PAC funded by teachers union supporting four HISD candidates
A political action committee mostly funded by the nation’s largest teachers’ union has received $225,000 to spend on supporting four candidates for the Houston ISD school board election and a city ballot measure, campaign finance reports show.
Houston United for Strong Public Schools plans to spend in support of three incumbent candidates — Wanda Adams, Holly Maria Flynn Vilaseca and Anne Sung — and newcomer Elizabeth Santos ahead of Tuesday’s election, records show. The PAC doesn’t plan to spend on candidates in two other Houston ISD board races.
Political action committees operate independently of individual candidates’ c ampaigns. Houston United for Strong Public Schools has received the most donations to date among PACs supporting local school board candidates.
Records show Houston United for Strong Public Schools took in $ 150,000 from the political arm of the American Federation of Teachers, which represents about 1.7 million public employees, most of them working in schools.
‘Helping children’
The PAC also received $ 75,000 from the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, a union representing about 1.6 million public service employees. In addition to supporting the four board candidates, the PAC plans to spend in favor of a Houston city ballot measure to authorize the sale of $1 billion in bonds under a pension reform plan.
In a statement, AFT President Randi Weingarten said union members contribute to candidates who work to make public schools a place where “parents want to send their kids, teachers want to teach and kids are engaged.”
“In Houston, that means first and foremost supporting school board candidates focused on helping children and educators heal and recover after Hurricane Harvey and ensuring Houston families continue to have control over their public schools,” Weingarten said.
“And it means electing candidates who support strong community schools, are focused on real learning over high-stakes testing and recruiting and retaining teachers so they stop leaving the district after only a few years in the classroom, and who will fight for additional funding from Austin.”
Teaching experience
Flynn Vilaseca, Santos and Sung are current or former K-12 teachers, and Adams is a professor at Texas Southern Universi- ty. The PAC is not supporting four other candidates with teaching experience.
Adams, the board’s president, is running for re-election in District IX against Karla Brown and Gerry Monroe.
Flynn Vilaseca, who was appointed to the District VI seat in January, is seeking her first victory at the polls against Daniel Albert and Robert Lundin.
Santos is running against Monica Flores Richart and Gretchen Himsl for the open seat in District I.
Sung has a rematch against John Luman, whom she defeated in a special election last December for the District VII seat.