| Goods |
Perhaps coincidentally, about two week before Perry announced Williams as his new education chief, Williams attended Andrea McWilliams’ 40th birthday party at a Sonoma winery, an event so lavish it made the society pages. McWilliams is also a lobbyist for K12 Inc. In political circles, her birthday party weekend in wine country is best remembered for not being disclosed on her ethics filing as required by state law because a handful of state lawmakers attended, including Sen. Dan Patrick and Rep. Jim Pitts, then the chairman of appropriations.
Williams, who did not disclose receiving any gifts from lobbyists on his financial disclosure form, seemed to enjoy the party where guests received gift bags according to a published report. The party also featured a surprise appearance by rapper Ton Loc, prompting Williams to tweet, “Ton Loc makes surprise visit to Andrea McWilliams’ birthday party. Crowd goes wild over wild thing.”
Even after restoring some of the 2011 cuts to public schools, education funding continues to lag behind population growth in Texas, so it is a cruel exception of generosity that Abbott, the gubernatorial frontrunner, likes virtual schools. If we truly wanted to run schools like a business, it is doubtful we would invest in a proven failure, no matter who their friends were. |