The Mad Parent PAC Funding Report

The Texas Parent PAC, a fledgling committee borne out of frustration with the Legislature's failures on school finance, has reported raising nearly $56,000 from a cross-section of Texans since the advocacy group kicked off with a vengeance six months ago.

"We're right on target," said Parent PAC treasurer Staley Gray of the group's $250,000 fundraising goal for the 2006 election cycle. "For a brand new PAC, I'd say that's a pretty good first quarter." Gray credited the group's leaders, including Carolyn Boyle, Ellen Jones, Beverly Barrow, and Dinah Miller, with drumming up support from parents and educators. "They really beat the ground all over the state," she said. In the process, they also recruited a field of legislative candidates – several of them current or former school board members – who will challenge a number of state House incumbents who hold dismal records on education.

According to the group's campaign finance reports, filed last week with the Texas Ethics Commission, the Parent PAC raised $55,813 between July 15 and Dec. 31. They spent $4,728 and ended the year with $47,271 in the bank. Contributions ranged from $10 to $20,000 – the latter from Charles Butt, chairman and CEO of HEB, the San Antonio-based grocery store giant.

Rep. Bob Griggs, R-North Richland Hills, also kicked in $1,000 to the cause. A former school superintendent, Griggs rankled House leaders last spring with his declaration that House Bill 2 – the school bill opposed by educators – was equivalent to "junk food" because it failed to provide funding beyond the initial "sugar rush." Griggs is not seeking re-election this year.

Other noteworthy donors included former Lt. Gov. Bill Ratliff ($2,500) and former state Education Commissioner Mike Moses ($500). By and large, though, the PAC's 243 contributors are regular folks who hail from all corners of the state – from a Waco homemaker, to a Sweetwater accountant, a Jasper educator, a Tyler veterinarian, and a Lubbock cotton merchant. Many donors made online contributions through the PAC's Web site (www.txparentpac.com), and often included personal notes with their donations. "Here's one from a fellow in Kilgore," Gray said, reading from her computer files. "He said, 'I'm so glad that someone is taking the effort to beat [House Speaker] Tom Craddick and [Lt Gov.] David Dewhurst." And from a resident in Plains, Gray read the following: "Our senator [Robert Duncan, R-Lubbock] gave the Legislature a 'B' for this session. We believe he is grading on a severe curve."