Houston ISD audit committee meetings open to the public after pushback

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Education activist Sarah Terrell is among many who were unhappy to learn that the Houston ISD audit committee, the team charged with being the district's financial check and balance, was no longer meeting in public.

"I was mad, to be honest. I was beyond disappointed," Terrell said.

The public outcry led the audit committee to reverse its decision to close the meeting. Committee member Ric Campo said they're happy to accommodate what Houstonians say makes them most comfortable.

"HISD is owned by the public, and we're all about making sure we are transparent and that we are giving as much information as we possibly can," Camp said.

According to the Houston Federation of Teachers, that trust is needed now more than ever. The TEA takeover put in place an appointed school board and superintendent, taking away the public's power.

"It still is not a decision-making committee. It oversees, it can make reports to the board, but it is re-establishing the concept that business has to be done in the open," HFT secretary-treasurer Andrew Dewie said.

With a $4.4 billion bond on the November ballot and potentially entering the district's financial stream, he said it's imperative we know the money is being spent as promised.

"They need to know that the money, if approved, is going to be properly spent in an efficient and legal way," Dewie said.

Terrell said she doesn't want to see the bond pass and doesn't trust the audit committee to properly review the potential spending after today. A meeting that's typically over an hour got about 30 minutes on Friday before the public was removed for a closed session.

"They're just grabbing more and more things, covering them over with the veil of legal issues and then keeping them from the public," Terrell said.

In the past, Terrell said if she missed a meeting, she could listen to an audio recording. Now, she said, those are no longer available.

"They said, 'Oh well, we will make them public by reopening them.' They knew they weren't giving up very much because the real access is in the fact that they are recorded and they are kept, and you can ask for those later," Terrell said.

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