SUPERINTENDENT FRAILEY STIRS THE POT WITH COMMENTS ABOUT REVEREND CARMICHAEL:

 

THERE HE GOES AGAIN....

 

When he first came to Katy, Alton Frailey tried to undermine our Constitutional rights when he wanted to curtail open records requests by asking people why they wanted the information before he would allow it to be sent out!  Helen Eriksen and the Houston Chronicle's Editorial Board took him to task for his negative stance on freedom of information.  Today, Alton Frailey has sent an email letter to all of KISD showing another of his true beliefs:  he is against freedom of speech!  It's incredible that this person would think he can get away with telling all of us that someone who chooses to side with the superintendent and a bond proposal and makes himself a public figure by doing so, is not subject to criticism by all of us who disagree with his position!

 

Mr. Frailey is the one who has put Keith Carmichael in jeopardy with his Second Baptist congregation by aligning him with these signs!  Revererend Carmichael's name isn't on these signs anywhere!

 

The fact that Alton Frailey thinks he can intimidate all of Katy into voting for his bond is incredible. I've seen pictures of four signs.  None of them single out Reverend Carmichael.  Show us the pictures, Mr. Frailey.  Otherwise I am going to think it's a trumped up charge!  All four photos that I have seen are suggesting that putting the stadium with the schools in a bond proposal is extortion.  Reverend Carmichael didn't make up the bond proposal goodies list or its language; Alton Frailey did.

 

The fact that Reverend Carmichael is a minister at Second Baptist Church also has nothing to do with any of this. He is also a private citizen, and as such, is entitled to his own personal and political opinions.  No one that I know of is criticizing Reverend Carmichael for what he believes.  But he HAS made himself a public figure by taking on the position of bond committee chair, and as such, is subject to the crossfire from those who oppose the bond. Reverend Carmichael was also on the 2013 Stadium Bond Committee--you remember, the one that was hastily called for two meetings in July after I criticized the District for not going through the committee process!  No one criticized Reverend Carmichael for being on THAT committee.

 

The signs evolved from the article on www.georgescottreports.com over the weekend, but Mr. Scott did not make the signs. We've all been the object of George Scott's ire, Mr. Frailey. He's entitled to his opinion about what you DO and what you SAY!!! It's not personal.

 

Alton Frailey is the only person who continues year after year to divide our neighborhoods, attack groups that do not agree with him-- not their ideas or proposals or actions or words that are opposing, but the groups themselves, and cause turmoil in this school district.

 

Please be reminded that the Katy community defeated the bond last November.  They said in no uncertain terms they didn't want the stadium so big and in the location indicated or the STEM Center or the Agricultural facility.  Instead YOU, Mr. Frailey, went ahead and built the STEM Center anyway!!!!  I don't know about anyone else, but I don't trust you!!!  If the bonds were separated, I would still be untrusting, because if the schools part passed, I suspect you'd get the Board to just use the money to build the stadium instead! They do whatever you tell them to do.

 

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Read his letter for yourself

 

From: Communications Department <communications@katyisd.org>
Subject: Message from the Superintendent
To: "KATY ISD Recipients" >
Date: Monday, August 18, 2014, 11:53 AM

Message

August 18, 2014, 11:45 a.m.
Dear Katy ISD Community, Parents and Staff,


"New signs were showcased over the weekend in our community in opposition to our school district. That is nothing new in today's political environment. However, one sign in particular indicates a much lower level of indecency and, perhaps, desperation. It personally attacked a long-time community resident who chose to volunteer, as a private citizen, on behalf of our students and our community. Additionally, I believe this was a proverbial shot across the bow threatening others who would dare support Katy ISD. This is an example of political bullying at its worst.

Keith Carmichael is an upstanding member of the community who is a great husband, father, and incidentally a highly respected pastor. He volunteered to serve as Chair of the 200 member community-based committee that studied our facility needs in order to arrive at consensus on a bond package that would be responsive to the tremendous growth of our student population.  Mr. Carmichael’s role was to ensure that committee members had access to the information they needed and that individuals supporting and opposing each issue had an opportunity to be heard.  His service has been rewarded by a series of signs that have called into question his motivation and unbiased approach to the task he was given.

In recent elections, signs inserting President Obama and Washington D.C. were put up along with signs attacking Katy ISD. Some of these same individuals are now attacking a church congregation because one of its leaders, acting as a private citizen, dared to oversee the bond development process of a committee that worked together over the course of 4 months and collectively 6,000 hours. These actions are shameful and an insult to the committee and our entire community. I am personally familiar with the tactics that try to destroy a person's character. I have seen it enacted against my predecessor, and it has been tried repeatedly against me. Keith Carmichael does not deserve this either.

As a community, I strongly encourage all of us to do the right thing and condemn this type of dishonorable behavior. It does nothing to enhance or help our community in any way.
If an individual wishes to oppose one or more aspects of the bond, please do so in a respectful and kind manner.  None of us should attack those who have actually invested in and supported the Katy community with their time, effort and energy to bring forth an equitable solution to the issues facing us all. This bond referendum has never been just about one project. It is about the heart of this community. It's about our values in support of our students, our volunteers, our schools and providing the best platform of success for our children, both in the classroom and in extracurricular endeavors.  Shameful, ugly and insulting tactics only serve to polarize a community that should be working together with
a single purpose in mind— providing the best opportunities we can for our students.

The committee proposed one bond because we care about all of our students. To segregate students who participate in band, flag corps, dance team, cheerleading, soccer or football programs is to make them a political sacrificial lamb. It’s about ALL of our students.

Alton Frailey
Superintendent, Katy ISD