A New Texas Law Orders a School Board President to Quit His Job. But in Defiance, He Says, ‘no'

"You're like a bad penny."The speaker is White Settlement ISD School Board President Randy Armstrong.I'd been chasing him by phone for months, trying to learn his thoughts on a new state property tax law that affects him personally.But he won't talk to me, so I went to this week's school board meeting - and waited. Upon adjournment, I approached him at the raised dais where he sat in the president's seat.That's when he greeted me with the "bad penny" appellation. I've been called a lot of names, but never that. (Later, I had to look up its meaning: A person or thing that is unwelcome.)Armstrong's conflict of interestThe new law eliminates an obvious conflict of interest. Not only is Armstrong president of a tax rate-setting government body, he also works as the supervisor of residential properties for the Tarrant Appraisal District.  Continue reading...