Bond PAC under fire, to disband after audit
After police forwarded a complaint to the Bexar County District Attorney’s Office questioning payments by the political action committee that helped pass Judson Independent School District’s bond proposal in the November election, the PAC’S leaders this week announced plans to disband.
But first, they’ll conduct an audit and legal review.
Judson Advancement for Children Committee officials have been defending the PAC’S payments to the spouse of a school board member, totaling $8,824, to build its website, hire campaign workers and do social media advertising. It was the fastest way to get necessary work done, they’ve said.
Johnny Harris, a former Judson ISD board member who is married to trustee Renée Paschall, filed a complaint about that with Converse police weeks after voters approved the bond Nov. 8.
He accused the PAC of overpaying Rosie Merced for the website and said the PAC created the potential for “personal monetary gain” for her husband, longtime trustee José Macias, according to a police report.
The police department last month said it was investigating the complaint but appears not to have questioned the PAC’S leaders.
It forwarded a report to the DA with a recommendation that it review the matter.
The PAC’S chairman, Bear Goolsby, said Wednesday that the panel will hire a lawyer to review all of its actions last fall to make sure they were legal and conformed to Texas Ethics Commission guidelines.
Macias blamed the police complaint on supporters of former Superintendent Jeanette Ball who were angry that Macias and a majority of the board forced her to resign and take a contract buyout shortly after the bond passed.
He said Harris and others who had helped campaign for the bond but voiced criticism of
the payments to Merced were simply posturing ahead of board elections in May in which Paschall and other incumbents already have challengers.
In recent weeks, the political infighting for that election has been in full swing and suggests both Ball's departure and the PAC'S decision-making will be issues.
Finance reports filed with the ethics commission showed a balance of $1,803 unspent from the $49,422 it raised for the election. Goolsby said it would allow the campaign to hire an attorney to go over its documents and receipts, and that the PAC will donate whatever is left to the Judson Education Foundation, the school district's nonprofit fundraising arm.
Goolsby and other PAC leaders had originally planned to use remaining money to hold a candidate forum for the board election, saying they wanted to stay involved in the district's activities. But Goolsby said the fallout from publicity about the payments to Merced has changed things.
“We're planning on shutting the PAC down,” he said. “People are asking if we would continue it, but you know, this is not my world, we're all volunteers in this.”
PAC leaders have spoken to certified public accountants on what their next steps should be. Goolsby said the community will get updates on the review and he is still “100 percent comfortable with what we did, knowing that it was in the best interest of getting the bond passed.”
A drumbeat of criticism, however, continued to emerge on the Facebook page called Judson ISD Parents, Students and Staff, which functions as a forum for the goings-on of the school district.
One commenter cited the “critical need for all of us to be extremely critical of our district leaders; the board; current board candidates; and anyone officially involved in PAC activities.”
Another shared her frustration with the political climate in the district, saying the “questionable dealings and relationship drama within the school board needs to stop happening and being frontline news… A high functioning school board (not ‘enemies' and pettiness) will make this district rise.”
Macias added a comment defending his wife and the PAC'S actions, saying Harris had made a “‘politically motivated' attack.”
“Bottom line there was nothing criminal, unethical, or immoral that occurred. It was filed purely to throw mud,” wrote Macias, who also mentioned that he will not be supporting Paschall for re-election.
On Macias's personal Facebook page, he said, “Ms. Paschall's vision will keep students behind and unprepared for their life beyond Judson ISD.”
The school district has sold about $90 million of the $345 million in bonds authorized by voters, and is starting to buy security equipment and new school buses. It is preparing requests for proposals from contractors for new school construction.
Judson ISD'S national search for a new superintendent is also underway with two public forums planned for early next week.
The filing deadline for the board election is Friday.