On the eve of Saturday’s bond election, which gave Northside Independent School District the green light to secure $ 992 million in funding with long-term debt, Gov. Greg Abbott retweeted allegations that district employees were pressured to vote for it.
In his tweetAbbott said he spoke to Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath about what appeared to be a pair of emails from an unnamed Northside ISD principal to school staff, and said Morath “confirms that IF these posts are verified, then it is likely a crime.”
“The Education Commissioner with work with the Attorney General’s Office to investigate and, if appropriate, prosecute this matter,” Abbott continued.
Northside ISD officials had no immediate comment when asked about it Monday but said they would release a statement later in the day.
The allegations repeated by Abbott were first tweeted by Corey DeAngelis, who is the national director of research at the American Federation for Children, the executive director at Educational Freedom Institute, and an adjunct scholar at The Cato Institute.
DeAngelis tweet shows redacted screen shots of what appears to be an email from the principal to staff thanking them for supporting the bond and stating that Northside Superintendent Brian Woods found it “unacceptable” that only 7 percent of the school district’s employees voted in the last bond election.
“As per Dr. Woods, all employees will be expected to vote for this year’s bond, ”the email says.
Under the Texas Election Code, districts may not use district resources for political advertising, including “a communication that advocates passage or defeat of a measure,” according to Section 255.003 of the Election Code.
A school district can distribute materials that are informational and that do not support or oppose the passage of a measure or a candidate’s nomination.
This is a developing story.
danya.perez@express-news.net | @DanyaPH