School Board Candidate, Kenneth Kirchhofer who is running for Position 4 for the Humble ISD School Board Race has filed some questionable data on his campaign finance reports. Kirchhofer has has utilized the school district’s Marine ROTC for his campaign.
All ISD board candidates financial reports are posted online at:
Board of Trustee Elections / 2021 Campaign Reports (humbleisd.net)
Kenneth Kirchhofer reveals some interesting data.
Kirchhofer__Website_Forms_Jan2021.pdf (humbleisd.net)
The issues are…..
- Page 13: “Great Houston Football Coaches Association” donated $200.
Their website is: GHFCA Houston | Greater Houston Area Football Coaches Association
They state that their members are coaches, schools, etc.
They list schools which are members:
GHFCA MEMBERSHIP 2020-21 (002).xls (ghfcahouston.com)
So does that mean public funds were used to pay membership to this organization and then the organization made a political donation to a school board candidate?
Are they a 501c3? Greater Houston Football Coaches Association – GuideStar Profile
This does not seem legal.
- Page 16: “Eventbrite” donated $3,750.00
They appear to be a corporation headquartered in California. Eventbrite – Wikipedia
Texas law forbids most corporations from donating directly to campaigns: Understanding Corporate Contributions – Texas Articles – Transparency USA
- Page 16: “UNKNOWN DONATION” of $500.00
Texas law forbids anonymous campaign donations. A campaign must report the name, address and occupation of anyone making a $500 donation. Texas campaign may not accept $500 in cash.
Then look at this candidate’s facebook page on Dec. 4, 2020. The video is from his fundraiser at a golf course during the school day. The ROTC performs. There is no payment made to the ISD on his campaign financials to cover this cost. It is illegal for school districts to use public funds to directly support candidates. (Plus this was during the school day!) (20+) Facebook
The Marine ROTC website confirms they had a color guard event on their calendar that day (Dec.4)
Marine Corps JROTC / Calendar (humbleisd.net) Click on that details and it confirms they were there.
The video on his facebook page from earlier that morning shows a tent set up with donated items for an auction. Notice that his campaign finance reports do not show any “in-kind” donations.
Texas Election Code link: ELECTION CODE CHAPTER 254. POLITICAL REPORTING (texas.gov)
ELECTION CODE CHAPTER 253. RESTRICTIONS ON CONTRIBUTIONS AND EXPENDITURES (texas.gov)
It is a known fact School Board races can be nasty and corrupt.
Is there something fishy here? I will let you be the judge.
