Originally Posted: Feb. 15, 2018
The Lewisville ISD superintendent got a slap on the hand this week from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton for his message to teachers urging them to show up and vote.
The district says it was just a “get out the vote” campaign, but Paxton calls it “unlawful electioneering.”
Lewisville Schools superintendent Kevin Rogers, in a video posted to the district’s website, encouraged teachers to vote in the March primary.
The video does not specifically name a political party or candidate, but Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton was made aware of it and sent a cease and desist letter Lewisville ISD and two other Texas districts, accusing them of violating Texas education code when it comes to electioneering.
The letter says school districts “may not use state or local funds or other resources to electioneer for or against any candidate, measure, or political party.”
SMU Political Science Professor Matthew Wilson said the video is right on the line of potentially violating the education code.
“I think the most problematic part of it is that it does reference specific policies. The video talks about particular things in the legislature that the school district opposed. So in that sense it’s a kind of specific political statement that runs afoul of the law,” Wilson said. READ MORE