The Truth About the Burleson Opportunity Fund

BREAKING NEWS!!

Today, instead of referring you to a link, I thought I would let Mayor Shetter have his say on the blog. These are all his words in response to the email sent out by Keith Kelly and the Robo calls by Rob Orr. If you want to go to Ken's website, it's www.kenshetter.com

Mayor Shetter's response to Keith Kelly and "We the People PAC" -

In a not-so-shocking turn of events, some of my opponent’s principal supporters-- Keith Kelly, the Texas Patriots Tea Party and their political action committee--have launched an eleventh-hour attack, trying to influence the outcome of this election by attacking the Burleson Opportunity Fund (the BOF).
In the way of background, the BOF is a program developed through a partnership between the City of Burleson, Hill College and Burleson ISD to offer scholarships to graduating Burleson seniors to attend Hill College at Burleson. The program is designed to promote higher education and economic development.
In an email distributed to friends of the Texas Patriots Tea Party, Keith Kelly made several inaccurate statements about the BOF, and indicated the PAC has engaged an attorney to see that “the $240,000 in questionable contributions be returned to the City of Burleson Economic Development fund and that those individuals that directed these fund transfers and those members of the Burleson Opportunity Fund board that knowingly accepted these contributions be held accountable.”
While I acknowledge there are those who might hold the opinion that contributions to the BOF are not an acceptable use of 4A economic development funds, it is important to note the decision by the 4A Board and City Council to fund the BOF contributions through 4A was made after consultation and advice from the City Attorney. There are three primary reasons it was decided 4A was the best source of funding for the BOF:

• 4A funds are to be used for economic development and job creation. There are several justifications for utilizing the BOF and promotion of higher education as an element of Burleson’s economic development and job creation strategy, among them:
  1. In its 1998-2008 Economic Development Plan, the Texas Strategic Development Planning Commission concluded that workforce development is the most important economic development issue facing the state. Quoting from the report, “To continue our state’s strong economic growth, employers must have access to a pool of skilled workers. Texas is fortunate to have a growing population, however successful competition in the global economy and its resulting economic prosperity require us to eliminate the gaps that exist between current education and occupational skills. “
  2. In remarks at the 2004 East Texas Economic Development Summit, Texas Governor Rick Perry stated, “Education and economic development are two issues that are inextricably linked. Better education leads to more job creation, job creation leads to the creation of wealth, the creation of wealth leads to more revenue and more revenue leads to better funding for education and other priorities.”
  3. The availability of educated workers is commonly near the top of the wish list in business surveys related to location and relocation decisions. Enhancing enrollment in a local college is good economic development. According to the Buxton Company, “college campuses have a huge economic impact” on the city in which they are located.
  4. Community colleges have a direct economic impact on communities through the jobs they create and the retail activity associated with a vibrant campus.
• Because the 4A fund is generated through a one-half cent sales tax, it is not only the citizens of Burleson who contribute, but also the 300,000-plus people who regularly shop, eat and do business in Burleson. Since students who graduate from Burleson schools but do not live within the city limits are eligible to receive scholarships through BOF, it is appropriate to utilize funding from a source that is not generated from citizens alone.
• While gas funds were initially used to fund the BOF, they weren’t the best long-term funding source. It is acknowledged by nearly everyone that gas funds should not be utilized for annually recurring costs because they are an unpredictable source of revenue. Among the annually-recurring sources of revenue, 4A was determined to be preferable to the general fund for the reasons outlined above.

To announce the retention of legal counsel and to demand that unpaid elected and appointed officials and volunteer board members be held accountable, amounts to political bullying. None of the individuals being threatened have ever benefited personally in any way, each have acted consistently with the advice of the City Attorney, and all participate in the BOF out of a desire to improve access to higher education and promote economic vitality in our community.
In his email, Keith Kelly badly misrepresented the history of the formation of the BOF, stating the following:

In 2007, Mayor Shetter along with his mother Beverly Volkman Powell (current BISD School Board President) along with staff from BISD, Hill College, City of Burleson and Texas Wesleyan University, formed the Burleson Opportunity Fund to provide scholarships so that Burleson students could attend Hill College for free.

In reality, my mother had absolutely nothing to do with the formation of the BOF. It was actually Richard Crummel and I who initially came up with the idea for the BOF. Of course neither of us had the power to form the BOF; we worked with the City, BISD and Hill College staffs, discussed the idea in City Council workshops and ultimately the 4A board and City Council unanimously approved creation of the BOF.
As “evidence” of his theory that 4A contributions to the BOF are inappropriate, Keith Kelly sites the opinion of Representative Rob Orr:

In 2008, State Representative Rob Orr learned that Mayor Shetter intended to make contributions to the BOF from Type A Economic Development Funds. Representative Orr informed Mayor Shetter those contributions from Economic Development funds to the BOF were not allowed under the rules so the initial contribution to the BOF by the City of Burleson was made from Oil and Gas reserves.

Of course it wasn’t “Mayor Shetter” but the City of Burleson that “intended” to make the initial contribution to the BOF from 4A funds. It is true that Representative Orr communicated his opinion that 4A funds could not be used for the BOF. Interestingly, he qualified his opinion, telling me he thought the BOF was a good program and that we should be able to utilize 4A funds, but he didn’t think it was allowed under current law. I made it very clear that the City did not agree with his opinion, but that we would fund the first year from gas revenue, then work with Representative Orr to clarify the law in the next legislative session.
When Representative Orr declined to sponsor legislation specifically authorizing use of 4A funds for the BOF, the City approached our other Representative, Chris Turner, and he agreed to do so. Contrary to what Keith Kelly wrote in his email, after representatives from the City, BISD, Hill College and the Burleson Chamber testified in front of the Local Government Ways and Means Committee in Austin, the bill was actually passed by that Committee. The only hurdle to ultimate passage of HB3956 was the Local & Consent Calendars Committee allowing it to be voted on. Unfortunately, when Representative Orr refused to give a “thumbs up”, HB3956 died in the Local & Consent Calendars Committee without ever receiving a vote.
Also, Keith Kelly references a passage in an early BOF position paper, wherein I wrote that the City would explore possibilities for dedicated sources of revenue and even specifically mentioned the possibility of seeking legislation to allow a portion of 4A funds to be used for the BOF. The simple explanation is that the paper was written before the City Attorney advised that current law would already allow the use of 4A funds for the BOF.
There are two “legal opinions” referenced by Keith Kelly, one from the Attorney General’s Office and one from the Comptroller’s Office. Neither of those state agencies has ever asked the City for a description of the Burleson Opportunity Fund and I have never seen an opinion from the Attorney General’s Office regarding the BOF (you’d think since I’m the mayor, I would know about one if it existed). Regarding the opinion from the Comptroller’s Office, Keith neglects to mention that the Comptroller’s Office made it very clear to him it did not have an opinion as to whether or not the BOF was an appropriate use of 4A funds.
Next, Keith Kelly refers to a March 21, 2012 town hall meeting I held at the Hidden Creek Golf Course grill and says I mentioned my “vision of promising every student that enters kindergarten in Burleson a guarantee that they will be able to get a free four year college education.” In this case Keith either takes bad notes or simply is not interested in telling the truth. My vision, clearly explained in that town hall meeting, is that we should adopt a “last dollar concept”, whereby federal student aid dollars would be applied toward Hill College tuition first and the BOF funds would be used to pay what is left. By doing this, we could expand the program beyond the 40 or so students we are currently able to serve—possible to sixty or seventy students, and possibly for two years instead of one. I certainly described a plan to expand the presence of higher education in Burleson to include four year and graduate degree programs, but made no mention of the BOF covering four year degrees (Watch the portion of the town hall meeting that Keith Kelly completely distorted for yourself).
Here’s what else I said at the town hall forum (that Keith didn’t relay in his email): We currently utilize less than 1/50^th of our 4A economic development revenue for the BOF. If it is appropriate to pay real estate brokers, developers, big corporations and giant retail chains millions of dollars in the name of economic development, surely it is appropriate to invest a tiny percentage of the funding we dedicate to economic development in our own human capital. Investing in higher education is one of the best things we can do for our own economic success; that is the adopted policy of this state, it has been confirmed through academic research and it is the experience of this community.
Finally, Keith was right that I mentioned a vision for kindergarteners, but once again he was wrong about what was actually said. What I said on March 21st is what I have been saying for five years: If every Burleson child knew from the day they entered kindergarten they would have access to college, how might that change their own expectations about their futures, and how might that shape the decisions they make along the way? Neither I nor anyone else has ever envisioned the BOF would pay for every Burleson child to go to college, or that it would ever apply to a four year degree. Many students will choose to leave the City to attend college, and that’s great for them. The BOF is designed to incentivize some students to stay home to earn their education, to promote higher education and economic development in Burleson, and to ease the transition from high school to college for Burleson families.
The BOF is widely recognized as an innovative way to improve the lives of children, youth, and families, and was singled out when Burleson was recognized as one of the 100 best communities for youth by the America’s Promise Alliance. How sad that members of our own community would mount such a vicious attack for purely political reasons.

Political advertisement paid for by the Ken Shetter for Mayor Campaign.