Although some individuals who were employed by Fort Bend ISD at the time may be subject to bribery investigations, the Texas Education Agency (TEA) has concluded that the district did not break any state laws with their voting incentives during the 2023 Voter Approval Tax Rate Election.
The ballot initiative requested voters to support raising the tax rate in order to pay for armed protection mandated by an unfunded state law, as well as raises for teachers and staff. With 57% of the vote, the tax rate hike was passed with overwhelming support.
The management of the school district said during election season that it would give breakfast to schools with above 90% voter turnout and permit employees to wear jeans to work if they voted. Students were also given a form made by former school officials, which promised them a “special prize” if they returned it with a sticker that read “I Voted” from their parents.
State Senator Paul Bettencourt demanded that the Texas Attorney General’s Office look into the administration when it came under fire.
In February, the Fort Bend ISD news release said that the Houston-area district had “violated state laws prohibiting electioneering, unlawful political advertising, and bribery,” which was the subject of a complaint filed with the TEA.
The news announcement stated that trustees instructed former Superintendent Christie Whitbeck to halt the district’s voting rewards program, and the agency eventually exonerated the school district of the charges. Additionally, the TEA discovered that the district did not take a position supporting or opposing the tax rate hike, but instead promoted voting in general.
In a news release, Fort Bend ISD board president Kristen Tassin stated, “We are happy to see the TEA concluded that our trustees satisfied their obligation to oversee district operations by insisting our former superintendent halt the voting incentives.” “We are glad we can put this issue behind the district and focus our attention on the many positive changes being implemented by (new Superintendent Marc) Smith and his team.”
But according to Fort Bend ISD, the TEA informed local authorities about potential bribery involving the voting incentives.
According to the school district, the agency also informed local authorities that it had given them information on possible individual acts of bribery so they could look into it further.
On Friday, the district attorney’s office for Fort Bend County announced that it is not looking into any district workers in connection with the tax-rate election.
Last year, the Texas Open Meetings Act was allegedly broken by board trustees at Fort Bend ISD when they negotiated Whitbeck’s early retirement, prompting the TEA to launch an inquiry into the district. That inquiry is still going on.
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