The strange saga of Harris County Department of Education Trustee Michael Wolfe takes another weird turn.
The Harris County Board of Education has voted to begin legal proceedings to kick Trustee Michael Wolfe off the board.
Fellow trustee Jim Henley said the movement to oust Wolfe is based on his numerous absences and Wolfe’s “lack of acting in the best interests of the department.”
The board considered removing Wolfe for incompetence last year, but Wolfe appealed for a second chance and pledged to adhere to a list of ethical practices.
Henley said Wolfe has violated that pledge and continues to miss meetings without informing the board ahead of time of his absences — or explaining them afterward.
Board members voted 6-0 Monday night to seek Wolfe’s ouster from the $72-a-year position.
Again, I can’t summarize this bizarre situation with just a link or two, so browse here to bring yourself up to speed. And if this wasn’t weird enough, consider this:
Despite having three years left on his term as the Position 3 at-large trustee, Wolfe has filed to run in the March primary election against Board President Angie Chesnut for the Precinct 2 seat.
Fun fact: Wolfe defeated Andrew Burks for that seat in 2006. Yes, he’d be moving from a countywide position to a district position if he wins that race against Chesnut. There’s a reason for that, which I’ll get to in a minute. I sent an email to Jim Henley to clarify a couple of points that were not clear to me from the story. According to Henley, the way the removal process will work is that the HCDE’s attorney will drawn up a petition for removal and submit it for board approval at the regular board meeting in January. If the board then approves the petition it will go to a civil trial with six jurors, and their verdict will determine Wolfe’s fate. However, even if they wind up removing him, if he then wins the Position 3 election, he would be eligible to serve again. Clever of him, no? Of course, given that Wolfe recruited a couple of fellow travelers to (successfully) primary two of his Republican colleagues last year, it’s likely also the case that he’s doing this in part out of spite. So all in all, just another day at the office for Michael Wolfe.
Does the HCDE do anything useful at all?? The County has no control/role/voice etc related to HISD. I just love government waste to create and entity that does nothing
Actually, the HCDE serves a fairly useful purpose. I’ll let Roy Morales explain, from the article:
“Morales contends the department saves millions of dollars through its bulk purchasing power and its special education services for small school districts.”
Everyone on the HCDE is elected. It’s just unfortunate that one of those people is Michael Wolfe.
Pingback: Texas Progressive Alliance Weekly Round Up « TexasVox: The Voice of Public Citizen in Texas
Pingback: Eye on Williamson » Texas Blog Round Up (December 28, 2009)
Pingback: Texas Progressive Alliance Weekly Round Up « Doing My Part for the Left
Pingback: Texas Progressive Alliance Round-Up 12/28/09 |
Pingback: Annise Parker Is Texas Progressive Alliance Texan Of The Year—TPA Weekly Round-Up « Texas Liberal
Pingback: Wolfe withdraws primary challenge – Off the Kuff