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Texas school board elections, 2017
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State ballot measures • Local ballot measures • School boards • Municipal • Recalls • How to run for office |
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Elections
A total of 80 Texas school districts among America's largest school districts by enrollment held elections in 2017 for 230 seats. In 69 of these school districts, elections were scheduled on May 6, 2017. Runoff elections were scheduled on June 10, 2017, in four of these school districts: Dallas Independent School District, El Paso Independent School District, Mansfield Independent School District, and Ysleta Independent School District. Elections in the remaining 11 school districts were scheduled on November 7, 2017.
Here are several quick facts about Texas' school board elections in 2017:
- The largest Texas school district by enrollment with an election in 2017 was the Houston Independent School District with 215,225 K-12 students in the 2014-2015 school year.
- The smallest Texas school district among the nation's largest with an election in 2017 was the Canyon Independent School District with 9,404 K-12 students in the 2014-2015 school year.
The districts listed below served 2,779,083 K-12 students during the 2014-2015 school year, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.[1] Click on the district names for more information on each one and its school board elections.
Issues
Districts join One Voice for Texas Public Education coalition
A total of 14 Texas school districts representing approximately 350,000 students had joined the One Voice for Texas Public Education coalition as of April 11, 2017. The coalition was started in the fall of 2016 by Fort Bend ISD board of trustees President Kristin Tassin and Katy ISD board of trustees Sergeant-at-Arms Henry Dibrell in order to present a united front when speaking to state legislators about education issues.[2][3][4][5]
Boards of the districts who became members of One Voice for Texas Public Education either passed a resolution to join the coalition or to participate in it.[4] Fort Bend ISD joined the coalition, but Katy ISD did not. The following districts also joined: Klein ISD, Garner ISD, Spring Branch ISD, Salado ISD, Presidio ISD, Somerville ISD, Lamar CISD, Matagorda ISD, Karnes City ISD, Nordheim ISD, Kerrville ISD, Cypress-Fairbanks ISD, and Spring ISD.[2][6]
On its website, the coalition highlighted the state's changing demographics as a reason the school districts came together.
| “ | Forty-nine percent of children in Texas live in low-income families and by 2020, Hispanics will become the largest ethnic group in the state, making up 42 percent of Texans. By 2044, Texas will be a majority Hispanic state. Proposed state regulations, accountability and funding do not support the reality of this changing student population.[7] | ” |
| —One Voice for Texas Public Education (2017)[8] | ||
The coalition also expressed support for three issues: "Making School Finance a Legislative Priority," "Making Uniform Standards and Requirements for All State Funded School Systems a Legislative Priority," and "Making Accountability and Assessment a Legislative Priority." Specifically, members said they would like the state to provide funding for legislative mandates related to education. They also said they oppose programs for school vouchers and that they want the Texas Education Agency's A-F accountability ratings to be repealed.[9] The A-F accountability ratings grade districts based on four categories: student achievement, student progress, closing performance gaps, and postsecondary readiness. Districts are also graded on a fifth category that is chosen by the school district.[10]
School districts received their preliminary A-F accountability grades in January 2017.[10] The program was supposed to go into effect in August 2018, but it was delayed one year.[4] On May 4, 2017, the Texas House of Representatives voted to pass HB 22, a bill that changed the requirements for the A-F accountability system and delayed it until the 2019-2020 school year. The bill next moved to the Texas State Senate, where it passed on May 24, 2017. The governor signed it into law on June 15, 2017.[11][12]
Tassin said legislators had overall been supportive of the coalition. "One legislator was so excited, he called a district that was visiting the Capitol that day and asked if they considered joining the coalition. Some legislators are helping us recruit school districts from their districts - particularly on the House side. They need us to speak loudly about these issues in support of the work they're doing," said Tassin.[4]
Tassin said the state House of Representatives was more responsive on education reform in 2017 than the state Senate. "We're still working on senators to freeze unfunded mandates and even take up some reform efforts the House is taking up," said Tassin.[4]
Katy Independent School District
Board approves charter for bond committee
The Katy Independent board of trustees in January 2017 approved a charter for a committee to look into putting a bond for the school district on the November 2017 ballot. District officials said a bond was needed due to increasing enrollment. The district's demographer Population and Survey Analysts said Katy ISD was expected to have 10,000 more students in the 2021-2022 school year compared to the 2016-2017 school year. It was also expected to grow by another 7,000 students after that by the 2026-2027 school year.[13][14]
The timeline for the bond research included meetings by the committee members in April, a survey sent out to district residents in July, and a final decision made by the board of trustees in August.[13]
Board changes media policy
The Katy Independent board of trustees changed a board policy that allowed only the board president to speak to the media in January 2017. The change came after board members George Scott and Charles Griffin expressed their opposition to the policy in the fall of 2016.[15][16]
Scott threatened legal action in November 2016 against the former media policy that had been approved more than 10 years previously. "Katy ISD is a government, and if a government tries to restrict the ability of a trustee to speak to the media, it is simultaneously restricting the freedom of the press," said Scott. "There is nothing that should exist to squelch that right, but there has been an effort in Katy ISD to filter the public discussion."[16]
Scott said that board members had been scolded in closed meetings for speaking to the media. "It's not the board president's job to police us. It's the community's," said Griffin, who served as board president from 2015 to 2016. "Let the community decide what's good or not."[16]
Tom Gregor, a Houston attorney whose law firm worked with the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas, said the board's policy was not illegal, but he also said that board members should not be discouraged from speaking to the media, according to the Houston Chronicle. Fox said that all of the board members had agreed to the policy. "It's one of many, many procedures we have agreed upon. It's not an infringement on our rights," said Fox. She did, however, say she was open to changing the policy.[16]
In January 2017, the board changed the policy to allow other board members the ability to speak to the media, though the president was still named as the board's spokesperson. "There's nothing in (the new procedure) that intimidates me like the (old procedure) did," said Scott.[15]
Fox said the new policy was more specific. "I'm happy with this one. I was happy with the other one, but this is fine, too."[15]
Killeen Independent School District
Issues in the district
Overcrowding in district high schools
During the 2016-2017 school year, the Killeen Daily Herald reported that three of the four Killeen ISD high schools were overcrowded and the student population was expected to continue growing. Solutions to the problem of district overcrowding were presented by school board members and candidates in a Killeen Daily Herald article published in April 2017. The various proposals included building a fifth area high school and expanding a specialized district campus to use as a traditional high school by 2020.[17]
A strategic facilities plan released by the Killeen ISD in April 2017 also included a proposal to build a new high school campus and football field by 2021.[18] The specialized campus expansion was estimated to cost $40 million, while the high school and football field projects were estimated to cost $125 million and $40 million, respectively.[17][19]
To pay for the construction of a new high school, the district held a bond election on May 5, 2018. While some Killeen ISD candidates approved of this decision, saying a new high school would redistribute students while increasing the district's gross student capacity, others said that less costly solutions could be found, such as removing the football stadium from the proposal or conducting further analysis to determine the best course of action.[19]
Federal funding cuts
The Killeen ISD has received Impact Aid funding for over 25 years.[20] Impact Aid funding is part of a federal program that provides financial assistance to school districts who lose tax revenue due to high levels of federally connected children, such as military connected children, who live on non-taxable federal land.[21] The program defines a school district as heavily impacted if the district's average daily attendance of federally connected children is 35 percent or higher with additional funding for these students provided at the district-level.[22]
The district received roughly $46.6 million—13 percent of its total budget—in Impact Aid during the 2017 fiscal year. Due to a declining enrollment of military connected students and an increased enrollment of civilian students, the Killeen ISD was close to losing its heavily impacted classification. During the 2016-2017 school year, the student population was approximately 37.7 percent military connected.[23] If the district lost another 2.8 percent of its federally connected students, it would see a steady decline in Impact Aid funds over a three-year period. Over those three years, the district would receive a percentage of Impact Aid funding calculated from the previous year in which the district qualified as heavily impacted; in the first year, it will receive 90 percent of these funds, the district will receive 85 percent of the funds in the second year, and 80 percent of the funds in the third year.[24]
San Antonio Independent School District
Member appointed after District 6 resignation
Former District 6 incumbent Olga Hernandez resigned from the San Antonio ISD board of trustees following her arrest on a federal wire fraud charge on February 21, 2017. According to the San Antonio Express-News, Hernandez was charged with conspiracy to commit fraud of honest service and was accused of accepting gifts—including vacations, jewelry, and cash—from insurance brokers attempting to win contracts with the school district.[25] The indictment against Hernandez alleged that between 2007 and 2014 she voted in favor of health-related insurance contracts on behalf of several health insurance brokers who pleaded guilty in November 2016 to related wire fraud and conspiracy charges.[25] In response to the charges Hernandez said, “It is an allegation which is not true, and with time I will prove it to be false.”[25] Prior to her resignation, Hernandez served on the board for 11 years and worked in the school district for several decades.
To fill the vacancy succeeding Hernandez's resignation, the board was able to choose between two options. The first option was to hold a special election in conjunction with the general election scheduled on May 6, 2017. In order to get the special election on the ballot, the election order would have had to be made at least 70 days prior to the general election date, as per Texas statute. Hernandez tendered her resignation 74 days prior to the general election date. Due to this time constraint, and the additional cost of holding a stand-alone special election, the board voted to appoint a member to serve the remainder of Hernandez's term, which expired in May 2019.[26]
On March 27, 2017, the San Antonio board unanimously voted to appoint Christina Martinez to fill the open District 6 seat. The decision was made during a closed meeting after two rounds of public interviews were held. Martinez, whose professional experience includes serving as vice president of external relations for Big Brothers Big Sisters of South Texas, was one of several applicants considered for the position. Rachel Ponce, Cynthia Spielman, Dana Wrann, and Lola Rodriguez also filed to fill the position and were interviewed by the San Antonio board of trustees. Two additional applicants—David Soto and Steven Ibanez—filed applications but later withdrew in support of Spielman and Ponce, respectively. Soto lost an election bid against Hernandez in 2015. After the announcement of Martinez's appointment, Hernandez offered her congratulations saying, "Whoever supports my community. That's why I'm here."[27]
Academic performance
- See also: Public education in Texas
The sections below do not contain the most recently published data on this subject. If you would like to help our coverage grow, consider donating to Ballotpedia.
| Education terms |
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| For more information on education policy terms, see this article. |
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NAEP scores
- See also: NAEP scores by state
The National Center for Education Statistics provides state-by-state data on student achievement levels in mathematics and reading in the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). The table below presents the percentage of fourth and eighth grade students that scored at or above proficient in reading and math during school year 2012-2013. Compared to three neighboring states (Louisiana, New Mexico, and Oklahoma), students in Texas had the highest scores in nearly every category, falling behind only Oklahoma in fourth-grade reading.[28]
| Percent of students scoring at or above proficient, 2012-2013 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Math - Grade 4 | Math - Grade 8 | Reading - Grade 4 | Reading - Grade 8 | |
| Texas | 41% | 38% | 28% | 31% |
| Louisiana | 26% | 21% | 23% | 24% |
| New Mexico | 31% | 23% | 21% | 22% |
| Oklahoma | 36% | 25% | 30% | 29% |
| U.S. averages | 41% | 34% | 34% | 34% |
| Source: United States Department of Education, ED Data Express, "State Tables" | ||||
Graduation, ACT and SAT scores
The following table shows the graduation rates and average composite ACT and SAT scores for Texas and surrounding states during the 2012-2013 school year. All statements made in this section refer to that school year.[28][29][30]
In the United States, public schools reported graduation rates that averaged to about 81.4 percent. About 54 percent of all students in the country took the ACT, while 50 percent reported taking the SAT. The average national composite scores for those tests were 20.9 out of a possible 36 for the ACT, and 1498 out of a possible 2400 for the SAT.[31]
Texas schools reported a graduation rate of 88 percent during the 2012-2013 school year, highest among its neighboring states
In Texas, more students took the SAT than the ACT in 2013, earning an average SAT score of 1437.
| Comparison table for graduation rates and test scores, 2012-2013 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| State | Graduation rate, 2013 | Average ACT composite, 2013 | Average SAT composite, 2013 | ||||
| Percent | Quintile ranking** | Score | Participation rate | Score | Participation rate | ||
| Texas | 88% | First | 20.9 | 37% | 1437 | 59% | |
| Louisiana | 73.5% | Fifth | 19.5 | 100% | 1655 | 5% | |
| New Mexico | 70.3% | Fifth | 19.9 | 70% | 1626 | 12% | |
| Oklahoma | 84.8% | Second | 20.8 | 75% | 1689 | 5% | |
| United States | 81.4% | 20.9 | 54% | 1498 | 50% | ||
| **Graduation rates for states in the first quintile ranked in the top 20 percent nationally. Similarly, graduation rates for states in the fifth quintile ranked in the bottom 20 percent nationally. Sources: United States Department of Education, "ED Data Express" ACT.org, "2013 ACT National and State Scores" The Commonwealth Foundation, "SAT scores by state, 2013" | |||||||
Dropout rate
- See also: Public high school dropout rates by state for a full comparison of dropout rates by group in all states
The high school event dropout rate indicates the proportion of students who were enrolled at some time during the school year and were expected to be enrolled in grades nine through 12 in the following school year but were not enrolled by October 1 of the following school year. Students who have graduated, transferred to another school, died, moved to another country, or who are out of school due to illness are not considered dropouts. The average public high school event dropout rate for the United States remained constant at 3.3 percent for both school year 2010–2011 and school year 2011–2012. The event dropout rate for Texas was lower than the national average at 2.4 percent in the 2010-2011 school year, and 2.5 percent in the 2011-2012 school year.[32]
State profile
State profile
| Demographic data for Texas | ||
|---|---|---|
| Texas | U.S. | |
| Total population: | 27,429,639 | 316,515,021 |
| Land area (sq mi): | 261,232 | 3,531,905 |
| Race and ethnicity** | ||
| White: | 74.9% | 73.6% |
| Black/African American: | 11.9% | 12.6% |
| Asian: | 4.2% | 5.1% |
| Native American: | 0.5% | 0.8% |
| Pacific Islander: | 0.1% | 0.2% |
| Two or more: | 2.5% | 3% |
| Hispanic/Latino: | 38.4% | 17.1% |
| Education | ||
| High school graduation rate: | 81.9% | 86.7% |
| College graduation rate: | 27.6% | 29.8% |
| Income | ||
| Median household income: | $53,207 | $53,889 |
| Persons below poverty level: | 19.9% | 11.3% |
| Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Texas. **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here. | ||
Presidential voting pattern
- See also: Presidential voting trends in Texas
Texas voted Republican in all seven presidential elections between 2000 and 2024.
Pivot Counties (2016)
Ballotpedia identified 206 counties that voted for Donald Trump (R) in 2016 after voting for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012. Collectively, Trump won these Pivot Counties by more than 580,000 votes. Of these 206 counties, one is located in Texas, accounting for 0.5 percent of the total pivot counties.[33]
Pivot Counties (2020)
In 2020, Ballotpedia re-examined the 206 Pivot Counties to view their voting patterns following that year's presidential election. Ballotpedia defined those won by Trump won as Retained Pivot Counties and those won by Joe Biden (D) as Boomerang Pivot Counties. Nationwide, there were 181 Retained Pivot Counties and 25 Boomerang Pivot Counties. Texas had one Retained Pivot County, 0.55 percent of all Retained Pivot Counties.
More Texas coverage on Ballotpedia
- Elections in Texas
- United States congressional delegations from Texas
- Public policy in Texas
- Endorsers in Texas
- Texas fact checks
- More...
See also
| Texas | School Boards | News and Analysis |
|---|---|---|
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Footnotes
- ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "ELSI Table Generator," accessed November 22, 2016
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 One Voice for Texas Public Education, "Coalition Members," accessed April 11, 2017
- ↑ The Courier of Montgomery County, "Fort Bend school districts condemn A through F accountability ratings, school vouchers," February 7, 2017
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 San Antonio Express News, "More Houston-area schools back public education coalition," March 31, 2017
- ↑ One Voice for Texas Public Education, "Home," accessed April 17, 2017
- ↑ Covering Katy, "Four Katy School Board Members Scold their President and Sgt. at Arms," February 28, 2017
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ One Voice for Texas Public Education, "About Us," accessed April 17, 2017
- ↑ One Voice for Texas Public Education, "Home," accessed April 11, 2017
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Community Impact Newspaper, "Ratings review, and other things you missed from this week’s Fort Bend ISD meeting," January 10, 2017
- ↑ Open States, "HB 22," accessed June 16, 2017
- ↑ Houston Chronicle, "Texas House takes action on education accountability in public schools," May 3, 2017
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 The Katy Rancher, "Katy ISD headed toward 2017 bond referendum," January 23, 2017
- ↑ Katy Independent School District, "Bonds," accessed April 17, 2017
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 The Katy Rancher, "Katy ISD board changing rule that restricted free speech," January 10, 2017
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3 Houston Chronicle, "Katy ISD trustees: Freedom of speech restricted by school board," November 13, 2016
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 Killeen Daily Herald, "All signs point to fifth high school as KISD's next big need," April 1, 2017
- ↑ Killeen Daily Herald, "Killeen ISD plan calls for new high school in 2021," April 11, 2017
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 Killeen Daily Herald, "New Killeen high school likely to be funded with bond election," April 15, 2017
- ↑ Killeen Daily Herald, "25 years later, memories of struggling businesses, uncertainty in war still linger for some area residents," February 21, 2016
- ↑ U.S. Department of Education, "About Impact Aid," accessed April 20, 2017
- ↑ U.S. Department of Education, "Section 8003-Federal Children Payment: Eligibility," accessed April 20, 2017
- ↑ Killeen Daily Herald, "Killeen school board to discuss Impact Aid," March 27, 2017
- ↑ Killeen Daily Herald, "Killeen school district looking for options if federal funds cut," April 8, 2017
- ↑ 25.0 25.1 25.2 San Antonio Express-News, “SAISD trustee Hernandez resigns following arrest,” February 21, 2017
- ↑ Rivard Report, "Olga Hernandez Resigns From SAISD Board," February 21, 2017
- ↑ My San Antonio, "SAISD trustees choose school board replacement," March 27, 2017
- ↑ 28.0 28.1 United States Department of Education, ED Data Express, "State Tables," accessed May 13, 2014
- ↑ ACT, "2012 ACT National and State Scores," accessed May 13, 2014
- ↑ Commonwealth Foundation, "SAT Scores by State 2013," October 10, 2013
- ↑ StudyPoints, "What's a good SAT score or ACT score?" accessed June 7, 2015
- ↑ United States Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, "Common Core of Data (CCD), State Dropout and Graduation Rate Data File, School Year 2010-11, Provision Version 1a and School Year 2011-12, Preliminary Version 1a," accessed May 13, 2014
- ↑ The raw data for this study was provided by Dave Leip of Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections.
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