Alvord ISD Superintendent May Go Beyond Detention Hall – Directly to Jail

It is clear that Alvord Independent School District (ISD) Superintendent John Trice has potentially put himself – and his school district – in a world of trouble.

Not only was Supt. Trice caught electioneering on school time and school property (http://txpayervoice.blogspot.com/2008/02/alford-isd-officials-electioneering.htm), but Supt. Trice has now threatened a school vendor in an email, and he also failed to provide that threatening email when an open records request asked for all emails from the Superintendent during the time period the email in question was sent.

Looks to this writer as if Superintendent Trice gotten caught in two additional illegal actions and it leads one to wonder just how much more of the turmoil taking place in Alvord ISD is as result of Trice’s reckless activities. It also begs the question: Just how much liability are the Alvord School Board members and the taxpayers of Alvord assuming by virtue of Supt Trice’s actions?

A private company, a telecommunications vendor – clearly pleased that Rep. Phil King had not only helped lower consumers’ telecom taxes, but had also supported eliminating an outdated tax (a legislative position supported by the telecommunications industry along with taxpayer advocates) invited Alvord Superintendent John Trice to an appreciation reception for Alvord ISD (and Trice’s) current state representative. And Superintendent Trice responded not only no, but by saying that he would work to keep that company from getting the school district’s business.

Below is Alvord ISD Superintendent John Trice's email:
____________
[mailto:jtrice@alvordisd.net]
Sent: Thursday, February 07, 2008 1:35 PM
To: (removed by the writer of this post)
Subject: Declined: State Representative Phil King Appreciation Reception
When: Wednesday, February 20, 2008 4:30 PM-6:30 PM (GMT-06:00) Central Time (US & Canada).
Where: Decatur Civic Center

Thank you for the invitation; however, Phil King in his own mailout claims responsibility for doing away with the TIF tax. This source of revenue was critical for schools to purchase computers, build infrastructure (such as the fiber we just purchased from Embarq) and other desparately needed technologies. This tax was very small compared to the property tax needed to recoup this loss of revenue. Mr. King is no friend to public education and I will not support him. If Embarq chooses to support him, I will most definitely propose that we do business with any competitor of Embarq at every opportunity.
If that is not clear enough, please call and I will tell you what I really think of Mr. King!!!
John Trice
______________

Supt. Trice’s email begs several comments:
--First, Supt Trice needs a spelling lesson – it is “desperately” not “desparately”;
-- Second, Rep. Phil King has been a friend to taxpayers and has demanded accountability from school districts. Alvord ISD taxpayers might appreciate that;
-- Third, you clearly don’t understand the TIF tax; and
-- Finally, the employees, taxpayers and parents of Alvord have my sincere sympathy.

As background, I sent a Public Information request to Alvord on February 22, 2008, to Joel Waldo, Administrative Assistant and asked – among other things – for: “Copies of all correspondence sent with Superintendent John Trice’s name since January 1, 2008.”

Clearly, the email pasted above was sent from Supt Trice’s school email account and was sent after Jan. 1 and before Feb 22 – the period designated in the FOIA request.

After sending the request, Trice called the Americans for Prosperity office claiming to be the Public Information officer and said that he would fulfill our FOIA request. He didn’t reveal to our office manager that he was the Superintendent. (She wasn’t fooled, as she knew his name.)

Though the Texas Public Information Act required compliance with my request, I not expect to get all his emails. He didn’t fail to disappoint me. I got emails from Trice commending people, setting meetings, all very mundane emails. I certainly didn’t get his email threatening a vendor with pulling a contract because the vendor (a private company) was participating in an event to honor their state representative.

So for that reason, I want to post this information so the Alvord community can read it for themselves. I hope they will take appropriate action.

Unfortunately, the Alvord School Board has recently extended Supt Trice’s contract for an additional five years. They have put their school district – and particularly the taxpayers and parents -- in a very difficult situation.

Alvord taxpayers should consider forcing a recall vote for any school board member who voted to extend the Superintendent’s contract (at a salary of well over $100,000). They put taxpayer dollars in jeopardy – along with the education of the approximately 700 students in the school district.

-- Peggy Venable, Texas director, Americans for Prosperity

UPDATE: On June 19, 2008, Venable sent a letter to the Wise County District Attorney asking for an investigation and action to be taken: http://www.americansforprosperity.org/index.php?id=5909&state=tx