03-21-2023 Patron Presentation, Damon Barone
Greetings, Damon Barone, Alief ISD parent, taxpayer, and alumnus
Our 40th U.S. President Ronald Reagan is quoted as saying, “Trust but verify.” So, I decided to do just that, and verify the statements given by the school board before each patron presentation opportunity.
I went on the districts website and reviewed board policies, as you instruct in your opening speech, and could not find a single policy that states a patron who is speaking cannot mention an employee’s name when voicing a concern or complaint.
In fact, according to board policy BED(LEGAL) it appears as though the board has been violating the rights of patrons by discriminating against patron presentation speeches on the basis of the boards, or board members viewpoints, taking actions to abridge the freedom of speech, and the rights of people to petition the board for redress of grievances.
My second concern regarding the board’s patron presentation instructions is that you all ask patrons to limit our comments to three minutes. Upon reviewing board policy BED(LOCAL), subsection Procedures, I read that an individual’s comments to the Board shall not exceed FIVE minutes per meeting; thus, the board is also violating that policy, posted on the districts website, by limiting patron presentation speeches to three minutes.
Each board member has an electronic device in front of you tonight so I trust that you will verify my statements and review board policies BED(LEGAL), and BED(LOCAL) for yourselves, and that the presenter of agenda item 6.21 will go to the website and pull up the policies in real time for the audience.
Please understand that simply having a school board attorney does not mean that the board or board members are not violating federal laws, state laws, or district policies and procedures.
HISD also had a school board attorney during the times which a former Board President, the district’s chief operating officer, and four district administrators were engaging in illegal activities related to bribery schemes.
They also had a school board attorney when the HISD Board members routinely exceeded their authority, directing staff in violation of the school laws of Texas.
HISD also had a school board attorney when the Board majorities blatantly violated the Texas Open Meetings Act, and Board members broke Texas procurement laws.
All of which contributed to the school district being taken over by the Texas Education Agency at the end of this academic school year.
You all are operating like an Alief version of the Houston Independent School District; so, please do not waste our tax money fighting the takeover when TEA announces their plan for Alief ISD.
Damon Barone, Alief ISD parent, taxpayer, and alumnus