HOW YOU CAN HELP WITH THE KINDERS AND HISD

As you know, the Kinders offered to release the naming rights over HSPVA in their April 21, 2017 letter to HISD, but agreed to still give the $7.5 million to the school. It is a peculiar letter. A groundbreaking letter, we think! But a bit peculiar. • It’s not a legal document in the formal sense; it’s not the contract amendment to swap a theater name for the school name that we ask for in the petition; • It seems to set up another all-or-nothing deal: either HISD accepts the release, giving the Kinders NO RECOGNITION AT ALL, or HISD responds with, that’s really sweet of you, but we couldn’t possibly accept—and we are back to Kinder HSPVA. • There’s no time frame mentioned, no “next step” language such as “we look forward to working with you on a solution” or even “we hope to hear from you.” Was it disingenuous? We hope not. We think not, because there just is no way the Kinders can know for sure what will happen next. They put it out there. Pretty darn amazing! But we have already seen what can happen when Kinder Foundation tells HISD it’s an all-or-nothing deal (if that’s what this is)—they did that last October 13, and HISD caved immediately. That’s when the school name was lost. The Kinders have access to the school board members that we don’t have. Sarah went to the Agenda Review meeting May 1, to try to speak to as many trustees as possible before the meeting began. Several trustees said they had read the letter, but seemed to have nothing much more to say. Superintendent Carranza was evasive, but did say he would be speaking with the president of the board about the Kinder release letter. That’s it? Will two people decide, behind closed doors, how to respond to this amazing opportunity for a do-over? With HISD, that is certainly a possibility. There are two things you can do now to make your voice heard. Write to Superintendent Carranza and Board President Trustee Wanda Adams, at hisdsuperintendent@houstonisd.org and wadams2@houstonisd.org . Tell them you want this issue given the public discussion and contractual due diligence it deserves. Ask them to negotiate a real solution, such as a theater name or whatever you want to suggest. Ask them not to treat it as another all-or-nothing offer. The other thing you can do is to speak at the Thursday May 11, 2017 board meeting. Register to speak using this link, at least 24 hours ahead. You would be speaking in the Hearing of Citizens section and will likely have 2 minutes to make your case that this is an offer that deserves public discussion, and to state the solution you prefer. The meeting begins at 5 PM. Hearing of Citizens usually starts around 6 PM, but you must arrive by 5 PM to claim your speaking slot. http://www.houstonisd.org/Page/32478 In the meantime, we delivered the Kinders our second letter yesterday, asking them to clarify for the school board, they want to set the right precedent for other donors seeking physical recognitions in our schools. We ask them to take the lead by sending in that contract amendment. We hope they will respond. Their release letter is really amazing. There is no way they could really tell might happen after they wrote it. That makes it very genuine, to us. May 5, 2017 VIA PERSONAL DELIVERY Nancy and Richard Kinder Kinder Foundation 2229 San Felipe St #1700 Houston, Texas 77019 Dear Mr. and Mrs. Kinder, Thank you for your wonderful letter to HISD of April 21, 2017. We appreciate your willingness to release the name of HSPVA. I speak for all of us petitioners in thanking you for this generous and unpretentious recognition of your city and its treasured school, HSPVA. We petitioners asked you to give back, and give back you did. We asked you to raise the game, and raise it you did. But we could all use a little more help from you. Our appeal asks you to amend the contract with HISD, replacing the name of the school with a theater name. Your letter does not speak to the possibility of an alternate recognition. Thus it may have set up another all or nothing case, with only one clear answer for HISD. If HISD accepts the offer of a simple release, Kinder Foundation gets no recognition at all for its $7.5 million contribution to the school. If HISD does not accept, the school name will be Kinder HSPVA. We strongly believe Kinder Foundation should have a physical recognition for such a large contribution. You know our thoughts on this; the contribution will mostly pay for theater equipment. A theater name would be very appropriate. HSPVA Friends, who opposes any compromise, admonishes us with the “chilling effect” argument. More’s the reason for you to actively seek the winning solution that gives something to everyone. We have appealed to you to set up the best possible precedent with this first momentous naming rights transaction at HISD, one that respects the historic and community characters of our school names, but also encourages others to give to HISD. There is nothing wrong with potential donors wishing for a physical recognition. Confining those recognitions to facilities and spaces within the schools is good policy and follows the example of universities and museums nationwide. Why should HISD’s norms be set lower than the industry standard? If your contract with HISD were amended to a theater name, then the potential for a “chilling effect” on potential donors is greatly reduced. The example they will look to is the final deal. If anyone even remembers that the first deal needed a do-over, it will only be in the most positive light for you. You fixed it. Only you can fix it. It’s not clear that HISD can legally just accept your release offer. First, your letter is not in the form of legal document, such as a contract amendment. Secondly, HSPVA Friends must be a party to any contract amendment, and they have already said they do not accept the simple release. If you offer specific contract amendment language to trade the school name for a theater name, we believe both Friends and HISD will follow your lead. We hope you will carry through on the promise of your April 21 letter. We urge you to advocate for a theater name solution, and do what you have done so many times before in Houston—lead by example, the best example. Respectfully, Sarah Terrell Jeff Wayt Karl Bowles