Texas Rep. Charlie Howard R-Sugar Land crashed Fort Bend ISD’s tax raising party on Monday and did not hold any punches. Howard said he was “disappointed” with the taxing entity’s decision to raise taxes, pointing out that while the school district was raising its property tax rate other taxing jurisdictions, such as Fort Bend County and the city of Sugar Land, were lowering theirs.
Of course there were some hurt feelings. One school board member said that he was humiliated by Howard’s remarks. Trustee Steve Smelley was presumably humiliated by Howard doing his job, calling into question the wasteful decisions of the board.
Bob Broxson another board member accused Howard of “not knowing the numbers.” The numbers Fort Bend ISD has been producing for the last 8 years don’t look good. For instance the numbers look the same today as they did in 2000 if you’re looking at SAT and ACT scores in the district while total revenue is up almost $200 million.
This is exactly the type of action we need from concerned citizens and the individuals elected to represent them. Rep. Howard is to be commended for his work on behalf of the voters of district 26 and the state of Texas for his willingness to hold people in power accountable for their actions.
