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PAC treasurer: No school board endorsements will be made
By Conner Hammett, chammett@starlocalnews.com
A month after telling the Allen American it would endorse candidates in Saturday's school board election, a Political Action Committee opposed to the planned Allen ISD service center is taking a step backward.
Sameer Bhatnagar, the group's treasurer, told the newspaper Monday that no endorsements will be made this election cycle.
In April, Bhatnagar said the PAC had plans to meet with all candidates to evaluate their positions on the issues facing the district, but decided against outright endorsements before interviewing Place 3 candidate Jason Shepard and Carl Clemencich, who is running for Place 2.
Bhatnagar has already contributed $100 to Zafari, Shepard's opponent. He said he plans to make a donation to Hurst, who is running against Clemencich.
"[Shepard] wants to see through all the money that AISD is spending, all the money that it doesn't have, such as the service center," he said. "They don't want to look any other options."
The service center, which is scheduled to be built at the northwest corner of Watters Road and Bossy Boots Drive, has sparked significant public debate over the past six months.
Those opposed to the facility have done more than bring their message to the school board -- they're contributing campaign money. During Zafari's first financial reporting period, she received $350 from residents who have publicly spoken against the service center, including Bhatnagar's contribution. She also received $175 from residents living within a couple of miles of the site.
During the reporting period ending May 4, Zafari received $250 from Chad Thibodeux, who wrote the Allen American in opposition to the service center in March and lives less than a mile from the planned site. In addition, a May 4 update to the Facebook page of anti-service center group StopTheBarn.org said of the Place 3 election, "The choice is clear. Vote against the incumbent."
But Zafari rejects the idea that her campaign is driven by neighborhood opposition to the project. Her belief that the service center should be put on hold is strictly in the interest of keeping the district's debt down, she said.
"I'm a very free and independent thinker," she said. "I do what I think is right. ... I'm not for the bus barn and I'm not against it. This is exactly what I told Chad [when] I had a meeting with them."
Hurst, who is president of the nearby Waterford Trails Homeowners Association, said while many of his neighbors are opposed to the facility, he is waiting to see the district's forthcoming analysis of how much construction would cost if the service center's various functions were broken off into multiple, smaller facilities before making a definitive statement on the project.
"My position hasn't changed, because all the questions haven't been answered," he said.
Hurst also said while the service center issue is important to him, it is not the only reason why he is running, pointing out that he has also expressed concern over the coming redistricting process for school attendence zones.
While Hurst said the service center is the issue he is most often asked about by voters, he does not believe this will be a one-issue election.
"I'm for Allen whole, as a city," he said. "It's not east versus west. We're all in this together."
Visitors to the online message board AllenOnline.com have pointed out that Zafari's campaign manager, Bryce Greene, is the administrator of Hurst's website. Hurst has also "Liked" updates to Zafari's Facebook page.
Zafari said her campaign is completely separate from Hurst's and she has not discussed the election with him, though they have become familiar with one another since launching their campaigns.
Hurst also disagrees with the notion that Greene's involvement with both campaigns suggest a common interest, saying he filed for a seat that Rona was not running for simply because it meant he would have less opposition.
"I know Rona. We've spoken," he said. "But if you look at her answers and mine, we're different. She's running on different items than I am."
Greene, speaking with the Allen American Wednesday, said he started working on local campaigns in the early 1990s. He is currently working as campaign manager for District 70 Texas House candidate Scott Sanford's campaign. During the 2011 special city council election, he worked on communications for the Baine Brooks campaign.
Greene also rejects the idea that Zafari and Hurst's campaigns are linked.
"A few people had learned we had experience with some other campaigns and web development and things like that, and I've just had a flurry of activity in this election," he said.
Shepard, meanwhile, has been steadfast in his support of the board's actions regarding the service center project to this point and said he agrees that the board should work closely with residents to find a solution to the issue.
He said there is "no question" the issue will influence the election, though to what degree he is not sure.
"Personally, I don't think it should be the driving force in the election, but I do recognize that for many voters it is from certain areas of town and certain candidates are motivated by that," he said. "I do believe that my opposition will be driven by that, even though personally I am not a cheerleader for the service center."
In past interviews and debates, Zafari has maintained that following through with the construction of the service center will impact the debt to the point that it will affect teachers and instruction. Shepard, however, has said that while money spent on capital projects does increase the debt, that money could not otherwise be spent on instructional expenditures as per state law.
Zafari said regardless of how the debt affects the district, the budget must be balanced since the debt will eventually affect the "whole picture."
"The school district is not going to be looked at favorably because we have cashed these bonds," she said. "The banks are not going to loan us more money because of that."
In response to some online forum commenters pointing out two seemingly differing opinions from Zafari regarding Elementary School No. 17, the candidate said she does believe the school should take precedent over the service center, but both projects should be put on hold until the district's debt has lowered.
"If it's a priority, I think we should build the elementary school first and then the bus barn," she said. "It makes more sense because it's going to help the students. It's better to have the school than the bus facility."
Back in the Place 2 race, Clemencich said it is difficult to give a definitive response regarding the project until all the facts have come to light, though as an issue that has caused concern among certain members of the community it deserves an appropriate response.
"I would say it's more important to some than others based on geography, and what I mean by that is obviously if you live on the fringes of Bossy Boots and Watters Road, your concern level is probably a lot higher," he said. "... I think everyone has a concern about the price tag, and that's why I would support any decision to decouple the activities if it could lessen any potential construction costs or lessen the impact on the residents in that area."
The bigger issue, Clemencich said, is how the district will cope with the state funding cut it underwent last session.
"What I'm hoping is the board can get all the info they need to make a decision on the service center so they can get back and tackle the issues with state funding cuts and how do you incorporate new mandated testing into the cirriculum," he said.
Election Day is set for Saturday, May 12 at the Allen Municipal Court, 301 Century Parkway. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. For information, visit www.allenisd.org.
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