Attorney General Ken Paxton has sued both Denison and Castleberry Independent School Districts today for using official resources for illegal electioneering purposes.
The lawsuit against Denison ISD points to a February 2024 post on Denison ISD’s website that appears to celebrate lawmakers who voted against school choice and encourage citizens to vote for them.
The post also links to Denison ISD’s Teacher Pay Resolution, which states in part that “the Board of Trustees of the Denison Independent School District will continue to publicly oppose voucher programs by any name, including ‘taxpayer education savings accounts,’ that threaten to reduce public school funding and necessary support of our local schools.”
The resolution continues further, stating that the Denison ISD Board of Trustees will continue to use its influence to oppose school vouchers—prompting the lawsuit to concisely conclude that “The resolution electioneers against school vouchers.”
Texas Scorecard previously covered Denison ISD’s public praise of local State Rep. Reggie Smith (R-Van Alstyne) for continuing to oppose school choice.
The lawsuit against Castleberry ISD references a Feb. 18 email sent by the President of the Castleberry School Retirees Association, Linda Jo Galvan, to the Superintendent of Schools of the Castleberry ISD Renee Smith-Faulkner. The email says, in part, that “This Tuesday, early voting in the primary elections begins. We have 13 days left to save education in Texas. Early voting is over on March 1st. Election day is March 5.”
On Feb. 19, “Renee Smith-Faulkner attached/forwarded the Galvan e-mail to a Castleberry ISD email list (Admin Leadership Team Distribution List), to encourage individuals to vote to have a voice in future public education,” according to the lawsuit.
Both school districts were accused of violating the Education Code—which prohibits school boards of trustees from using official resources of the district to electioneer for any candidate or political party.
“I’m suing two more school districts for illegal electioneering. I am extremely troubled by this pattern of government officials engaged in illegal electioneering,” Paxton posted on X today. “These are government employees charged with the education of our children. They must respect our laws. I will continue to use every legal remedy available to me to stop this unlawful conduct. Elections are the foundation of our republic. They must be free and fair.”
This follows Paxton’s lawsuit yesterday against Frisco ISD for similar electioneering tactics and Denton ISD last week.
Texas Scorecard reached out to both Denison ISD and Castleberry ISD but has not received responses at the time of publishing.
