Incompetence or Deception? The WACC Dumpster Fire that Won’t Go Out

Aaron Silva
7 days ago
6 min read

Updated: 6 days ago

By Aaron Silva, Eanes Parents Unite & Texas Education Project 103

Thousands of Westlake athletes, children, and families are currently staring into an abyss. This crisis was entirely preventable and, yet, another sad symptom of failed leadership to add to our growing list.

On April 15th, WACC management issued a chilling warning: without a change in leadership on the Eanes ISD board, our community’s most vital athletic hub - the WACC, NOT the Aquatic Center, will be shut down. This isn't just a political disagreement; it’s a direct threat to our children's extracurricular lives, prompting WACC management, who wants a great partnership with EISD, to formally endorse Kate Ivers (Place 1), Swasti Apte (Place 3), and Jennifer Blackman (Place 2) for Trustee.

“...EISD families who use the WACC each year will no longer be able to play sports of any kind at the WACC. The high school band, drill team and cheer will no longer be allowed to practice at the WACC.” - April 15, 2026 link to letter to WACC Community

Note to Readers: Yes, this is a new WACC controversy in addition to the $210 million endowment opportunity Eanes fumbled in 2025—the very disaster that, in part, spurred voters to deliver Heather Sheffield a history-making 26-point landslide loss to Catherine Walker. No, this isn't Groundhog Day; it’s the same leadership culture making the same catastrophic mistakes.

Not learning from Sheffield’s landslide loss, trustees Laura Clark and Diane Hern fired up Facebook to explain why they voted in 2025 to terminate the 35-year WACC lease. They posted that the cause for termination was "health and safety." Those of us who use the facilities knew instantly we were being gaslit. They talked about building upkeep and maintenance. They even promised you that student and community access won't change and things would continue as normal. Clark said the school was “..protecting the public’s bond investments in the facilities” yet no public bonds were used to build the WACC - community families made the investment.

“Neither the WACC nor WAQUA is being shut down…WACC and WAQUA’s operator failed to meet health and safety standards.” - Trustee Laura Clark (Place 2) Facebook post.

Full post at the end of the article.

“WAQUA ownership issued an email yesterday saying the [trustees] want to shut down the Aquatics Center.” - Trustee Diane Hern (Place 3)

Full post at the end of the article.

There is only one problem: The legal documents they actually signed say the exact opposite.

The Fiduciary Reality: A $2 Million Unforced Error

When a trustee votes on a multi-million dollar contract, they have a fiduciary duty to read and comprehend it, first. Based on the evidence of their own public statements, Clark and Hern are caught in a trap: either they didn't read the contract they voted to terminate, or they are professionally misdirecting the community to cover up a botched financial land grab.

In their April 10, 2025 termination letter, the District’s own lawyers invoked Section 3.01(b) of the lease. By using this specific clause, the board legally certified that the facility is needed for "educational uses, other than athletic, sports, or other school-related extra-curricular uses."

Section 3.01(b): "Lessor shall have the right to terminate the Lease and recover full and complete possession of the Property, or any portion thereof, if (i) Lessor determines that Lessor needs any or all of the Property for educational uses, other than athletic, sports, or other school-related extracurricular uses or activities..”

Read that again. By terminating for "educational use," the board has legally mandated that community sports at the facilities must cease. To break the lease for "educational purposes" legally forbids the District from continuing to run it as a sports facility. This was a “poison pill” provision designed to protect the massive investment made by 35 community families from a fickle, politically-driven school board.

In 2015, these families took a massive leap of faith. They pulled together $7 million to build a facility the District couldn't afford, with no guarantee they would ever see a return. Last year, I reviewed the financial records provided to the school through 2024: over the last decade, these investors have earned roughly what they would have in a simple money market savings account. Nobody is getting rich here. This wasn't a corporate takeover; it was an act of charity.

In 2025, Hern and Clark voted with the rest of the board (7-0) to terminate the contract 5 years early, effectively attempting to seize the facility's revenue for the District to close their deficit gap, another problem of their own making.

This early termination triggered Section 3.01(d), which forced Eanes ISD to pay the operator the unamortized value of the building. While the district is currently dragging a $5-$6 million deficit (7 deficit budgets in a row), this vote just handed those community families a $2.2 million payout that you, the taxpayer, have to foot.

Section 3.01(d) : "In the event of such termination by Lessor pursuant to Section 3.01(b), title and ownership to and of all Improvements shall transfer to Lessor, free and clear of any debts or liens, and Lessor shall pay to Lessee, on or before the effective date of the termination, the 'Unamortized Value' of the Improvements"

The PR Pivot: Conflating WACC with WAQUA

Because "We just spent $2 million to kill youth basketball" is a terrible campaign slogan, the incumbents Clark and Hern have resorted to a professional "switcheroo."

The official legal notice for the WACC mentions zero maintenance issues. Those issues—the shower mold, overflowing trash cans, and dirty mirrors—were the specific reasons cited for terminating the WAQUA (Aquatic Center) agreement. Not the WACC agreement.

By publicly claiming the WACC was terminated for "health and safety," Clark and Hern are fabricating a narrative that doesn't exist in the legal record. It is a desperate attempt to smear local families and justify a contract breach that has now devolved into a massive, expensive lawsuit. How do our trustees turn a $210M endowment into a legal dumpster fire—and then have the gall to worry about overflowing trash cans?

The Smear Cartel Circles the Wagons

Immediately following the termination, the leadership of the "Westlake Smear

Cartel" jumped in to provide cover. Smear Cartel Chairman Heather Sheffield (via her anonymous "Eanes Advocates" page) and CEO Trustee Kelly Marwill began lecturing the community on "professionalism" and "stewardship." Ironic coming from them.

Their posts further obfuscate the truth. While Marwill parrots PR scripts about "collaboration," Sheffield uses the Advocates page to launch political attacks, labeling the WACC management and the families they represent as "desperate." They are treating a catastrophic legal failure like petty neighborhood drama, proving they lack the basic business acumen and maturity required to govern this district.

Last year Sheffield even bragged on Facebook that this was a "smart financial move" to "make money" by renting the building out—a statement that Buch’s lawyers have already used as Exhibit A in their lawsuit to prove the District acted in bad faith.

A Warning from History

We have seen this movie before. Just one year ago, Heather Sheffield stood before the voters after a series of similar fumbles. The community responded with a roar, handing her a 26-point landslide loss to Catherine Walker—the first incumbent loss in 14 years.

Notice that Sheffield retaliates and takes a swipe at Trustee Walker in her post, implying Catherine’s public silence on the matter is tied to "hush money" campaign contributions. I think “silence” on such a complicated legal matter affecting thousands of citizens is actually the right move. They should follow her leadership example.

Yet, today, Laura Clark and Diane Hern are blindly repeating the exact same mistakes. They are spurning private partnerships, inviting more litigation, and hiding the legal reality from the public. Either they are doing it on purpose to confuse the public or they really don’t understand what is going on. Both are very problematic for the taxpayers and voters.

Eanes ISD deserves leaders who can read a contract, balance a budget, and tell the community the truth. Based on the WACC debacle alone, Clark and Hern have proven they are unfit for the fiduciary responsibility of this office.

If you don't vote, the wheel stays in the ditch.

Early Voting is April 20-28. Election Day is Saturday, May 2.

Aaron Silva is a 12-year Eanes parent, CEO, and taxpayer advocate.