Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton says he's suing the Denton Independent School District for "illegal electioneering."
The AG's office said a principal at one of the district's schools was “electioneering” by sending emails touting candidates who oppose school vouchers over candidates who support them.
The petition filed in a Denton County court said it's against state law to use public resources for political advertising.
“It is absolutely improper for publicly funded entities like school districts to engage in electioneering as Denton ISD has done,” said Paxton. “State law prohibits government officials—including school district personnel—from using either their positions of authority or taxpayer resources to influence the outcome of elections. Government officials everywhere are on notice that I will use every legal remedy available to me to stop school districts from influencing or coercing their employees to vote any particular way, especially when a district uses taxpayer resources and money to do so. Our elections must be completely protected from any illegal interference.”
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Paxton's office issued a statement late Thursday saying they've called for a temporary injunction against the Denton ISD school board, its superintendent, and two employees.
In a statement to NBC 5 on Friday, the Denton ISD said in discussions with the AG's office they agreed that election laws should be followed and added that they train all trustees and administrators annually on district policies on elections and campaigns with the expectation that they are followed.
The district also said they strive to create a culture of routine voting and encouraged voters in the district to do their research before heading to a polling location during primary election season saying, "These elected officials will make crucial decisions that impact our students, teachers, families and our district as a whole."
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"We should all take seriously our responsibility as citizens to show up and play our part in deciding which candidates will be on the general election ballot in November," the district said.
The Denton ISD's unedited statement is below.
Denton ISD has been in conversation with the Texas Attorney General’s Office, and we agree that election laws should be followed. In fact, our Board of School Trustees adopted board policies in 2018 and 2021 regarding elections and campaign ethics, and we train all trustees and administrators on these policies annually. It is our expectation that these policies be followed. Our employees' passion for serving our students and community is undeniable. The current primary elections on March 5 are especially significant for public education. These elected officials will make crucial decisions that impact our students, teachers, families and our district as a whole. Making your voice heard starts with voting in these primary elections. We encourage all registered voters to do their homework and learn about the candidates and their positions before they vote in the primary of their choosing. Denton ISD strives to create a culture of routine voting, and we believe that participating in the democratic process is every citizen’s civic duty. We should all take seriously our responsibility as citizens to show up and play our part in deciding which candidates will be on the general election ballot in November. Hundreds of districts across the state, including Denton ISD, have been forced to adopt deficit budgets due to a lack of funding from the State of Texas. This means we are currently in the process of having to make difficult financial decisions that could negatively impact our students and community. The state has not increased the basic allotment per student since 2019, despite inflation being well over 15 percent and the state sitting on a record $32.7 billion surplus. Public education supporters need to proactively engage in the democratic process.
