HOUSTON – Parents finally met with the Harris County District Attorney’s Office Public Integrity Division several months after filing criminal complaints accusing the Houston Independent School District of electioneering.
The meetings come weeks after 2 Investigates exposed finger pointing between the DA’s office and the Texas Rangers as to whether or not anyone was investigating the sworn complaints made by at least ten parents.
Parents shared their frustration over the silence that has come nearly six months after filling complaints.
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Parents say they met with Division Chief Brent Chapell and Assistant District Attorney Sean Kozar-King who is now involved in the case.
“He acknowledged the evidence that he had received and that they are continuing to go through it,” said Heather Golden about what Chapell told her.
There was also a Texas Ranger in the room with one specific focus during the meetings according to all the parents we connected with.
“He was very clear that they do not have an active investigation but that he was there to listen,” said Golden.
It was in July when the Rangers confirmed to 2 Investigates they were not investigating the case even though Chappell told us, “Remember the Texas Rangers are leading this investigation.”
The contradiction by law enforcement left parents frustrated, so when the DA’s team called days after our report they embraced the sudden invite.
“It was more of a process kind of conversation,” said Golden.
The one big takeaway?
A letter from the Texas Attorney General’s Office that we first highlighted in April. The letter which was dated October 16, 2024 shows the AG’s office telling HISD that the district was electioneering on Facebook. The mothers we spoke with say prosecutors told them it wasn’t a significant issue because the district appeared to have taken down specific posts that were mentioned in the AG’s letter to the district.
However, after learning of the development last week, 2 Investigates went to HISD’s social media accounts and easily identified 40 social media images and videos with the words “RENEW HISD”. All the posts were made after the AG’s electioneering letter was sent to HISD. The majority of the posts made during early voting.
“If I’ve robbed seven banks and after that someone tells me ‘hey maybe you shouldn’t do that’, that doesn’t mean I’m not responsible for the seven banks I robbed,” said Golden who went on to add the DA’s office position felt, “like a loophole.”
What about the contract between HISD and Outreach Strategists we first showed Houstonians in May?
As we first reported in February, HISD spent $1.6 million taxpayers’ dollars after allocating $2-million public dollars for the initiative of hiring a consulting group to “support” the bond election. The district ultimately contracted with Outreach Strategists, a strategic political communications firm based in Southwest Houston.
If you recall that contract was signed by HISD Superintendent Mike Miles and Mustafa Tameez, Founder and CEO of Outreach Strategists. The contracts speaks to “identifying expert validators and managing their interactions with the media,” as well as having “validators for the bond”.
According to Texas statute tied to electioneering, taxpayers dollars cannot be used to advocate for or against a political measure.
In an email to 2 Investigates on Monday, the DA’s office said they are taking the investigation seriously and added “the office cannot comment on the investigation while it’s pending to protect its integrity. We take that very seriously.”