Here is a commentary posted on the Watchdog Web Site by Chris Cottrell from 2008 responding to charges leveled by Chris Crockett:

RE: An Open Letter Regarding This School Board Election

Dear Candidates/Trustees/Incumbents:

Unfortunately, I was out of town on business so I missed both of the candidate forums. With being out of town recently it has been a bit difficult keeping up with all the latest. But now that I have finally returned home from the project I was working on, I have to say that I am utterly astounded by your group’s un-professionalism, paranoia and immaturity. I thought that nothing could have been worse than the election of November ’06 but I have been proved wrong. I was going to just let all these nonsensical attack comments go (you know, sticks and stones….) but I finally reached a point where I am simply fed up with listening to it. So let’s address some of what has been going on.

• Let’s set the record straight on taxes first and foremost. The taxpayers of this community pay the highest school taxes in the State of Texas when compared to districts that are equal to or greater than our student population. That is a fact. If you all want to split hairs and suggest that five teeny tiny school districts with higher tax rates are comparable to Katy ISD, then go right ahead. The fact still remains that Katy ISD has the highest tax rate of any Texas school district with more than 3,000 students.

• The Board does indeed have a hand in our school tax rate. To insinuate to the public that it’s only the feds and the state that regulate school tax rates is simply not true. Do none of you understand that ALL tax dollars, regardless of where or who they come from, are OUR dollars? Not just some of them but ALL of them. So whether or not you are talking about money from Austin or money from Washington or money from the citizens of our community, it is money from all of US. That includes you three as well. The fact is that each individual ISD Board has a hand in adjusting their school tax rate. The fact is for the last two years every ISD has the right to approve, without a vote, a four cent ($0.04) tax increase. In addition, school boards have the ability to adjust how much of their budget goes to maintenance/operations and debt service. You’re right, Austin sets the tax rate limit, but the individual boards have the right to fix those limits in any shape, form or fashion they so desire. By law no school board has the right to raise taxes over four cents ($0.04) unless they receive voter approval. Trustee Duhon and Trustee Snyder, you need to make sure that you inform the public that both of you have approved this four cent ($0.04) hike twice since its inception. You also should inform the public that you have voted for every single deficit budget that has been presented to you. This district has been very fortunate to have received some sort of revenue windfall that has prevented the district from dipping into the “Rainy Day Fund”. Let’s all hope we are as fortunate when it comes to the 2007/2008 budget. [Interesting that Mr. Cottrell had to be the one to explain the KISD tax structure to these simpleton board members!MM]

• Trustee Crockett, you apparently made quite the opening statement during the KAR forum. Apparently you are just disgusted with all the whisper campaign of false statements being made in our community. I can only assume, and please correct me if I’m wrong, that your statement was directed at the Katy Watchdog$. So if that was the intent let me formally address your statement. First of all, the Watchdog$ have taken no part in this campaign until April 26th when we formally endorsed the Searle/Blackman/Sanders slate. Up to that point we have been silent, so I’m not really sure what “whisper campaign” you are referring to. But please, feel free to tell what “whisper campaign” the Watchdog$ have been involved in. I haven’t even been in town for the last five weeks. Secondly Trustee Crockett, the Watchdog$ don’t “whisper” about anything. I figured that you already knew this when you were working for the district in their communications group. When we have something to say, we say it. We say it on our web site, we say it in writing, we say it in e-mails, we say it at open forums, we say it to the press, we say it to the district and to this board. We don’t make statements and then hide behind aliases like so many others in our community.

• Trustee Snyder, the following statement comes from a recent on-line Chronicle story by Ms. Helen Eriksen: “Snyder said she was fed up with critics of the school board. She said board members are willing talk to residents after board meetings and anyone could e-mail or call her anytime.”

Really? Well, Trustee Snyder, I know for a FACT that I have never spoken to you, you have never called me or responded to any letter or e-mail that I have ever sent you in three years. In addition, my Co-Founder, Kevin Tatum, mentioned to me that you have never responded to any of his e-mails or letters either. Perhaps it would have been more accurate for you to say that you are open to anyone in this community that doesn’t have a differing view. That would have been more accurate. I also want to apologize for the Watchdog$ not being in lock-step with everything that the district says and does. If you are so “fed up” then perhaps you should withdraw from this race. Elected officials have to take the good with the bad. That’s part of being an elected official. Remember the old saying about if you can’t take the heat….?

But for the record, let me provide you with the specific times the Board has responded to me:

1. Trustee Duhon asked me once in open session if I was getting all the information that I was requesting through open records requests. I responded in the affirmative.

2. I received a phone call once from Trustee Fox.

3. I received an e-mail from Trustee Duhon wherein he asked me to post our praise for the Board’s decision to make college visits an excused absence; which I did. In that e-mail he suggested that perhaps we should meet. I agreed and I proposed a date and time. He canceled that date and I have asked him at least twice to reschedule. I am still waiting.

4. I received an e-mail from Trustee Duhon when he forwarded me his answers to Candidate Questionnaire #1; Questionnaires that have never been answered by either you or Trustee Crockett. And Trustee Duhon has never answered Questionnaires #2 – #4. Do you believe that constituents have no right to ask their elected officials questions?

5. I received a phone call from Trustee Duhon asking me to correct an item in his answers to Questionnaire #1 which I did.

We have asked over and over again both publicly, on our web site, in open forum and in writing to meet with this Board to discuss our differences. I even offered this the night in August of 2005 where I announced our formal existence as a group. We are still waiting. We are still waiting to have the town hall meetings some of you have promised over and over again in your past campaigns.

That’s it. That is the ONLY communication I have ever had with the Board in three years; with the exception of Trustee Law who has always responded to me. So please don’t mislead this community about your openness because your statement is false. It would be better not to say anything at all rather than make disingenuous statements to the press.

• Trustee Duhon/Trustee Crockett, by the way, I wanted to let you know that I have received the e-mails that you have been sending to your public. Apparently, some of those e-mails are going to fellow Watchdog members who then are kind enough to send them to our web site. I also received the e-mail from Ms. Birkel. There is one question that I would like to have answered; that being the fact that all of you seem to be very critical of the conservative slate of Searle/Blackman/Sanders, yet somehow you three aren’t a slate. Your recent ad in this week’s Katy Times sure LOOKS like a slate put it out! What do you call it when you issue a press release and buy an ad and all three of the incumbent’s names are on them? I believe that two of you have run in the past as part of a “slate.” The candidates we support got wise to your tactics and followed suit, and now you want to criticize them? The difference between their “slate” and yours is that they have been open and straightforward about being in this race together, while all of you are trying to fool the public into believing that you are all running as individuals. We can’t wait to see what you have planned for the day before the election!

• And by the way, what is so “evil” about running as a “slate”? Ms. Birkel’s e-mail insinuated that the election of Searle/Blackman/Sanders would mean the end of KISD. Please explain to me how having three conservative Republicans elected to our Board spells disaster? Please explain to me how these three parents of children that attend KISD schools would have any interest in destroying a school district where their own kids go to school? Please explain this paranoid assumption that you all apparently have that if these three are elected that somehow the Watchdog$ will be the “power behind the throne”? This is all nonsense. These statements remind me of Merrell’s ridiculous statement during a Board meeting where he told the audience that if the bond in May of ’06 didn’t pass that it would spell disaster for the community. If you will recall that bond didn’t pass and yet KISD lived on. Utter nonsense, but in reality these comments are nothing more than scare tactics. [What Mr. Cottrell didn't say was "Should the fact that we have seven Democrats running our School Board be of concern to most of us who live here who, by the way, are all Republicans?]

• I’m fed up with the fact that all of you continue to insinuate that the word “dissent” is a four-letter word in our community. My suggestion to all of you is to take some time and watch the recent HBO series on John Adams. I read the book and watched the series. In fact, it should be required reading and viewing in all of our schools, but I guess that might offend some in our district and we certainly wouldn’t want to do that. Suffice it to say that it is a great refresher course on civics.

• Oh, and by the way, you might want to tell Ms. Birkel that none of the candidates that we have endorsed are members of the Watchdog organization or leadership group. That is another fact that Ms. Birkel was apparently not aware of. Now all of you know this fact as well. Please write it down for future reference. Is no one allowed to dissent without being called a Watchdog? This paranoid notion that everything you three don’t like is some sort of “Watchdog plot” is more nonsense. Having a different opinion does not make one the spawn of Satan.

• And by the way, who put Trustee Fox up to her little recent shenanigan at a private meeting for the sports parents that were disallowed from using KISD fields? And where does Trustee Fox get her authority to threaten a group of concerned parents telling them that their tax exempt status could be revoked? This was according to several parents that attended that event. Unbelievable! I certainly hope that what I have been told is not true, and I further hope that if it is true that none of you put her up to this little stunt. And by the way Trustee Duhon, as President of this Board, you should think about reigning in this kind of behavior in the future if this story is indeed true. And by the way, what is Merrell doing calling people in our community telling them how to vote? Merrell doesn’t work here anymore nor does he even reside in this district. I think we’ve all had enough of Merrell’s ilk for ten lifetimes.

My recommendation is that all three  of you need to make sure you are abiding by the KISD Code of Campaign Practices. And please refrain from insinuating that you are all some kind of “saviors” of this district; that Superintendent Frailey somehow can’t do his job effectively without your guidance and direction. Give me a break! This is a school board election. The outcome of this election is not going to change the course of human history or Western Civilization as we know it. No one that is running is a “savior." We are all adults; let’s try and act like adults.

Sincerely,

Christopher E. Cottrell

Co-Founder/Katy Citizen Watchdog$

cc: Members of the Press

Candidate Kameron Searle

Candidate Cynthia Blackman

Candidate Chris Sanders

Candidate Ross Raymond

Candidate Fred Krenek

Superintendent Alton Frailey

Mr. Steve Stanford

Watchdog Membership