OPEN RECORDS REPORT FOR INFORMATION ABOUT ANDREWS KURTH:

 

http://instantnewskaty.com/2010/10/22/16883  (This copy is somewhat garbled--follow the link to see the original copy.)

District Records Show Team Katy Donor Was Paid More Than $500K Over Past Three Years For Legal Work On Bonds

· October 22, 2010 · 8 Comments

When the Houston law firm Andrews Kurth gave $5,000 to the pro-Katy ISD bond issue political action committee Team Katy, the donation represented less than one percent of the amount law firm has been paid by the school district for providing legal services over the past three fiscal years.

LAW FIRM PAYMENTS – According to school district records, the law firm of Andrews Kurth received more than $500K over the past three years from Katy ISD for legal work on earlier bond issues. The same law firm has been one the largest donors to the pro-bond political action committee Team Katy.

According documents released by the school district, Katy ISD paid Andrews Kurth $505,585 in bond counsel fees and expenses during fiscal years 2008, 2009 and 2010.

The information was released following an open records request by InstantNewsKaty.

In addition to the payments for legal counsel and expenses, the district paid the law firm an additional $69,450 for “other” services, including contract work, legal work related to bond elections and, in one case, a payment of $11,254 in May of 2009 labeled only as “miscellaneous.”

In all, the district paid Andrews Kurth $575,035 for legal services over the past three fiscal years, according to the documents received.

No one from the law firm was immediately available to respond to questions about the payments or the services rendered.

In its initial campaign donation report, Team Katy said Andrews Kurth had given $5,000 to the effort to pass the current $459.7 million Katy ISD bond issue appearing on the Nov. 2 general election ballot.

That report covered donations received between Aug. 4 and Sept. 23. It is unknown if the law firm has made any subsequent donations to the political action committee.

According to information contained on its website, Andrews Kurth has offices in Austin, Beijing, Dallas, Houston, London, New York, The Woodlands and Washington, DC, and represents “an impressive list of global clients spanning multiple industries and areas of law.”

8 Comments

  1. muckraker says:

    October 22, 2010 at 10:27 pm

    Can anyone say “racketeering”???

  2. Bill Proctor says:

    October 23, 2010 at 2:49 am

    Contributors to Team Katy are on the Katy Team or probably get some benefit from passage of the bond. Members of Save Our Teachers – http://saveourteachers.wordpress.com are just regular conservative citizens looking for accountability and fiscal responsibility at all levels of government. They have raised less that $1,000 at this point from small contributions, no big special interest money, no one benefits from their bond position, but everyone will benefit from more Transparency and Openness demanded by them. Everyone will benefit if we make all of our elected officials stand in the light of day.

  3. Bill Proctor says:

    October 23, 2010 at 2:57 am

    Stan Stanley, who I believe is another member of Team Katy, has submitted a proposal to build a new high tech $26,000 LED marquee for Wood Creek Junior High School to replace the current marquee that they built during the construction of the school. To be fair, they did send their proposal to the PTA which was forwarded to various community groups for assistance in funding. Question – did the cost of the first marquee come out of the last bond issue? Was Mr. Stanley the recipient of this contract? His letter to the PTA indicates that this was most likely the case. Team Katy businessmen are on the Katy Team.

  4. allknowing says:

    October 23, 2010 at 9:37 am

    GEORGE SCOTT:

    John, this is a stunning story and the reason that you have come the best pure journalist this community has ever had – including me. I apologize for doing this, but I hope your readers will link to two stories I have published in the last two days on the general subject:

    A story about what’s become of our system:

    http://georgescottreports.com/2010/10/22/when-i-coined-the-phrase-vendor-pimps-years-ago-to-describe-the-role-of-public-education-contractors-the-katy-isd-bond-election-is-exactly-what-i-had-in-mind/

    A story about KISD’s planning and construction department and PBK

    http://georgescottreports.com/2010/10/23/will-the-real-leader-of-katy-isds-planning-construction-department-please-stand-up-dont-stand-up-yet-peter-mcelwain-there-are-a-few-questions-that-need-to-be-answered/

    Thanks for letting me communicate with your readers.
                                                                                                                       George

  5. MB says:

    October 23, 2010 at 11:19 am

    While it’s becoming clear which way I am leaning on this bond (a NO vote), I do want to come to Stan Stanley’s defense in some respects.

    While I will have to disagree with Stan on this bond issue, Stan is a very giving man who gives of himself and of his time to many aspects of our community and to children. He has also been very involved in the Boy Scouts most of his life and was an Eagle Scout himself. Stan exemplifies what is means to be a good citizen volunteer and he should be recognized and acknowledge for that.

    Yes, he does own a sign company that gets some business here and there from parts of the district (or the PTAs) and I do not begrudge him for that as that is what a businessman should do – seek out business where ever they can. While, PBK and the Lawyers in questions may be involved in Team Katy purely from a business and monetary perspective, Stan’s involvement comes from the heart first and foremost, even though he may have just a smidgen of monetary gain. I can find fault in Stan’s decision to support this bond, but I cannot find fault in his character.

  6. TexasPig says:

    October 23, 2010 at 8:38 pm

    Do yall live in America? Is this the first you have heard of donations to a bond election or elected official which may benefit the person financially? We may not like it, but it is all completely legal! This is how our govt operates. Does it mean the attorney does a bad job? I dont blame the guy.

    George, I have seen your articles on here and have no idea who you are or why you are a subject matter expert. Please advise.