06-20-2023 Patron Presentation, Damon Barone
Greetings, Damon Barone, Alief ISD parent, taxpayer, and alumnus.
I didn’t write speech for you all tonight but I do have some grave concerns. I have come up here multiple times and asked about the committee meetings. Specifically, the policy committee meetings. I see on tonight’s consent agenda you all have GF(Local) which relates to public complaints, and CH(Local) which relates to purchasing. Now when the Superintendent [Anthony Tywaun Mays] first got here there was a 19-million-dollar deficit that we were in.
I’m concerned as to why these committee meetings are not being posted. I’ve been asking multiple times when and where are these meetings held. Right? How can I attend them? They are on the consent agenda which means you all are not discussing them, and yall are going to pass a vote and we are not going to hear what you talked about in your committee meetings. So, I want to know what do I have to do to get invited to these committee meetings?
My next concern is Ms. Tan receiving the parent surveys. You all stated that you reached out to her. I have made several open records requests and I can’t get public information from the district but you all are sending out information that potentially has our student data on it, FERPA information, which violates the FERPA Act, to Ms. Tan. I’m assuming that she doesn’t have a contract with the district if you just reached out to her.
And my last complaint or concern is about open records request that I have been making and you all automatically send my open records request to non-contracted legal vendors. Specifically, law firms and attorneys that do not have contracts with the district. Now if we are in a 19-million-dollar deficit, one I want to know why are we spending so much money on preventing the public from finding out the business of the district, and two, how are they receiving information that I cannot receive if they don’t have a contract with the district?
We got to do better. We got to do better. You got to do better. Right? You all stated that you wanted our parental involvement. I come to every single board meeting and you all let me go sit down and leave. Last time I left my home number, my home address, my email address, and I haven’t heard from any of you all.
I did an open records request for tonight’s board books; I haven’t heard back from the Chief of Staff [Julia Yvette Andrews]. The meeting is already taking place, but yet yall are about to vote on some things which I have no idea what you all talked about. That’s unacceptable. Unacceptable. Now when I take my kids out of the district, and I move out of the district then yall are going to come looking for me, knocking on the doors, where are your children at, where is your family at? I am here now. You don’t have to come knocking on the door. I am here every single board meeting, and you all are acting like I am saying some things that yall don’t understand. You refuse to address it. I speak on items that are on the board agendas. You don’t address my issues. I file grievances, yall don’t respond to the grievances. Yall don’t hold hearings, but yet yall are changing the policies and procedures of those grievances.
You tell me tonight, what is it that you want to allow me to do? What is it that you want to allow Damon Barone to receive? Tell me tonight so that I know and I will stop requesting what I should be able to request and I will only ask for the things that you want me to have.
Thank you.
Damon Barone, Alief ISD parent, taxpayer, and alumnus