DID BISD TRUSTEE PHILIP COWEN VIOLATE THE TEXAS OPEN MEETINGS ACT?

BISD Trustee Philip Cowen

The Texas Open Meetings Act mandates that all governmental boards discuss their business openly before the citizenry,  not making "back door deals" behind closed doors.

Erasmo Castro, a candidate for the BISD board, accuses current trustee Philip Cowen of violating that basic tenet.  Notice Erasmo's claim:

"Upon arriving (at a board meeting) I was

Erasmo Castro

confronted by my friend Trustee Phillip Cowen who asked me about my upcoming run for the board. He then proceeded to let me know that they had the votes to remove Zendejas and place Dr Dora Sauceda as Interim superintendent and in November we would decide who would take the reigns at BISD."

If Erasmo's claim is correct, Cowen met with at least three other board members outside the public meeting to discuss terminating Superintendent Zendejas, a clear violation of the TOMA.

Cowen, an attorney, not without reading comprehension, evidently read Castro's words, issuing a long-winded response on Facebook without actually addressing Castro's claim of holding a "walking quorum" to fire the superintendent of schools.  Here is a portion of what Cowen wrote:  

"What Mr. Castro did the other day disappoints me. He accused me of a few things which were simply not true. I am disappointed that he did this because generally I like the man, and, until these comments, I thought he might adjust his deleterious attitude and try to accomplish something after all. He may yet get there. I am too much of an optimist not to believe that even the most difficult person, if shown the light of reason, might change. With that in mind, I tender the following to anyone who is thinking about running for the school board."

Yes, Phil, you say Castro "disappoints" you and has a "deleterious attitude," but you don't deny his claim of your conspiring with three other board members to stage a coup d'é·tat of Superintendent Zendejas.

Cowen, in his lengthy diatribe, rambles on about what makes a "good" school board, but never once deals with Castro's charge, only concluding his lengthy red herring with:   

"That, Mr. Castro, is what our children deserve."

No, Mr. Cowen, what our children deserve is an honest, law-abiding school board, not one that clumsily violates the Texas Open Meetings Act.

Hopefully, Erasmo will share whatever evidence he has supporting his claim with the Texas Rangers and the Texas Education Agency.