ARCHITECTURAL ENGINEERING FIRM WITH BOND TIES TO KATY ISD REGISTRANT FOR PRO-BOND WEBSITE:
Fort Bend Now’s partner site, InstantNewsKaty, has learned the pro-Katy ISD bond issue website www.isupportkatyisd.com was registered by the Houston-based engineering and architectural firm PBK.
The site was registered through the GoDaddy domain registration service by PBK from the engineering company’s Houston office in Greenway Plaza.
According to registration records, the administrative and technical contract for the website is a PBK employee named Chris Wailes.
PBK has been contracted for a number of Katy ISD school construction projects over the years, a number of which are prominently displayed on the PBK website. Included in those projects are the Katy High School auditorium, Morton Ranch High School and Seven Lakes High School.
PBK has also been involved in the construction of public school facilities across much of the state, as well as for such area school districts such as Lamar Consolidated ISD and Fort Bend ISD. In LCISD, PBK constructed George Ranch High School, the new George Ranch High School, scheduled for completion in 2011, Reading Junior High School and Foster High School. In FBISD, PBK constructed Ridge Point High School.
InstantNewsKaty left messages for Wailes at the PBK offices requesting comment, but those messages have not been returned.
Information contained on www.isupportkatyisd.com says the website is a “political website produced using private donations. No tax dollars were used in the production of this site.”
It also says the website “production” is “coordinated” by the Team Katy Political Action Committee.
In its required campaign finance report filing, Team Katy does not list the PBK registration of the website among its in-kind contributors.
Mary McGarr says:
October 7, 2010 at 12:08 pm
Fort Bend ISD Board Members who are readers of your web site may be interested in the report prepared by the Judson ISD school board’s attorney that was acquired by WOAI in San Antonio through an Open Records Request. The report discusses the legal ramifications for the Board for THEIR alleged involvement with PBK. The FBI investigation appears to be ongoing.
http://media.mysanantonio.com/documents/Judson+InvestigationOK.pdf
The following are articles about the ensuing FBI investigation.
http://blogs.houstonpress.com/hairballs/2009/01/pbk_architects_judson_isd.php
http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/education/Judson_ISD_becomes_target_of_FBI_probe.
jaghund says:
October 7, 2010 at 7:36 pm
Very telling links Ms. McGarr and it’s too bad the secretary of states office and attorney general don’t yank the charters of companies that engage in such pilfering of the public trusts while our elected officials, with their hands out for another hand out, sit idly by and snicker!