Last month, county officials reacted with shock and horror at news that the Frost Museum of Science — a signature project at the heart of the new Museum Park downtown — had run out of cash before construction could be finished. Taxpayers were already on the hook for $160 million for the facility,which promised a giant shark tank and world-class planetarium.
Today, the museum’s namesake funders — Phillip and Patricia Frost — announced that they’re going to bail out the museum with a bridge loan to keep construction going. But they also exacted a price: They canned the entire 41-person board, including longtime chairs Dan and Trish Bell.
“The Frosts explained that they recognize and are most appreciative of the outgoing Board’s passion, dedication and leadership to date, but desire a change in the Board of Trustees,” the museum explains in a release.
The museum adds that “the outgoing Board was also responsible for securing $104 million in pledges … but was not successful in either financing its existing pledges to cash or securing the additional pledges necessary to otherwise yield sufficient cash to meet its scheduled and ongoing construction costs.”
