Despite TOMA's Gag, Let's Talk

Source: TOMA Handbook.

The Texas Open Meetings Act (TOMA) is one of the laws that sounds good in principle, but the devil is in the details. Let's talk about how TOMA gags school boards, and then some simple steps school boards can take to better achieve TOMA's stated aims.

How Can Anyone Be Against Open Meetings?

"In October of 2004, a member of the city council in Alpine, Texas, sent an e-mail to other councilmembers asking if they wanted to place a particular item on a future council agenda. The following day, one of the other councilmembers responded to recipients of the first e-mail, stating that she agreed that the item should be discussed. The local district attorney decided that this e-mail exchange violated the Texas Open Meetings Act (TOMA) because the e-mails ultimately involved a quorum of the city council. As a result, two of the councilmembers were criminally indicted by a grand jury."
-- Texas Municipal League

I can understand why some good people may come to the conclusion that public service just isn't worth the aggravation. The idea behind the Texas Open Meetings Act (TOMA) is good, but it doesn't achieve its purpose. It doesn't drive government deliberations out into the open. It simply squelches them. Not by statute, but by practical effect. Good intentions, unintended consequences.

I know, I know, it sounds like I'm against motherhood and apple pie, against the flag, against good governance and for smoke-filled rooms, but ... after the jump, the case against the Texas Open Meetings Act. Not open meetings, mind you. The law.

No Knockout in Mayor's Race

After weeks of campaigning and a dozen or so rounds in the ring, the two candidates for Richardson's mayor were bloody but still standing after the last round, the big forum in the Grand Hall of the Richardson Civic Center, sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Richardson.

I won't provide a blow by blow account because the city recorded this one and made it available for all to stream from the city's website for viewing at your leisure. It's only 82 minutes long. Inform yourselves.

After the jump, the highlights, from my point of view.

Richardson Selects a Mayor

Last night, while most Richardson residents were home watching the Dallas Mavericks play the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 4 of their NBA Western Conference Championship series, a large number of civic-minded citizens were waiting in the Richardson City Council chambers like expectant fathers. They passed the time by relaying the basketball score while waiting for news of the arrival of Richardson's next mayor.

Richardson has an unusual way of choosing its Mayor. The voters don't do it. The voters elect seven members of the City Council. After being sworn in, the first act of the new council is to elect one of themselves Mayor and another Mayor Pro Tem. The official vote is done in open session, but it's preceded by a closed executive session during which the new council deliberates.

Earlier, I discussed the pros and cons of having the City Council select the Mayor as opposed of having the voters do it. Here, I want to discuss the pros and cons of the City Council doing it in a closed, executive session.

After the jump, is this a good idea?

David Tyson Strikes Again

In January, former Richardson ISD trustee David Tyson sued the RISD over its at-large voting system, claiming it is a violation of the federal Voting Rights Act (VRA). While that case is still pending, David Tyson struck again, filing yet another lawsuit last week.

RISD TRE: The Facebook Election

In a tax ratification election (TRE), voters in Richardson ISD approved a tax rate increase by a ~7% margin. In a normal non-partisan May election that would be considered close, but in a November general election where the turnout is eight times as high and tribal politics rule, 7% is a comfortable margin. The outcome was never in doubt once the polls closed and the early vote totals were released.

The TRE passed in all areas of RISD. The precincts that voted "No" were scattered. There was no geographical base of support that controlled the election. Nor was there a base of opposition. The precinct with the highest support had 66% "Yes". The precinct with the lowest support had 34% "Yes." The rest of the precincts were spread evenly between. About half of the precincts voted for the TRE in higher percentages than the overall margin, about half in lower percentages.

Q&A: Strategizing in Secret

I read somewhere that the North Texas Municipal Water District (NTMWD) had agreed to discuss the method used to determine how much member cities pay for water. Then I read that the Richardson City Council went into closed session to consult with the city attorney to discuss the "1988 North Texas Municipal Water District Regional Water Supply Facilities Amendatory Contract."

Question: Are those two things related? And why would consultation with the city attorney on a water issue not just be done in open session?

Let's Talk: Teacher Salary Compression

Source: TASB.

During the public comment section of the April 11, 2022, Richardson ISD school board meeting, one speaker raised a concern about teacher salary compression.

City Council Road Trip

Observant audience members at the February 25 Richardson City Council meeting might have noticed this item buried deep in the consent agenda:


If you hoped to learn what that was all about, you were out of luck. It received no discussion (consent agenda items never do). The Texas Open Meetings Act (TOMA) remains a deep mystery to me. All council deliberations are supposed to occur in public. In this case, either there was some communication going on beforehand, or the council is a peculiarly incurious bunch, or else mental telepathy is allowed by the TOMA. I'm going to go with prior communication. (Update: I have since discovered a memo deep in the Agenda Handout, not in the consent agenda, that explains the reason for the cancellation. A *very* observant audience member would have noticed this. My bad.) In any case, the council voted unanimously to "consider cancellation" of the March 4 council worksession, by which I think they in fact canceled it, without anyone doing any, you know, actual consideration, at least out loud.

After the jump, what it was all about. Sort of.

Towards Ever More Transparent Government

Last week, I summarized the legal arguments against the process used by the Richardson City Council to award City Manager Bill Kefler a 2% raise. I found the arguments either weak or outright bizarre. I asked readers to correct my understanding of the arguments or supply a stronger argument, if they were able. One reader, Nathan Morgan, took me up. What followed was a long comment thread (33 comments now). In my opinion, he offered nothing new, only restating arguments I had included (and rejected) in my original summary of the legal arguments against the city.

So, it's time for me to move on. After the jump, the advice I offered on just how to do that. And to start the ball rolling, a suggestion.

Open Meetings Act, Not So Bad After All

I've long had a grudge against the Texas Open Meetings Act (TOMA). Not with the intent behind the act -- open meetings -- but with the unintended consequences of the act. Two clauses of the act, each fine by itself, work together to suppress open discussion.

• Meeting agendas must be posted 72 hours in advance
  
• Public officials may not discuss subjects not on the agenda
  

After the jump, the harm these rules cause and a possible solution.
 

Repeat Tweets: Car chases, Fist fights, Shootouts

Repeat tweets from August, 2018:

• Aug 2 2018: Mission: Impossible - Fallout (2018): Much better stunts than script. The mission is to recover stolen plutonium. The "plan" constantly goes wrong and needs improvisation: car chases, fist fights, shootouts and everybody changing sides. Tom Cruise shows his age. C-
• Aug 3 2018: Warlight: A coming-of-age novel set in London after WWII, where a boy is left by his parents "in the care of two men who may have been criminals". Why leads to a life-long quest of self-discovery. Along the way, some great adventures. B+
• Aug 3 2018: What's new? A foreign country inflicted upon our election system systematic violations of democratic norms, and not only did we *not* consider it an act of war, our government can't stop praising the hostile foreign country responsible. Where's the outrage?

After the jump, more repeat tweets.

Richardson, Guns, and the NRA

The Richardson City Council held a 5 hour marathon session Monday night. The first 90 minutes of it were taken up by a topic not even on the agenda: a possible NRA move to Richardson. That story was exaggerated in one direction before the meeting (that the NRA is coming to Richardson) and then exaggerated in the other direction afterwards (that the NRA is not coming to Richardson). In fact, according to the NRA itself, "Texas remains a preferred choice for a future HQ. That said, the NRA Board of Directors has not made any decision." For its part, State Farm issued a statement saying that they "are not actively marketing space for sublease at City Line." So, is the NRA coming to Richardson? Probably not, but nothing said by anyone rules out the possibility that it could still happen.

RISD TRE: Lessons and Roadmap

In a tax ratification election (TRE), voters in Richardson ISD approved a tax rate increase by a ~7% margin. What should be the takeaways for the RISD board of trustees and district administration?

First and foremost, the district now should have enough revenue to run the schools for the next five years (with or without a solution to the root cause of the problem with school finance at the state level). So, execute. Give teachers that raise. Hire more special ed teachers. Expand Career and Technology programs. Increase security. Do all the things the district said were needed. That's the obvious takeaway. But we now ought to be able to turn our attention to other matters that might have been overlooked while we were focused on solving our local funding problems. I have a few suggestions, some easy, some hard.

Let's Talk: Seven Dirty Words

Source: Lost in the Sun, by Lisa Graff.

During the public comment section of the April 11, 2022, Richardson ISD school board meeting, one speaker raised a concern about a book her third grade daughter found in her school library.

More About That KPMG Audit

A word of thanks to the Richardson City Council audit committee (Bob Townsend, Laura Maczka, Scott Dunn) for asking the city's auditor, KPMG, if their Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) could be published in spreadsheet format. KPMG insists that it not be, in an effort to make it harder for unscrupulous people to change the data. Of course, that also makes it harder to audit the auditors, so to speak. KPMG have allowed the report to be published in a searchable PDF format. I can attest that this year's CAFR is searchable (thanks).

After the jump, so what?

Let's Talk: Graphic Sex in Novels

Source: What Girls are Made Of, by Elana K. Arnold.

During the public comment section of the April 11, 2022, Richardson ISD school board meeting, one speaker raised a concern about a book she says is in the school libraries of Berkner High School, Richardson High School, and Richardson West Junior High School. After warning audience members that they might want to leave the room, she read a long passage from the book. Or maybe it just seemed long. It was explicit. It was embarrassing.

Let's Talk: Child Grooming

Source: Alliance for Children.

During the public comment section of the April 11, 2022, Richardson ISD school board meeting, one speaker criticized RISD for practicing child "grooming" in elementary schools as part of official RISD policy. Yeah. Then it got worse.

Let's Talk: Lawsuits

Source: Adam Maida / The Atlantic.

During the public comment section of the April 11, 2022, Richardson ISD school board meeting, one speaker raised a concern about how a complaint they submitted is being handled.