CSCOPE FINALLY COMPLIES WITH REQUEST FOR FINANCIAL DOCUMENTS

5000 Pages of documents arrive after threat of a subpoena earlier in the week from Senator Dan Patrick.

AUSTIN—Over the past several months, Senator Dan Patrick, Chair of Senate Education, and a vocal critic of the CSCOPE program, has asked for detailed financial information from the TESCCC and the 20 Board members who sell the CSCOPE lesson plans to nearly 900 school districts statewide. After becoming frustrated with a lack of response for the detailed financial information, Senator Patrick sent a letter earlier this week to all 20 participants in CSCOPE saying he would request a subpoena for this information if his committee did not receive it before today at 5 p.m. Late this afternoon the Senate Education Committee office received over 5000 pages of detail dating back 5 years on each CSCOPE region.

“I’ m glad that the CSCOPE board finally recognized that they must respond to our request for detailed financial information,” said Senator Patrick. “I only wish I didn’t have to threaten a subpoena before getting this information,” added Senator Patrick. “For some reason the board at CSCOPE believes they are above open disclosure and total transparency to parents and legislators. Over the past year CSCOPE directors have fought back against requests from parents and others for information. They had used the non-profit corporation that they set up several years ago as the reason claiming they were not a public entity. The very first question Senator Patrick asked the CSCOPE witnesses in committee in January was about the non-profit.

Photo Courtesy of Sen. Patrick FB.

Senator Patrick established that the non-profit didn’t have a phone number, an address, a checking account, or an address. He then asked them to close it down which they agreed to do. “It was clear to me the non-profit was set up to hide information from someone. I’m glad the board is beginning to understand they are a public entity and the people of Texas and the legislature have a right to their records,” said Patrick.

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