Attor­ney Gen­er­al Ken Pax­ton Stops Texas School Dis­tricts from Using Tax­pay­er Mon­ey for Ille­gal Electioneering

Attorney General Ken Paxton successfully stopped several Texas Independent School Districts (“ISDs”) that attempted to unlawfully use taxpayer funds to electioneer for ballot propositions to raise taxes.  

“School districts should focus on teaching children reading, writing, and arithmetic instead of unlawfully using taxpayer funds to meddle in elections that will raise taxes even higher,” said Attorney General Paxton. “ISDs are educational entities, not lobbying firms. Illegal electioneering must come to an end, and any school district engaging in such conduct can expect to hear from my office.”  

Texas law states that “the board of trustees of an independent school district may not use state or local funds or other resources of the district to electioneer for or against any candidate, measure, or political party.” Further, school districts may not spend money on political advertising. However, these ISDs used taxpayer funds to encourage people to vote for ballot propositions that would increase taxes to use in their budgets. 

After thorough investigations into the matter, Attorney General Paxton sent letters to Garland ISD, Judson ISD, Liberty Hill ISD, and Northwest ISD, informing them that their conduct potentially constituted a violation of Texas laws prohibiting schools from electioneering. Following this, the ISDs removed the offending material and agreed to abide by the laws.  

To read the Garland ISD letter, click here. 

To read the Judson ISD letter, click here. 

To read the Liberty Hill ISD letter, click here. 

To read the Northwest ISD letter, click here.