Why no campaign finance records on Katy ISD website?
KATY, TX (KTRK) -- Voters in Katy will be going to the polls in November to vote on a $748 million bond for new schools, building renovations and a new stadium.
That's a lot of money. And it's started a debate in this growing Houston suburb.
Bond supporters say it's just what's needed because all of Katy's growth. Critics, though, say they want some of the bond's bells and whistles, like the new stadium, voted on separately.
So, of course, we're interested, too. During any election we take a look at campaign finance reports to see who contributed to the school board trustees who pushed for the bond. We also look at who's footing the bills for the political action committees fighting for and against the bond.
Well, we wanted to take a look anyhow.
When we went to the Katy ISD website we found it difficult to find any campaign finance information.
We asked Katy ISD about this.
They said they are only required by law to post campaign information about trustee elections.
And as far as the political action committees who are trying to influence Katy voters?
We got this statement from Katy ISD: "Please know that a district may post financial information for a PAC to its website if it wishes to do so, but there is no requirement to post the information."
During elections, we think that the more transparency the better. And it's not difficult.
Houston ISD does it. The Texas Ethics Commission has a very easy to use website devoted to campaign finance reports.
We're not being picky, or fickle here. This is important.
When HISD was promoting its bond last year, we used campaign finance reports to show that money used to campaign for the bond program came mostly from companies that wanted big contracts from the district.
We also found that two-thirds of bond contracts went to campaign donors.
This kind of information is important for voters to know.
Now, we've asked for these records. They are all public records. And we'll make them very public by posting them here on our website when we get them.
Is there something you think needs more transparency? Let us know via our online tip line up at the right of the video. You can also Tweet @TedOberg.
Producer: Trent Seibert
