Did GCISD Trustee Becky St. John Pull a Lori Laughlin?

November 1, 2019 by Editor Nelson Thibodeaux
Note: The opening paragraph was sent to Ms. St. John on October 30, 2019 requesting her comments.

It has come to the attention of LNO that a number of parents claim that their children, who were far more academically qualified for an academy appointment, were passed over for St. John’s daughter simply because she was able to use her political connections, most notably her close personal relationship with State Rep. Giovanni Capriglione (R–Southlake), to unduly and inappropriately influence a federal appointment. In the summer of 2018 while discussing her appointment St. John’s daughter joked with a Colleyville resident that she wasn’t even in the top 50% of her graduating class.

Also the daughter did not complete her first semester at the Air Force Academy and was reportedly dismissed for an honor violation involving alcohol on campus.

LNO will be running an article with the concern of parents over this academy appointment along with background information. LNO will post this article Friday or Saturday November 1^st and/or 2^nd.

LNO is offering you the opportunity to respond and offer your response.

Becky St. John, GCISD Trustee

Elected officials abusing their office for personal gain for themselves or their families seems to be in the news a lot these days.  At the national level, there is Vice President Joe Biden and his unqualified son being paid perhaps as much as millions of dollars to serve on the board of a company in an industry where he has no credentials or experience.  Closer to home, we have Congresswoman Kay Granger who set her son up to run the massive taxpayer money pit Panther Island Project,  even though he doesn’t appear to have any experience that would qualify him for such a position.

USAFA_Admissions_Checklist 

Similarly, we see more and more stories surfacing about wealthy parents using money or other leverage to get their undeserving children into a college that they could not get into on their own merit.  Stories like that of Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman are popping up all over the place and are leading to serious repercussions, including significant jail time.

Even right here at home, we have been approached by GCISD parents who believe that decade-plus incumbent GCISD School Board Trustee, Becky St. John, leveraged her elected position and close ties with elected officials and the taxpayer-funded Austin lobby group Texas Association of School Boards (where she was recently appointed as a board member) to secure an appointment for her daughter to the prestigious Air Force Academy ahead of other students with much higher qualifications.

Multiple GCISD families, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of their younger children being retaliated against for their coming forward, expressed their frustration over the St. John situation. They claim that their children, who were far more academically qualified for an academy appointment, were passed over for St. John’s daughter simply because she was able to use her political connections, most notably her close personal relationship with State Rep. Giovanni Capriglione (R–Southlake), to unduly and inappropriately influence a federal appointment. In the summer of 2018 while discussing her appointment St. John’s daughter joked with a Colleyville resident that she wasn’t even in the top 50% of her graduating class. Her mother quickly jumped in to interrupt her daughter saying, “Let’s not discuss that.”

Making matters worse, St. John’s daughter did not even complete her first semester at the Air Force Academy and was reportedly dismissed for an honor violation involving alcohol on campus. These same families are frustrated not only because St. John’s daughter shouldn’t have been at the academy in the first place (depriving another legitimately qualified GCISD student of an appointment), but that significant taxpayer dollars were wasted on the entire episode as academy educations are fully paid for by U.S. taxpayers.

In a bit of irony readers may recall that following the 2018 GCISD PTA candidate forum St. John’s supporters made a public political issue of candidate Tim Raine’s comment to St. John’s daughter, suggesting that she should moderate her attitude when at the academy or she “wouldn’t be there very long,” after St. John’s daughter verbally accosted Mr. Raine in an aggressive and disrespectful manner following the forum.

Local News Only contacted St. John for comment but have not heard back.

This would be a troubling situation if it were an isolated incident. However, it is especially concerning given the apparent pattern of this type of elected privilege being abused by multiple GCISD Trustees which will be reported on in the future in more detail.