Updates: Go here to see my latest update, September 21, 2024. DOCUMENTS
(Initially posted on February 14, 2024. Posted in chronological order.)
Jacob Conner's Irion County ISD job description as Athletic Director, received pursuant to my Public Information Act (PIA) request on April 24, 2023.
Jacob Conner's Irion County ISD employment contract for 23-25, received pursuant to my PIA request on April 24, 2023.
PIA request, January 23, 2024, to Irion County ISD concerning Jacob Conner no longer teaching or coaching.
Voluntary Separation Agreement between Irion County ISD and Jacob Conner, January 8, 2024.
TEA subpoena of Jacob Conner documents, received pursuant to my third PIA request on March 20, 2024.
PIA clarification and new request, January 26,2024, to Irion County ISD.
Initial request to protect documents (10 day letter for my January 23 request) by Irion County ISD to Texas Attorney General (AG) Ken Paxton, with copy to the Texas Education Agency (TEA).
Secondary letter to protect documents (15 day letter for my Jan 23 and Jan 26 requests) by Irion County ISD to AG, with a copy to TEA.
Release of responsive documents by Irion County ISD. (Of the documents I requested in my Jan 23 and Jan 26 requests, these are the documents initially determined to be public by their lawyer.)
Here is the April 10, 2024 Attorney General ruling OR2024-02481 stating that the documents sought to be protected by Irion County ISD are protected, with letter from the District’s counsel at Eichelbaum Wardell notifying the same.
June 29, 2024: Here is a screenshot of the SBEC (State Board of Educator Certification) page showing that Conner received a Reprimand. See my commentary below.
July 19, 2024: -November 2023 letter from Conner’s attorney to ICISD requesting documents, received pursuant to my July 2024 PIA request to ICISD -My June 2024 PIA request to TEA for Conner’s disciplinary file -TEA’s July 2024 brief to the OAG seeking to protect the file -June 2024 Agreed Order between Conner and SBEC, released by TEA pursuant to my June 2024 PIA request
New on September 21, 2024: Here is the OAG’s ruling on my PIA request for TEA’s disciplinary file on Conner.
UPDATES AND COMMENTARY (in reverse chronological order):
New September 21, 2024: I’ve posted the OAG’s determination letter on my request for Conner’s disciplinary file at TEA. There's no surprise here - they poured me out. In a nutshell, their ruling says the entire file (other than the Agreed Order between Conner and SBEC) is protected because it is "attorney work product" developed in anticipation of litigation and is therefore privileged. This is a specious argument at best. The possibility of litigation was ended with the signing of the Agreed Order. This case is closed, so the litigation can no longer be anticipated! Public policy ought to dictate openness about the misdeeds of teachers, up to the limit of protecting the student's identity. What good public policy reason could possibly be given to protect Conner once the Agreed Order has been signed? I don’t think there is one. Now, my larger point is this: directing sunlight, and thereby creating accountability, on public education has, in certain areas, become impossible. Jacob Conner as both teacher and administrator is emblematic of that impossibility. While this page dedicated to Conner may not see any more updates, every public meeting I attend and every PIA request I make are all intended to probe the larger boundaries of those impossible dark regions in public education. This, indeed, is what makes the 1st Amendment useful and interesting. This page and Government in the Sun are about way more than Conner.
July 19, 2024 update: I've posted 4 documents that I received pursuant to two separate PIA requests. See # 12 above. The letter from Conner’s attorney to ICISD requesting documents is both a statement of denial and a PIA request. I've included my PIA request to TEA for Conner’s disciplinary file. And, sure enough, here is TEA’s brief to the OAG seeking to protect the file. (TEA, in my experience, acts as a bottleneck to protect both school districts and teachers.) In a word, this letter is overkill by TEA. There is no legal basis or policy reason to protect the file - except for protecting the student’s name - since this is now a closed investigation. Arguing, as Mr. Montgomery Meitler at TEA did, that the attorney work product protects everything in the file is some serious overreach. There's some big time legal jujitsu going on here. Indeed, all that they released was only the Agreed Order between Conner and SBEC that shows the enforcement action against Conner has been agreed to and that he is receiving an inscribed reprimand for violations of 19 Texas Administrative Code 247.2 (3)(H). Notably, the document is devoid of all factual allegations, which makes it the norm in my experience for settlement documents with state agencies. Read the document as many times as you wish and you won't find a single fact about what happened at ICISD that was the basis for the complaint against him. For sure, you won't even find in the Agreed Order the name of school where Conner worked. So, my options at this point are to 1. respond to Mr. Meitler at TEA by uploading my own brief to the OAG before they issue their ruling (requestors are allowed to respond) or 2. let this play out and see how the OAG rules without my involvement. I'm doing option 2. I predict the sun won't shine when the OAG issues its final decision, but let's keep hope alive. It would not be much effort at all for TEA and SBEC to run their digital redaction marker over the few things they need to protect in the record and then release the file to me in redacted form. I think this could in part be about TEA/SBEC not dedicating adequate resources to man that redaction marker not their driving personal desire to protect Mr. Conner from the world knowing about his sins. If so, however, that failure to fund becomes an "out" for rule breaking teachers statewide. As Meitler writes in his brief to the OAG, "Your office has issued 158 rulings since January 2019 permitting TEA to withhold closed investigations of alleged educator misconduct" for the same reasons as he is now arguing for Mr. Conner. One hundred and fifty-eight. 1-5-8. In the meantime, while we wait for the OAG to make its decision remember this: in the time it takes this all to go through the "system" Mr. Conner, or any teacher in his shoes with the same or even worse allegations, can secure his/her next job in another community and no one, including their future students, would be the wiser for what really happened or where it happened. That ought to frighten you. This means that the "inscribed reprimand" designation on Mr. Conner's license is indeed a farce. Stay tuned. I'll post the OAG decision when it comes out.
June 29, 2024: At this point, not much can be said about his reprimand by SBEC. First, the reprimand date, June 9, 2024, is roughly 6-7 months after the initial complaint from ICISD. That suggests that Conner sought to resolve this dispute through SBEC's informal process without a formal contested case administrative hearing. Contested cases can take years to resolve, and this appears to have been quickly resolved. So, this suggests that Conner sought to get this behind him as quickly as possible. Second, of the two types of SBEC reprimands, Conner received the more serious one. Note that this is a public matter that is noted on his certificate as "Reprimand". This meets TEA's definition of an "inscribed reprimand, which is a formal, published censure that appears on the face of the educator's official certification records". Alternatively, Conner could have received a private reprimand or an "non-inscribed reprimand, which is a formal, unpublished censure that does not appear on the face of the educator's official certification records". Conner's name does not come up in the online do not hire registry, however, so to be clear this reprimand is not a revocation of his license. Today I submitted a public information request to TEA/SBEC for the Conner disciplinary file to see what all is publicly available. I specifically stated in my request that I did not want the name of the involved student. Again, this page is not going there. I'm more interested in gaining some understanding about how it is that this particular community leader got so far afield professionally. And, then he left us without his leadership in cleaning up after the flooding being caused by City Gym, his professional masterpiece...a masterpiece that he and everyone involved knew from the beginning would also flood the District's football field. NOTE: A few hours after this update I was contacted by Conner. It is difficult to characterize those communications because he doesn’t want to be quoted. But I will say this. I have put my name behind this protest now for over 8 years. Throughout that time I’ve been the object of trolling, scapegoating, gaslighting, deception and all manner of tomfoolery (like faux reporters!) by folks who ought to know better. Trust me, I know the consequences for speaking up in a small town. For some causes, like this one where folks are literally losing their homes, streets and park to stormwater, it is well worth the price. So, for those I criticize, I welcome your response but you’ll have to own your words. I’m owning my words, and my advocacy work is not near complete. If we are to reach any understanding of the truth together, you will have to own your words as well.
April 19, 2024: I've received word that the AG's office has poured me out on the remainder of the documents I requested. See OR2024-02481 and the Eichelbaum letter confirming the decision. I've highlighted each with some arrows to make a few points. a. There are no real surprises here. Once the District asserted FERPA, as referenced in footnote 2 of the AG's letter, the request is over and anything related to the student gets protected as deemed necessary by the District. I support the intent of FERPA, though in this case I think there could have been some redaction of the requested documents and student privacy would still have been maintained. Here is more on FERPA. It is not my goal, of course, to "out" the student. Any "outing" on this page is for the purpose of shining the light on an educational system that has in place all the tools necessary to sweep compromising matters under the rug. b. The PIA gives the requestor (me) the right to respond to the governmental body's request for determination to the AG. I did not do so here, in part because the protection the District was seeking under FERPA and their subpoena argument was bullet proof. In contrast, with other requests I have filed a response when I stood on sound law and the District was making a specious argument. For example, see OR2022–7229, discussed below, where I protested that the District could not keep the names of its donors confidential. The AG ruled in my favor there. Generally, you should assume that if you don't file a response the AG will go with the arguments presented by the governmental body in their request for determination letter. c. Note at footnote 3 of the letter ruling the AG says that TEA, whose subpoena is at issue, never submitted any comments to the AG. TEA's investigation of Conner stands to be compromised if the contents of their subpoena had become public, so their lack of interest here is surprising. I’m surprised they didn’t at least send a stock letter to the AG re-stating the law. d. The letter opinion also resolves an almost identical PIA request as mine submitted by the local paper, the San Angelo Standard Times. Their reporter, Paul Witwer, wrote this article about Conner, and his request received the same treatment as mine. e. Is this the end of the Jacob Conner story? No. The 2024 bond election is upcoming, and it potentially will correct some of the drainage issues at the new gym built during Conner's tenure as AD. Also, TEA's administrative action against him at SBEC is pending, and the outcome of that is unknown. You can search his certification status on this TEA page, and any disciplinary action reports here. f. What's the universe of pending and recent requests for determination to the AG by Texas school districts? A new law effective last December makes it much easier to find out. Go to this AG database page to search. For all districts statewide, I suggest searching with "ISD" or "school" using the "governmental body" box. At the time of posting this, April 19, 2024, there were over 450 requests since mid December 2023 to the present.
March 28, 2024 update: I have uploaded the TEA subpoena to Irion County ISD for documents related to the TEA investigation of Jacob Conner. This document reveals that TEA is investigating Conner for violations of 19 Texas Administrative Code 247.2 (3)(H). This section reads, "Standard 3.8. The educator shall maintain appropriate professional educator-student relationships and boundaries based on a reasonably prudent educator standard." So, while we still don't know the particular facts, this document indicates the alleged incident involved a student. I received this document by way of my March 20, 2024 PIA request for simply, "A copy of the TEA subpoena to Irion County ISD requesting documents concerning Jacob Conner." There's no magic wording to use to request documents, folks.
March 14, 2024 update: As I prepare my next PIA request, I was reminded of this language that I put in each of my requests and that was included in my request for Jacob Conner documents: "Please contact me prior to referring any request to the Office of the Attorney General. I may be amenable to limiting or even withdrawing the request depending on your objection to producing the documents." The intent is to talk first. Just talk. While Superintendent Moore has been far more prompt at producing documents than Superintendent DeSpain ever was, the District's law firm, Eichelbaum Wardell, has been the same with both superintendents. Once they get involved their knee jerk response has consistently been to ignore my pleas to talk and merely refer everything to the AG for an opinion request, even when the District has a specious legal argument to protect the documents. (See AG OR2022-17229 where I successfully beat back the firm's specious argument that the District could keep donor information private because their donors had a constitutional right of privacy to give to a public school district.) Requests for an AG decision on public document requests often are merely an effort by the governmental body to delay and obfuscate. This Texas Tribune article, Texas' open records law is 50 years old - and routinely flouted, makes a similar point. The Tribune quotes Texas attorney Missy Cary as saying, "They use the process as a weapon rather than using the process as intended. How is it that requests for briefings keep skyrocketing, when there aren’t that many new governmental bodies?" No effort was made by the Eichellbaum firm to ask me to limit my Conner request before they sent it to the OAG for a determination, notwithstanding the clear language in my request that I was willing to do so. Such is the common practice of that firm (I know because I now have about 5 years worth of experience with their efforts to deny me documents through the OAG) , and their take no hostages approach is the best evidence ever that they are using the OAG process as a weapon instead of how it was intended. Eichellbaum is the preeminent law firm in Texas for school law, and they should be called out for this unacceptable practice.
February 19, 2024 updates: a. I am going to continue to be circumspect about why I think Mr. Conner has separated from the District. The "why" is not as important as the accountability at the moment. Yet another leader involved with the 2019 bond build out is gone from the scene, and another bond election is scheduled for May, 2024. b. The Standard Times published an article, Documents shed light on Jacob Conner's separation from Irion County ISD, by Paul Witwer. c. Students: There is no age limit on who can use the Public Information Act. There are fees that can be charged for labor and on a per page basis, so it can be quite costly. One way to approach open government record requesting is to ask to "inspect" the documents, as opposed to asking for a "copy" of them. This might get you to documents sooner and cheaper. If you "inspect" them you will literally go to a room where the documents are collected and review them on location. You could then take your own copy of the document you wanted with you phone. Another way to minimize the cost is simply to limit your request to one or two classes of documents. d. Legal process. Now that we know Mr. Conner is being investigated by TEA (see below), there is an entire legal process that gets started. Here are the rules. Generally, once TEA's State Board of Educator Certification (SBEC) concludes its investigation, Mr. Conner will get an opportunity to an informal settlement. If that doesn't work out, he can opt for a formal administrative hearing. If he loses that hearing, he can appeal that to a District Court. (I got involved representing agencies - not SBEC - at the Attorney General's Office once cases reached the District Court level.) From the District Court, his case can be appealed to the 3rd Court of Appeals and on to the Texas Supreme Court. Should you wish to do a truly deep dive on how complicated this process can be, here is one of my reported cases from 2009, Texas State Board of Dental Examiners v. Brown, where I successfully represented the Texas Dental Board. Here's one takeaway - if Mr. Conner is well funded and can pay the high legal costs, this process can take years to resolve. This kind of law where there is a contested case proceeding involving a license is part of what makes up "administrative law". There is a very significant administrative law case pending right now in the US Supreme Court, Loper Bright v. Raimondo. However the Court rules it will almost certainly impact Mr. Conner's case. That analysis is for another day, however. e. Go here to see SBEC's reporting on disciplined teachers. I didn't realize there were so many!
Mr. Conner is being investigated by TEA, as evidenced by the legal arguments made by the District in the 15 day letter that TEA's subpoena to him is protected. In time, I will be exploring the nature of this investigation on these pages. In the meantime, you can go here to learn about the State Board of Educator Certification, the arm of TEA responsible for certifying and disciplining Mr. Conner.
Why I am posting these documents? To promote and encourage transparency and accountability, and as a part of my civic duty are my reasons why. Mr. Conner, as Athletic Director, was present at the 2019 board meeting when the $18, all million bond was called. He oversaw, from beginning to end, the expenditure of $12-15 million of those funds without any meaningful public oversight. (For more on Jacob Conner search for him in the search bar above.) The funds were largely spent on City Gym and renovations to the football field to convert it from 11 man to 6 man ball. A concession stand was added, and it floods with stormwater coming in part from the new gym. Indeed, the entire field floods from stormwater from the new gym. So, requesting these documents is yet another effort of mine (in April, 2024, I will have been at this 8 years!) at creating accountability where none has existed before. Whatever the reasons for him leaving Irion County ISD (and the public may never know!), the fact remains that he had a tremendous impact on our community. The reasons for his departure should be known publicly. "If you are a coach, you are a teacher." Nick Saban "Teachers are our greatest public servants; they spend their lives educating our young people and shaping our Nation for tomorrow." Solomon Ortiz "Every citizen owes to the country a vigilant watch and close scrutiny of its public servants and a fair and reasonable estimate of their fidelity." Grover Cleveland What documents are you going to ask for as part of your duty as a citizen? Don't limit yourself to the AD position at Irion County ISD; all levels of government are subject to open records laws. You can visit my Resources page to access the tools to learn how. "Where is there government overreach?" is a starting question you might ask yourself when you begin your advocacy.