Taxpayers in Grapevine and Colleyville are taking action after their school board president admitted her husband removed a yard sign of another campaign.
Over the weekend, Colleyville Mayor Pro Tem Bobby Lindamood Jr. discovered that one of his large yard signs off Pool Road had been cut down. After posting about it on Facebook, Lindamood received a call from GCISD Board President Lisa Pardo, in which she admitted to Lindamood that her husband was the one who cut down the sign.
Pardo, who is also up for re-election, reportedly said she and her husband were trying to help.
But not everyone appears to believe that explanation.
Yesterday evening, over a dozen taxpayers arrived at the GCISD building to protest Pardo and demand her resignation. Everyone held a homemade sign, many plastered with the words “Pardo Must Go.”
“We’re here to stand up for taxpayers and for the parents at Grapevine-Colleyville School District,” said taxpayer Steve Waltens. “We believe that people shouldn’t be representing on the school board if they’re going to set that kind of example for our children. We think the right thing to do is for Lisa to resign her post immediately.”
Behavior like this is nothing new in GCISD and Colleyville elections, as Waltens recalled last year’s election when Amy Putnam tried to unseat Becky St. John on the GCISD school board.
“Every one of [Putnam’s] signs from the Grapevine polling place was pulled up and thrown into her front yard. Not once, but twice,” he said.
“How can we set [Pardo] as an example for students running for student body president?” asked Northeast Tea Party President Julie White McCarty. “Can they rip down any sign they want to rip down because they don’t like the competition?”
McCarty also shared that some taxpayers wouldn’t come to the protest out of fear of retribution for their children who attend GCISD schools.
The taxpayers displayed their signs alongside the road and in front of the GCISD building before entering to attend the 7:00 p.m. board meeting. Once inside, they behaved peacefully and didn’t even disrupt the night’s events where the board recognized high-achieving students.
A scan of Pardo’s social media accounts finds no mention of the incident at all, though a display within the GCISD building does highlight an ironic quote from Pardo.
“Board members should be role models for students,” it reads.
Elections in Grapevine and Colleyville are May 4, with early voting starting on April 22.
