Katy ISD releases parents' emails to political action committees ahead of bond election

KATY, TX (KTRK) -- Some Katy ISD parents wondered how a bond support committee obtained their emails for a recent email blast on the upcoming bond vote.

Dean Zieschang says his wife received one of the emails.

"It makes you wonder what other information is out there floating around on our children," she said.

Leader of the "1 Katy, 1 Bond" support group say they filed a public information request for contact information of Katy ISD parents. The information they were given contained hundreds of email addresses for parents in the district. Once the group opposing the bond issue "Katy Kids First PAC" learned of this, they also filed a public information request and were handed the same information.

"Our teachers and principals work very hard and do a great job. Unfortunately this casts a bad light on the district," Zieschang said.

The Texas Public Information Act Handbook says an email address is considered confidential:

PP. Section 552.137: Confidentiality of Certain E-mail Addresses

Section 552.137 of the Government Code provides as follows:
(a) Except as otherwise provided by this section, an e-mail address of a member of the
public that is provided for the purpose of communicating electronically with a
governmental body is confidential and not subject to disclosure under this chapter.

Katy ISD released a statement to Eyewitness News which reads:

"The District recently learned from parents that they had received communications regarding varying positions on the upcoming bond election through email addresses released in error by the District. The District has contacted representatives of both pro- bond and bond opposition groups, known to have received the information, to explain the error and to ask that parents not be contacted through these email addresses. One group has already responded to the District's request indicating that they have deleted the email list, and we are optimistic that the other group will comply as well."

The district also sent a letter to parents Thursday:

Katy ISD has also informed the representatives of the two PACs that received the information of the error that had been made. Additionally, we have requested that the information they received from the district be discarded and the confidentiality of the information be honored. One group has already responded to the District's request indicating that they have deleted the email list, and we are optimistic that the other group will comply as well.
We sincerely regret this error and apologize for our oversight. .

Thank you for your patience and understanding as we work to ensure that this does not occur again.

Katy ISD
*Directory information is released to anyone who follows the procedures for requesting the information unless the parent or guardian objects to the release of the directory information about the student via the Katy ISD enrollment card. Directory information includes, but is not limited to, student name, address, telephone listing, and photograph.
It's not the first time the district has taken heat over releasing information during a bond campaign. In 2010 some parents complained about personal phone numbers being released for a call campaign. That time the district says it did nothing illegal. "These shenanigans seem to happen every couple of years and it's disheartening," says Dean Zieschang. The parent, taxpayer and bond committee member hopes it doesn't happen again.