Background: District Leadership Controversy (2016)
Timestamp: [00:00:00 – 00:03:06]
- Introduction to Raised to Walk channel and purpose of this special update
- Previous investigations into hacking and sabotage temporarily set aside
- Target audience: Auditors of Humble ISD school district
- Concerns about email interference preventing direct communication with auditors
- District context: 40,000 students, half-billion dollar operating budget
- 2016 hiring of Superintendent Elizabeth Fagen created significant community uproar
- Previous controversies in Douglas County, Colorado (information has been scrubbed online)
- Speaker’s background as parent in Kingwood, Texas and Humble ISD district
- Reference to essay “From the Green Book to the River Lewis: Relativism and Constructivism in Education” published in An Unexpected Journal
- Detailed footnotes about Humble ISD available on raisedtowalk.substack.com
From the Green Book to the River
Lewis, Relativism, and Constructivism in Education. On the importance of education and the shortcomings of constructivism.
2017 School Board Election Irregularities
Timestamp: [00:03:06 – 00:03:47]
- Increased community interest due to superintendent controversy
- Multiple challengers running against incumbents
- Irregular activities documented during 2017 school board election
- Reference to video “On Stolen Elections and Faked Counts” (November 2024)
- Patterns of election concerns predating the 2018 bond election
On Stolen Elections and Faked Counts
Some thoughts on stolen elections and our reliance on data that can be manipulated, faked, and hacked.
2018 Bond Election: Community Committee Manipulation
Timestamp: [00:03:47 – 00:07:06]
- Bond amount: approximately half a billion dollars
- District claims all decisions made by community bond committee
- Reality: Administration plants embedded in each working group
- Groups repeatedly voted down Olympic-size natatorium proposal
- Administration continuously brought natatorium back through different approaches
- Natatorium described as financial “albatross” that would constantly lose money
- Competitive swim parent confirmed no similar facility exists without university endowment backing
- After committee rejection, administration bypassed process using “Blue Tide” parents
- Community professionals in construction and engineering questioned bond amounts
- Concerns about financial figures were dismissed by administration
- Community input process described as performative rather than genuine
Financial Concerns and Questionable Spending
Timestamp: [00:07:06 – 00:08:44]
- High School Number Seven planned but completely removed from bond
- District owned land for new high school for extended period
- Agricultural barn relocation project: $292 per square foot (excluding land costs)
- Original barn built through donations, candy bar sales, and volunteer labor
- Bob Rehak questioned the dramatic cost increase
- General pattern of questionable spending decisions
- Short-term planning versus long-term district needs
Election Day: Ballot Handling Irregularities
Timestamp: [00:08:44 – 00:09:29]
- 2018 marked first election with paper ballots in district
- Technical glitch during voting process (printing or feeding issue)
- Poll worker took and examined speaker’s ballot before inserting it
- Violation of ballot privacy principles
- Concern about election worker viewing voter’s choices
Post-Election: Vote Counting and Certification Issues
Timestamp: [00:09:29 – 00:11:31]
- Lori Hathaway (experienced Harris County election official, precinct judge) requested speaker attend certification
- Hathaway’s credentials: decades of election experience, certification authority
- Certification/counting process held at Humble ISD administration building
- Fundamental conflict of interest: district counting its own election
- Teachers reportedly pressured to support bond measures despite no direct salary benefit
- Misconception: bonds fund buildings/facilities, not salaries (covered by regular property taxes)
- Board confusion about maintenance belonging in operating budget, not bonds
Critical Evidence: Missing Electronic Voting Records
Timestamp: [00:11:31 – 00:13:31]
- Voting machine vendor representative present to retrieve equipment
- Electronic thumb drives contain duplicate vote records (backup to paper ballots)
- Speaker questioned whether thumb drives would be retained per 7-year legal requirement
- Vendor representative appeared uncertain about retention requirements
- Stephanie Maher (district general counsel) redirected speaker’s inquiry
- Assumption: vendor removed thumb drives with electronic vote records
- Potential violation of record retention laws
- No apparent safeguards to preserve electronic voting evidence
Call to Action for Auditors and Community
Timestamp: [00:13:31 – 00:14:33]
- Information shared publicly due to email interference concerns
- Other community members encouraged to share their observations
- Pattern recognition: people notice irregularities but aren’t heard
- Hope that formal audit investigation will provide accountability
- Well-wishes to auditors investigating Humble ISD
- Acknowledgment of the complexity facing investigators
The day the Humble ISD trustees broke faith with the Kingwood community with the hiring of Elizabeth Fagen as superintendent.
