Frisco ISD Candidates on the Defensive as Group That Endorsed Them Seeks to Get Rid of Prayer Room

FRISCO -- The Frisco United political action group was born out of concern for fiscal conservatism and opposition to the district's 2016 appeal for a higher tax rate.So it was shocking to some area residents that the group sent out a mailer about the Frisco ISD school board race that included a call to voters to "Remove Taxpayer Funded Muslim Prayer Room."The move even blind-sided candidates Bryan Powell and Jeff Snowden who the mailer listed with big check marks next to their names as preferred options to the incumbents they are challenging."I didn't know anything about it until people got it in their mailbox," Snowden said Friday. "I don't endorse any attack on religion and never have. I'm trying to win this race and help the school system finances, which are a bloody mess. Now, we've got all these distractions, which are silly."Joe Widner, a spokesman for Frisco United, said the prayer room is an example of a lack of prudent financial management that people recognize. "The two incumbents are not actively managing the school district and they're spending money on things that I as a taxpayer don't think is a priority," Widner said. "The prayer room is just one example. It is one that people will listen to."Frisco ISD officials did not return calls for comment Friday. But they have previously said that the classroom at Liberty High School is available to all students of any faith for 30 minutes a day during a teacher's regular planning period. The classroom has been provided for about six or seven years since administrators learned that some Muslim students were leaving campus for several hours on Friday for prayer.  Continue reading...