Texas Governor George W. Bush:

An Inventory of Senior Advisor's Office, Education Issues Files I at the Texas State Archives, 1978, 1980-1983, 1986-1999, undated (bulk 1995-1998)

Agency History

The governor of Texas is the chief executive officer of the state, elected by the citizens every four years. The duties and responsibilities of the governor include serving as commander-in-chief of the state's military forces; convening special sessions of the legislature for specific purposes; delivering to the legislature at the beginning of each regular session a report on the condition of the state, an accounting of all public money under the governor's control, a recommended biennial budget, an estimate of the amounts of money required to be raised by taxation, and any recommendations he deems necessary; signing or vetoing bills passed by the legislature; and executing the laws of the state. The governor can grant reprieves and commutations of punishment and pardons, upon the recommendation of the Board of Pardons and Paroles, and revoke conditional pardons. He appoints numerous state officials (with the consent of the Senate), fills vacancies in state and district offices (except vacancies in the legislature), calls special elections to fill vacancies in the legislature, fills vacancies in the United States Senate until an election can be held, and serves as ex officio member of several state boards.

The office of governor was first established by the Constitution of 1845 and superseded the office of president of the Republic of Texas. The position now exists under authority of Article IV, Section 1 of the Constitution of 1876 and Texas Government Code, Chapter 401. To be elected governor, a person must be at least thirty years old, a United States citizen, and a resident of Texas for at least five years preceding the election. In 1972, the term of office was extended from two to four years, effective in 1975. Since 1856 the governor has had the use of the Governor's Mansion.

In 1999 there were 198 full time equivalent employees in the Office of the Governor. Thirteen divisions outside of the Executive Office assist the governor in carrying out his functions: Administration, Appointments, Budget & Planning, Communications, General Counsel, Legislative, Policy, Scheduling, Criminal Justice Division, Governor's Committee on People with Disabilities, Office of Film, Music, Television and Multimedia Industries, Women's Commission, and Texas Council on Workforce and Economic Competitiveness.

Margaret La Montagne began working in the Governor's Office in January 1995 as Deputy Director of Appointments. After the 74th legislative session (1995), her title was changed to Senior Advisor reporting directly to the governor and her office was moved to the Capitol. Her focus was on education-related issues, which went through her rather than the Policy Division, especially after the 74th legislative session when the Education Policy person left and the position was not filled. She retained some of her appointment duties after becoming Senior Advisor, including selecting appointees for education related boards and commissions. Her staff included Public Education/Special Projects Counsel [title changed from Public Education to Special Projects and back] (first Michelle Tobias from 1995 to 1998, then Jennifer Piskun, followed by Debra Esterak); Administrative Assistant (Judy Okimura, then Shannon Smith); and Special Projects Assistant (Sheryl Labar for a while, spring 1996-February 1997).

George W. Bush Biographical Sketch

George W. Bush served as governor of Texas from January 17, 1995 to December 21, 2000, resigning as governor in the middle of his second term to become president of the United States.

He challenged the incumbent governor, Democrat Ann Richards, running on promises to improve public education and to reform the juvenile justice system, welfare, and the state's tort laws -- the system under which an injured person may sue for damages. During the 74th Legislature in 1995, he worked with the Democrats who controlled both houses of the Texas legislature and managed to get bills passed that dealt with the four issues he had emphasized in his campaign. Bush was seen as pro-business and a consensus-builder.

Bush advocated and signed the two largest tax cuts to date in Texas history, totaling over $3 billion. To pay for the cuts, he sought (unsuccessfully) federal approval of a plan to privatize Texas' social services. Education reform was a priority throughout his terms, with legislation emphasizing local control of schools, higher standards, and a revised curriculum. Controversy has followed, with charter schools mired in financial scandals and protests against one test determining a child's promotion. After winning reelection in 1998, Bush began his bid for the presidency and was not as involved in the 76th Legislature in 1999.

George W. Bush was born July 6, 1946 in New Haven, Connecticut and grew up in Midland and Houston, Texas. He graduated from Andover Academy, and received a bachelor's degree from Yale University and a master's from Harvard Business School. He served as a pilot in the Texas Air National Guard. In 1978, Bush was defeated in a run for the U.S. Congress in West Texas. He was involved in energy exploration from the 1970s into the 1980s. From 1989 until his election as governor, Bush worked with the Texas Rangers baseball organization, leading a group of partners in purchasing the team, and then serving as managing general partner. He married Laura Welch in 1977; they have two daughters.

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Scope and Contents of the Records

These records include correspondence, e-mails, faxes, and memos; notes; newsletters, brochures and other publications; newspaper and magazine clippings; copies of bills and other legislative records; attorney general opinions/advice and litigation documents; press releases and speeches; reports (both narrative and statistical); policy development files; agenda and minutes; resumes; executive orders; conference packets; videotapes; and audiotapes. Records date 1978, 1980-1983, 1986-1999 (bulk 1995-1998). They comprise subject files for the office of Senior Advisor to Texas Governor George W. Bush relating to education (with many of the files created by the Public Education/Special Projects Counsel, Michelle Tobias, later Jennifer Piskun and Debbie Esterak). Most of the incoming correspondence is addressed to Margaret LaMontagne but then was assigned to her education policy staff to work on; some items are addressed to Governor George W. Bush. Correspondents include organizations dedicated to educational issues, state and federal agency officials and employees (especially the Texas Education Agency's Commissioner Mike Moses), professional educators, corporations, consultants (such as Darv Winick and Sandy Kress), and private citizens interested in education. E-mails tend to be between Margaret LaMontagne and the Public Education/Special Projects Counsel. Notes are in the handwriting of both the counsel and Margaret LaMontagne. Many of the incoming letters are copies of logged correspondence, and some of the letters are the originals of logged correspondence. In either case, file numbers assigned by Bush staff have been included in the folder listing. Some letters do not appear to have been logged at all. The first file in the series contains copies of item-level inventories of some of these records, prepared by staff of the Governor's Office.

Among the numerous topics covered by these files, the following are especially well-represented: advanced placement, character education, charter schools, ECS [Education Commission of the States], Hopwood, literacy (including adult literacy), military tuition, property tax, reading (including the Governor's Reading Initiative), school finance, School-to-Work, special education, standards, SBEC [State Board for Educator Certification], teacher preparation, and TAAS [Texas Assessment of Academic Skills].

These records are the first of two groups of similar files. Except for correcting some obvious misfiles, the State Archives has maintained the original order of these records. The second group is the larger of the two (more than twice the size), and there is some overlap in dates. The difference (if any) between the two groups of records is not readily apparent. The researcher should be cautioned to search both groups, as well as any related records.

If you are reading this electronically, you may click on the appropriate link to go to the next finding aid ( Education issues files II, 1986, 1988-2000, undated (bulk 1995-2000), 36 cubic ft.), or to return to the main finding aid for records of this office (Senior Advisor's Office, Records, 1948, 1964-1965, 1978, 1980-1983, 1986-2000, undated (bulk 1995-2000), 88 cubic ft.). If you are reading this in paper, the series finding aid is found at a separate divider within the binder.

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Restrictions

Restrictions on Access

Because of the possibility that portions of these records fall under Public Information Act exceptions including, but not limited to, home addresses and phone numbers of government employees or officials, social security numbers, and personal family information (V.T.C.A., Government Code, Section 552.117); driver's license numbers (V.T.C.A., Government Code, Section 552.130); bank account and credit card account numbers (V.T.C.A., Government Code, Section 552.136); e-mail addresses (V.T.C.A., Government Code, Section 552.137), an archivist must review these records before they can be accessed for research. The records may be requested for research under the provisions of the Public Information Act (V.T.C.A., Government Code, Chapter 552). The researcher may request an interview with an archivist or submit a request by mail, fax, or e-mail including enough description and detail about the information requested to enable the archivist to accurately identify and locate the information requested. If our review reveals information that may be excepted by the Public Information Act, we are obligated to seek an open records decision from the Attorney General on whether the records can be released. The Public Information Act allows the Archives ten working days after receiving a request to make this determination. The Attorney General has 45 working days to render a decision. Alternately, the Archives can inform you of the nature of the potentially excepted information and if you agree, that information can be redacted or removed and you can access the remainder of the records.

Restrictions on Use

Most records created by Texas state agencies are not copyrighted and may be freely used in any way. State records also include materials received by, not created by, state agencies. Copyright remains with the creator. The researcher is responsible for complying with U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17 U.S.C.).

Technical Requirements

Researchers wishing to access audiotapes or videocassettes must contact the Archives Preservation Officer to obtain the necessary equipment.

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Related Material

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Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

(Identify the item), Education issues files I, Senior Advisor's Office records, Texas Governor George W. Bush. Archives and Information Services Division, Texas State Library and Archives Commission.

Accession Information

Accession number: 2002/151

In December 2000, Governor George W. Bush designated the George Bush Presidential Library as the repository for the records from his tenure as Governor of Texas, under authority of Texas Government Code, Section 441.201. Shortly after he left office, the records were shipped to the Bush Library in College Station, Texas. Texas Attorney General John Cornyn ruled the records are state records subject to the Texas Public Information Act and the management of the Texas State Library and Archives Commission even after transfer to a federal facility (Opinion No. JC-0498, May 3, 2002). In July 2002 the records were transferred from the Bush Library to the Texas State Archives in Austin for preparation for research use. In June 2003, a memorandum of understanding signed by representatives of the National Archives and Records Administration, the Texas State Library and Archives Commission, and George W. Bush replaced a January 2002 interim memorandum of understanding. The records will be returned to the Bush Library after the project has been completed.

Processing Information

Preliminary survey by Tonia Wood, September 2002

Processed by Tony Black, July 2003

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Detailed Description of the Records

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