Alief ISD Leadership Cannot Be trusted: 08-30-2022 Patron Presentation, Damon Barone
August 30, 2022 Patron Presentation, Damon Barone
Greetings, Damon Barone, Alief ISD parent, taxpayer and alumnus.
I want to discuss why I have, and continue to have concerns trusting the leadership of Alief ISD and the school board.
I have many examples to illustrate my concerns but I will talk about my open records request for the school boards May 10, 2022 interview questions.
On May 10, 2022 I did an open records request for any and all interview questions, matrixes, and scoring rubrics used by the Alief board or board members during the interview processes and selection processes to fill Harvey Tongs vacated school board seat.
After I filed an Attorney General complaint because I did not receive a response from the district within 10 business days, as required by law, Alief ISD, specifically Craig Eichhorn sent me an email on May 31, 2022 stating, “The district conducted a thorough review of your request and found no responsive information to satisfy this request made on May 10, 2022 at 5:30 a.m.”
Because I was one of five school board candidates who submitted our names for consideration for appointment to Harvey Tong’s vacated position, I had also participated in the board’s selection process; which I video recorded the public portion of the meeting held that day, where the school district’s attorney Jon Erik Nichols, and the school boards attorney Lisa Renee McBride discussed the interview process and the interview questions that were asked by the board to all five applicants.
Here we are 3 months and 20 days later, I have gone through a level one grievance, gone through a level two grievance, gone through a level three grievance, filed multiple attorney general complaints regarding this May 10, 2022 open records request, and subsequently a complaint to the Texas Education Agency because you all want to continue lying about questions asked during the interview process, which my video recording shows you all discussed with all candidates, including myself.
If the school board, district leadership, school board attorney, and district attorneys will continue to lie about something as simple and innocent as questions asked by the school board during an interview process, and continue to use taxpayers’ money paying legal fees trying to cover up those district lies, why should myself or any other parent, student, community member, or employee trust anything which the leaders of the district says or does?
Which one of you wants to go on record right now, live during this board meeting and say that there were no interview questions asked by the school board to candidates Nigh Ho, Manuel Grajeda, Randal Stewart, Damon Barone, and Janet Spurlock?
Trustee Jennifer Key I invite you to come down to the podium and give another Damon Barone patron presentation speech like the one you performed during the October 15, 2019 school board meeting to discuss district legal fees, and the Barone families’ rights to grieve the district and the school board.
My family and I are taking the power of our voices back from the leadership of Alief ISD, and rewriting the narratives that you all have falsely saturated into the ears of others about my passion of fighting for this district and our community.
Damon Barone, Alief ISD parent taxpayer and alumnus