Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued Frisco ISD for illegal electioneering, according to a Feb. 28 filing.
The filing comes ahead of the Texas primary election March 5.
The details
The filing names the suit against Dynette Davis, Gopal Ponangi, Rene Archambault, Marvin Lowe, Stephanie Elad, Mark Hill and John Classe in their capacity as board members. The lawsuit also names Superintendent Mike Waldrip and Megan DeWolfe, FISD’s Government Affairs chairperson.
Board President Davis said she could not comment on the matter. Frisco ISD does not comment on pending litigation, a district spokesperson said.
The lawsuit was filed against the district in regards to three social media posts that were published on FISD’s Government Affairs Facebook page Feb. 20, 23 and 27, according to the filing.
The background
The Texas Election Code states “an officer or employee of a political subdivision may not knowingly spend or authorize the spending of public funds for political advertising.”
The lawsuit filing states the department used official resources to advocate for certain policies and political measures. It states that the social media posts by the district directly violate the Texas Election Code’s prohibition against the use of “state or local funds or other resources of the district to electioneer for or against any candidate, measure or political party,” according to an attorney general Feb. 28 news release.
In the lawsuit, Paxton cites the social media posts encourage individuals to vote for candidates who support public schools and who are against vouchers. The posts also appear to influence the reader to vote in a particular party primary, the filing states.
The board members allowed FISD employees to use funds and other resources of the district to electioneer for or against candidates, a measure or political party when they allowed DeWolfe to publish the statements referenced on the Frisco ISD Government Affairs Facebook page, according to the filing.
Taking a step back
The state does not seek monetary relief or attorney’s fees, according to the filing.
This is not a first for the attorney general’s office. The office filed a similar lawsuit against Denton ISD on Feb. 22 for illegal electioneering after an elementary school principal emailed staff members encouraging them to vote in the primary election.
