Reporter-News Archives

Wednesday, April 29, 1998

Siltman denies conflict with Hundley

By ANTHONY WILSON / Abilene Reporter-News

Abilene school board candidate Bob Siltman refuses to say whether he ever accused Superintendent Charles Hundley of lying to trustees and the public, saying only that he "never knowingly made false statements" about the administrator.

But Siltman does charge Hundley's administration "has a tendency to work with smoke and mirrors," though he declined to offer any specifics.

As Saturday's board election nears, Siltman's prickly relationship with Hundley has surfaced as a campaign issue, particularly among those who support the superintendent, named administrator of the year by a statewide teachers group Friday.

Some observers fear Siltman seeks to instigate Hundley's departure.

"My concern is that is his strong desire," said outgoing trustee Bob Maniss. "Circumstances in the past have caused him, in my opinion, to develop a deep-seated resentment of the superintendent. It's also my concern his dislike for the superintendent is having a destructive effect on him."

Siltman denied he's interested in ending Hundley's 10-year run as the district's chief executive.

"He just needs a change in philosophy," Siltman said. "We can work together. ... We are not enemies. We're educators striving to do what's best for children. I just think my ideas are better than his."

Though Siltman, a retired Abilene school administrator, now declines to discuss past allegations he's made against Hundley, the charges are outlined in a series of August 1996 letters.

On Aug. 12, 1996, Hundley asked board president Betty Davis to appoint a committee to hear allegations from Siltman that "impugn my personal integrity."

Hundley reported the allegations included claims he ordered subordinates to falsify documents, he lied during the 1996 convocation and that he consistently presented false and incomplete data concerning the district.

The superintendent further asked for an independent auditor to verify all data he and Siltman would present in an open hearing scheduled for August 1996.

"He has said that I Ôpretended to be a Christian' but he saw right through it," Hundley said Tuesday.

"In August 1996, his statements to school board members, top school officials and community persons became so vicious and intolerable to my wife and me that I requested the board give Mr. Siltman a public forum to make his very serious allegations, present his evidence, if any, and then allow me to respond if necessary. That seems only fair in a free democratic society."

Davis complied with Hundley's wishes, appointing three trustees to investigate the matter.

But Siltman declined to attend the planned hearing. In a letter to Davis, his attorney, Claudia Clinton, questioned the need to investigate Siltman for exercising free speech.

A responding letter from the district's attorney explained the hearing was called to establish the factual basis of Siltman's allegations.

The letter also details the charges, made to three school officials.

In conversations with Davis and deputy superintendents David Polnick and Kay McMahon, Siltman accused Hundley of lying about district data and using only figures that "made the district look good," bullying employees with the threat of retaliation, promoting politically active teachers to silence them, and deceiving the public.

He told Polnick the district "could not wait for Mr. Hundley to leave or retire." To McMahon, he claimed Hundley used maintenance personnel for his private use and that the administrator tried to force him to sign false travel vouchers.

Maniss said Tuesday Siltman has made similar claims to him. ÔFORGET THIS GARBAGE'

Siltman refused to discuss the allegations, repeatedly insisting, "I have never knowingly made false statements about the superintendent."

"You may have heard the allegations, but I never said anything false," he added.

He said he declined to participate in the planned hearing because he didn't want "any reputations to be marred."

"It's an ugly story," Siltman said.

"I've chosen to forget this garbage. People are going to get hurt. I'm not going to assassinate anyone's character. ... I don't want to be pulled into that."

But in a February letter to Hundley two months ago, he offered a different explanation for declining the invitation, saying his family kept him from doing so.

"I had and still have nothing to hide," he wrote.

In another letter to Assistant Superintendent Lynn Mendenhall, Siltman offered to teach choir part-time. The district showed no interest and Siltman filed his candidacy one month later.

Siltman served as the district's fine arts facilitator from 1986-92, when he was reassigned to coordinator of the district's driver's education program. Maniss pinpoints the reassignment as the source of Siltman's dislike for Hundley, something Siltman denies.

Recently, Siltman has criticized the administration for building too large of a fund balance -- "investing in banks rather than children" -- and for not raising teachers' salaries high enough.

According to the Texas Research League, the average teacher salary in Abilene has jumped 28.6 percent or $9,439 since Hundley's arrival. Meanwhile, the statewide average has risen 23.8 percent or $7,983. The gap between Abilene and the state average has dipped from $2,046 to $590.

Polnick explained the averages are often affected by the replacement of retiring, well-paid teachers with younger, less experienced educators. For many teachers, the pay jump is more dramatic than the averages reflect, the administration reported.

The salary of a rookie teacher in 1988 was $18,435. Ten years later, that same teacher is earning $29,528 -- a 60.1 percent hike.

A teacher with five years experience in 1988 is now earning 62.4 percent, or $13,129, more 10 years later.

While Siltman said pay raises are the last item built into the budget, Polnick countered that salary increases "always" come first.

ÔNOBODY WITH VISION'

Polnick reported other figures Siltman has touted are "totally wrong."

For instance, Siltman claims the district's supplies and materials budget has fallen $1.2 million over the past six years.

But Polnick explained the 1991 figures include food service, an item the Texas Education Agency removed from schools' general fund budgets in 1993. If food service is plugged back into the equation, the supplies budget has jumped $2.5 million since 1991.

"And I've told him this," Polnick said. "He's not comparing apples to apples."

During a Tuesday night candidates forum, Siltman claimed to have a letter of apology from the district's lawyer concerning his criticisms of the superintendent. The letter contains no apology, only a clarification of a minor point in a previous letter.

Maniss said Siltman also insinuated he and Hundley have teamed effectively.

"I doubt that," Maniss said.

On Tuesday, a handful of current and former leaders of teachers groups endorsed one of Siltman's opponents in the Place 5 race, businesswoman Yvonne Batts. Don Chambers is also seeking the seat.

Though the educators declined to discuss Siltman, they acknowledged a feud between Hundley and the candidate.

"Apparently, there are strong feelings between them," said Scott Kirk, president of the Abilene Federation of Teachers. "People may be casting their vote based on whose side they're on."

Siltman insisted he has "no ax to grind" and that Hundley is a "good man." But he also charged the district is ignoring "mammoth problems" and that Hundley lacks creativity.

"There's nobody with vision," Siltman said. "This system is failing. My purpose is to have the Abilene ISD look as good as it thinks it looks. This administration needs someone who can hear the beat of a different drummer. The present cadence the board and administration is walking to is wrong."