Questions Arise Over Belton ISD and Potential Bond Campaign Electioneering
Belton ISD Website
Did Belton ISD engage in aggressive bond election campaigning or commit straight out electioneering?
A Tweet thread from Corey A. DeAngelis, National Director of Research at the American Federation for Children, suggests the latter.
Per the Texas Office of Attorney General:
Texas school officials should be aware of the following:
- According to Section 255.003(a) of the Texas Election Code, an officer or employee of a political subdivision may not knowingly spend or authorize the spending of public funds for political advertising.
- In addition, school district officials may not use public resources to advocate for or against particular political candidates and/or groups of political candidates.
- Furthermore, the Texas Election Code prohibits the board of trust of a school district from using state or local funds “to electioneer for or against any candidate, measure, or political party. Tex. Educ. Code Sec. 11.169.
Peer pressure and subtle (or sometimes not so subtle) bullying are routinely used tactics when it comes to school district bond election campaigns. This smacks of exactly that.
More analysis of this situation is to come, but meanwhile, Belton ISD and other area taxpayers need to be kept current as the conduct of those theoretically charged to serve their interests comes under scrutiny.
Lou Ann Anderson worked in central Texas talk radio as both a host and producer and currently hosts Political Pursuits: The Podcast. Her tenure as Watchdog Wire–Texas editor involved covering state news and coordinating the site’s citizen journalist network. As a past Policy Analyst with Americans for Prosperity–Texas, Lou Ann wrote and spoke on a variety of issues including the growing issue of probate abuse in which wills, trusts, guardianships and powers of attorney are used to loot assets from intended heirs or beneficiaries.
