Fifth-graders at Benbrook Elementary came home to their parents with boxes of water conservation goodies from the Tarrant Regional Water District that may have been bought with taxpayer money.
The boxes, emblazoned with the title “Water Wise,” the phrase “Save Water,” and TRWD’s logo, contained a number of items ostensibly to help conserve water.
Among the items within the box was a “rain/drip gauge,” a “digital thermometer,” a “bathroom faucet aerator valve,” and a “high-efficiency showerhead.”
One parent expressed frustration with the giveaway, stating that “even bought in bulk, that showerhead probably cost 4 dollars of my tax money[, and] for what[?]”
It is unknown at this time if Benbrook Elementary was the only school within the TRWD that received these boxes.
In order to determine the size and scope of the impact this may have had on the taxpayers, Texas Scorecard has filed an Open Records Request with the TRWD.
Taxpayers pay for their children to learn basic skills that will enable them to earn a living and chart their own successful future, not to receive free thermometers.
They also pay taxes to the TRWD expecting them to focus their resources on proper water management and flood control, not boondoggle real estate developments and giving away free showerheads at schools.
This is a developing story. Future updates will arrive as details are forthcoming.
Early voting for the May 4 election for two seats on the TRWD board begins April 22.
