staffed editor began
publishing what appeared to be press releases from the school district. When I called to ask what happened to the news
stream, the editor asked me to fill in temporarily, which I did for eight months until a board member took my publisher to
lunch and reportedly threatened a lawsuit. The trustees doing business with the district did not like their deals being
pointed out, or the CFO's job challenges such as coming to board meetings without having balanced the district's
checkbook and noticing mathematical errors while reading financial reports aloud; also, a second checking account was
opened -- with identical check numbers to the existing checking account, making it difficult for citizens to inquire about
spending. The "oops" comment became an "Oops" headline which local leaders did not appreciate. Following the lunch
I was invited to start covering more "positive" LISD news such as the high school poetry contest; I turned in the story I
was asked to do and resigned. Afterwards neighbors asked me to help them bring our PEAK$ idea from a nearby school
district (the one where our daughter was in high school) to Llano ISD. More here.

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

Conservative Commentary - Andrew Jackson "Jack" Patton's journey from Llano ISD to Crockett ISD (Texas)

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

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Questions?

Jack Patton: You can contact Jack at his place of
business: "Doc's Country Store & BBQ" which according
to the local phone book features BBQ, Bar-B-Que Meats
and Brisket, Gasoline, Convenience Doc's." The business
is located in Crockett, Texas. (NOVEMBER 2007
UPDATE: Doc's Country Store received a "Business of
the Month" award from the Houston County Chamber of
Commerce; Andy Lawrence accepted the award for Jack
Patton.)

Mark Chapman: Former Llano ISD board president
Mark Chapman's business is Chapman Construction in
Kingsland, Texas.

Billy Ratliff: Former Llano ISD trustee Billy Ratliff listed
his official contact as Charlie's Store, Inc., in Llano, Texas.

Alan Geistman: Llano ISD trustee Alan Geistman, who
listed his official occupation as "Investor," has moved
from Llano to Horseshoe Bay, Texas; his contact
information on LISD's website is: P.O. Box 8003,
Horseshoe Bay, TX 78657.

The story in never-before released
photos of a supe's fall from grace
By Peyton Wolcott
Revised Sunday, December 17, 2006 - 7 pm

First, there was Llano High School (left), a
facility in such terrible shape, Jack told taxpayers,
that a new bond issue was imperative--even though
the district's enrollment is declining. Students were
enlisted to campaign the community on behalf of a
new high school; remodeling was not an issue as
the old high school was in such terrible shape.

So Llano ISD's voters approved a bond, and Jack
got his new high school (next), which taxpayers
nicknamed "The Taj Mahal." Controversy erupted

Next came an ill-fated trip to the TASA/TASB
convention in Dallas (left at TASB logo), in September
2001, where Jack treated himself and three board
members and spouses to $617.37 meal at Del Frisco's
(below). The tab included approximately $80 for alcohol,
an illegal expense under the Texas Education Code; board
members claimed later that they'd left $80 on the table in
cash to cover the alcohol charge which they said the
waiter apparently mistook for a tip. Rebecca and Bill
Jennings and Pat and Jim Donahy, having heard rumors,
began asking questions, eventually resorting to filing
public records requests. Jack produced the Del Frisco's
receipt in response to the Jennings' request for his credit
card statements, but when then-local publisher Eric
Bishop asked for his own copy from the district, Patton
claimed no such receipt existed, apparently not realizing
he'd already produced it to the Jennings.

The fall of former Llano ISD supe Jack Patton--at right hurrying to find out how
much cash LISD trustees were going to award him the month after he became Texas'
first Public Information Act conviction--from superintendent of one of Texas' richest
school districts and former superintendent of the year to selling BBQ from a convenience
store/gas station in East Texas can be traced to one specific action on his part: His
refusal to produce a steak dinner receipt in response to a public records request, thus
becoming Texas' first Public Information Act conviction, according to Texas Attorney
General Greg Abbott.

These photographs are being published now as (1) a cautionary tale for those
superintendents who appear to their parents and taxpayers to think and act as though
they are above the law, and (2) as an encouragement to parents and taxpayers stuck with
superintendents who appear to think and act as though they are above the law. History
teaches us that tyrants fall and justice and truth eventually prevail.

Jack at truck with attorney, Jack with second attorney
objecting to having his photo taken on a city street.

After Patton's conviction by a Johnson City jury, next came his discussion regarding
his settlement with Llano ISD's board of trustees in September 2003. While Jack and
trustees Alan Geistman, Mark Chapman, Billy Ratliff and Bill Kirkman discussed terms (left
below) in air conditioned comfort in the huge empty board room, the public funding the
settlement and the press were locked outside literally, and figuratively left to cool their heels
in the sweltering heat in the un-air conditioned hallway. At one point Jack handed the board
some papers (at right, see arrow) which trustee Billy Ratliff (orange shirt) returned to Jack;
despite this photo, the board denied having seen, received or reviewed any paper records
from Patton during these negotiations. Next, while the board deliberated in private, Jack
waited in privacy on a porch (below) on the other side of the boardroom, away from the
prying eyes and questions of the public and press waiting in the hallway, talking eventually
with two people who'd found his hiding place.

After a lengthy wait, suddenly then-Llano ISD board
president Mark Chapman opened
the locked side door, signaled Jack to
come back inside (below left).

(Left) Patton's re-entry to boardroom; Patton's final exit from the boardroom.
At far right, to paraphrase a song, "Llano ISD Texas in his rear-view mirror."

As it turns out, the old high school could be salvaged after all--thanks to a costly
remodeling program. Locals noted that Jack was also undertaking an extensive
remodeling throughout this process of his own home, located on a ranch outside of
town; locals also noted that Jack's personal architect for his extensive home remodeling
was the same architect that the district was using for the high school; taxpayers
attempting attempting to track the increase in valuation of Patton's home as the
remodeling continued experienced difficulties finding it on the county's appraisals as there
appeared to be some confusion as to the exact reported street address.

Texas Attorney General Greg
Abbott decided to prosecute this as
Texas' first conviction for a violation
of the Public Information Act,
saying, "We cannot allow public
officials to make a mockery of our
open government laws." Andrew
Jackson "Jack" Patton (as his name
appears on his SBEC certificate) was
arrested in February 2003 then tried
by a jury in the courthouse in
neighboring Blanco County, in
Johnson City, Texas in August 2003.

After a jury in Johnson City in Blanco County found Jack
Patton guilty, the next step was a special called school board
meeting to discuss Jack's formal separation from LISD.
Above right, after the trustees had conferred in secret to
determine the terms of the separation, then-Llano ISD board
president Mark Chapman opened a special locked side door
for Jack, who had been allowed to wait away from prying
questions of TV and press reporters, parents and taxpayers.

Former Llano High School, now
Llano Junior High after
remodeling

(L to R) New Llano High
School and the large sign
which sparked
controversy as to cost
and location -- on the
"Road to Nowhere," a
long drive situated away
from the town of Llano
which no one uses --
and the contractor's use
of non-area
subcontractors.

Dallas Convention Center;
Del Frisco's Restaurant

(Above left) Jack Patton and attorney in Johnson
City courtroom in Blanco County; afterwards,
below, leaving courthouse with exhibits.

Patton (center, standing) discussing terms of his
cash settlement with LISD trustees; at far right,
trustee Billy Ratliff in orange shirt (note 106.85
hours of training on TSPR Exhibit 1-6 above)
returns papers (see arrow) to Jack which trustees
later denied knowledge of.

Jack Patton cooling his heels while LISD
trustees deliberate, then hasty re-entry

Moments later, trustee Alan Geistman
escorted Jack back to the side door
(right)--and freedom, again allowing him to
avoid any questions from the press or his
taxpayers. This photo (below right) of
Jack's truck exiting the street in front of the
school district's administrative offices was
the last known sighting of Jack Patton on
Llano city streets.

Jack's next court appearance (below) was the following month (October 2003) in the
Burnet County Courthouse; that's Jack at far left, again in khaki pants and dark blazer; the
occasion was a hearing for then-Llano ISD CFO Carol Voit (far right, in witness box, in
grey). District Attorney Sam Oatman stands in the middle, hands in pockets, looking
down; Patton had been Oatman's Sunday School student.

Andrew Jackson "Jack"
Patton

NOTE:

Throughout the proceedings, from
Patton's arrest through the trial and
conviction, until in fact his eventual
settlement with the Llano ISD board, Jack
Patton continued to collect his salary at the
rate of $327.92 per day, for a total of
more than $70,000.00.

Was it really "All about the kids" or was it
really "all about Jack Patton's salary and
TRS retirement amounts"?

The way the laws are currently on the
books in Texas, despite Patton's
conviction, he draws his TRS retirement
checks each month and will for the
duration of his lifetime.

DA Sam Oatman
(left) with ass't DA
at hearing for
then- LISD CFO
Carol Voit in
October 2003

HOME

The "Sign to Nowhere" on the "Road to Nowhere."
When locals learned how much was being spent
on elements of this sign at the new high school
they started asking questions; when they didn't get
answers, they started filing public records requests.

Home & Office: (830) 589-6760. (JANUARY 2008 UPDATE: Alan Geistman has resigned from the Llano ISD
school board and vacated the house he was renting in Horseshoe Bay; I have been unable to locate a forwarding
address for Alan other than his wife's executive search firm business in Austin.

Bill Kirkman: Former Llano ISD Bill Kirkman operates a travel agency out of a local bank and lives in Kingsland,
Texas.

Sam Oatman: District Attorney Sam Oatman's office is in Llano, Texas; his site states: "I have been privileged to
serve the citizens of the 33rd Judicial District as their district attorney since 1984. My career in prosecution began
with the Lubbock County Criminal District Attorney's Office as Chief Prosecutor of the 72nd District Court in
1976. I moved back to my hometown of Llano and became First Assistant District Attorney under the Honorable
Louis Crump in 1981. Mr. Crump resigned in September, 1984 and I was then appointed by Governor Mark White
to the position of District Attorney. I was elected to my first full term as District Attorney and began that term
January 1, 1985. I presently hold this position and will be elected uncontested for the beginning of my fifth term on
January 1, 2005. I am a Professional Prosecutor by choice and by law which disallows any private practice of law
or receiving referral compensation from other attorneys. This also applies to all of my Assistant District Attorneys.
As District Attorney, my primary responsibility is to represent the State of Texas in all felony cases that arise in
Blanco, Burnet, Llano and San Saba Counties. Some of the duties of my office include seeing that justice is
achieved in each case we prosecute, assist police agencies on the legal aspects of investigations, provide legal
assistance to each Grand Jury in their decision as to which cases to prosecute in District Court and which to reject.
My office is also responsible for assisting victims throughout the criminal justice process. This office also
represents the State through the appellate process when cases are appealed.

Shortly after Jack Patton was hired
as superintendent in Llano ISD, a
ranching community 90 minutes north
of Austin in one of Texas' wealthiest counties,
he built a new elementary (1999) and a Taj
Mahal high school (2000) complete with a
"Sign to Nowhere" on a "Road to Nowhere"
away from county growth--the little there was.

taxpayer funded-steak dinner at a
Dallas steakhouse during a 2001
Texas Ass'n of School Boards*
convention whose tab included
alcohol.

"Road to
Nowhere"

GUERRERO-McDONALD & ASSOCIATES, INC.

Name of Project:
Packsaddle Elementary School

Location of Project:
200 E. Lampasas Street

Contact:
Jack Patton, Superintendent of School
Llano Independent School District

Contract Amount:                $2,500,000.00

Completion Date:                 August 10, 2000

In addition to the new high school (top to
bottom), a new elementary was also completed
the year before, in 1999; situated on low-lying
ground; somehow a Llano ISD school board
member wound up taking a reported 56 loads
of taxpayer-funded fill dirt off of the
contractors' hands that was determined to be
unnecessary, and for no charge, even. A third
major construction project was a remodel of
the old high school which became the new
junior high.

PACKSADDLE ES
Llano ISD - Packsaddle Elementary School -
Kingsland, Texas
Project Architect - Fields & Associates
General Contractor - Guerrero-McDonald &
Associates, Inc.
Completed - 1999
PKA provided structural engineering for this
one-story, 22,500 square foot primary school
building. Building houses classrooms,
cafetorium, activity center, library, restrooms
and offices.The structure consists of a gabled
standing seam metal roof supported by
cold-formed, light gage steel purlin secondard
framing and structural steel primary framing.
Roof framing is supported by steel columns.
Framing for the cafetorium and activity
center/gymnasium consist of pre-engineered
metal rigid frames. The foundation consists of a
ground supported concrete slab with column
and wall loads supported by spread footings
and grade beams, respectively. Exterior cladding
consists of a combination of smooth and split
faced integral colored concrete masonry.
(SOURCE--Pickett, Kelm & Associates, Inc.
Consulting Structural Engineers)

In this climate local citizens began asking
questions; when they received no answers, they
began filing public records requests, hundreds of
them. This came to the attention of Texas
Attorney General Greg Abbott's office after Jack
produced the $617.37 Del Frisco's
steak dinner receipt to Bill Jennings
then when a local newspaper pub-
lisher asked for his own copy Jack
said he didn't have it. Jack was
arrested in February 2003, tried
and found guilty by a Johnson City
jury in August 2003, voluntarily
surrendered his SBEC certificates; locals were
told that Jack would never again be able to work
with public school money.

Jack Patton served on the 1999-2001 Texas
Ass'n of School Administrators Legislative
Committee, representing all of Region XIII.

In 2001 Jack treated
trustees and spouses to a
$617.37 Llano ISD

Pat Donahy

Bill Jennings during low-budget
PEAK$ campaign (2004)

When Llano mom Pat Donahy was unable to obtain
information regarding the district's attorneys fees
during this period, she wrote and filed her own
brief with the OAG. Result: The Attorney General
agreed with Pat against the Walsh Anderson law
firm that aside from FERPA-related documents all
Llano ISD attorneys' fees were public information.

Here's another OAG
opinion from that
period, signed by
then-Texas Attorney
General John Cornyn
on August 1, 2001,
involving Llano
County
Commissioners and
Llano ISD's
investments.

Pat Donahy (right) with PEAK$ candidate Owen Walker at 2004
BBQ; all five PEAK$ candidates -- each of whom had publicly
signed an ethics pledge promising the community they would not
do business with the district during their tenure -- won their seats
in one day in May 2004, a first for Texas and perhaps the US.

In August 2003 the state
comptroller released her findings
after a comprehensive audit of
Llano ISD, the Texas School

April 1, 2004: As part of the
outcome of his jury trial, Jack
Patton permanently
surrendered his Texas
Educator Certificate (SBEC) (at
right), "in lieu of disciplinary
proceedings."

RESULTS OF THE
JACK PATTON
ADMINISTRATION:

Despite being one of
Texas' wealthiest school
districts, Llano ISD
bonds fell to junk status.

Factoring in a $50,000
bank loan, the district's
fund balance rose to
$5,000.

In January 2003, following a series of controversies and allegations of wrongdoing, the LISD board
requested an audit from the Texas Association of School Business Officials (TASBO). In March
2003, TEA performed a District Effectiveness and Compliance (DEC) review of the district. Based
on investigations by the District Attorney's Office for the Thirty-Third Judicial District that resulted
in indictments by a Llano County grand jury, the board placed Superintendent Jack Patton on
administrative leave in February 2003. At an April 2003 meeting, the board proposed termination of
his contract and sent him written notice outlining numerous allegations of misconduct. Mr. Patton
has appealed the proposed termination to TEA. Mr. Patton is scheduled for an August trial on two
indictments for open records violations and has a September trial to answer felony indictments for
tampering with government records. In April 2003, the board hired Dr. Ruben Corkill as interim
superintendent; he served until June 3, 2003. The board appointed the assistant superintendent, Mr.
Dennis Hill, as acting superintendent on June 4, 2003.

In an effort to balance its budget and restore financial stability to the district, LISD declared
financial exigency in April 2003 and implemented a reduction in force (RIF) for 2003-04. In May
2003, the board adopted a plan to close the middle school and move grade 5 students to the
elementary schools and grade 6 to the junior high.

Performance Review. That's then-manager,
CPA Betty Ressel, below (2nd from right) at
the official release in Llano; Betty originated
the idea of the stepped time lines which made
achieving suggested goals painless -- for
superintendents open to improving their
districts.

August 2009: Jack Patton was hired by Crockett ISD supe
Doug Moore as a full-time non-contract employee in a
non-certified position, as the district's grant writer--which
apparently means Jack is outside the scope of the State Board
for Educator Certification (see his surrendered certificate
below). By email from Doug, Jack is employed at CISD
through the same outfit as Doug himself, JR3 Education
Associaties, LP -- fellow retired double-dipping
superintendents, a practice which is still legal in Texas. Jack
is still working at Crockett ISD.

TOWARDS A MEANINGFUL DIALOGUE ABOUT PUBLIC EDUCATION
Q: Should school-related convicted felons who are found guilty by a jury and have permanently surrendered their SBEC certificates "in
lieu of displinary proceedings" be allowed to work in public schools again in situations involving taxpayer-funded salaries and other monies?
By Peyton Wolcott - Sunday, June 20, 2010 / 6:49 a.m.

America's a generous place where folks get all kinds of second, third, extra chances to do better; it's also a place where we love enterprise and business. Given this,
where -- at what exact point -- do we say no to our law-breakers who have through their actions cost us a great deal? Is it where public not private money is involved?

SBEC Voluntary Surrender:
A voluntary surrender of a certificate occurs as a
result of an educator's voluntary relinquishment of a
certificate, in lieu of disciplinary proceedings, and
renders that certificate permanently invalid.

Developing . . . .

Jack Patton awaiting word from trustees during
post-trial settlement negotiations

NOTE: This exhibit 1-6 is from the Texas School Performance Review (TSPR) audit referenced above;
compare & contrast the total number of hours with the number of finance training hours.

Above, Llano ISD trustees Mark Chapman (far left) and Mark Stephenson (plaid shirt) dodge reporter's questions
outside Llano ISD administration building housing LISD superintendent's office.

P H O T O G A L L E R Y