San Angelo ISD Board to Oppose Vouchers & Keep Appraisal District Board Members

SAN ANGELO – The San Angelo Independent School District Board of Trustees is set to keep all current members of the Tom Green Co. Tax Appraisal District Board and approve a resolution opposing school vouchers in Texas Tuesday evening.  

According to the agenda, the board will consider the following resolution on vouchers: "Article 7, Section 1 of Texas Constitution requires that the Texas Legislature “establish
and make suitable provision for the support and maintenance of an efficient system of
public free school;” Texas public school districts accept every student education savings
accounts and other voucher programs give private schools, not parents, the right to
choose. Texas public schools adhere to state-mandated academic and financial
accountability standards. Private schools are not required to meet the same academic
standards as public schools, and they do not report test results, graduation rates, and other
performance measures to the public. School choice already exists in the Texas via public
school districts, charter schools, inter-and intra-district transfers, home schools, virtual
schools, and private schools. Education savings accounts and similar voucher programs
eliminate public accountability of schools and tax dollars; using tax dollars to pay for
tuition at private and religious schools would grow into a costly entitlement program. A
taxpayer- funded voucher program that would reduce the amount of state funds available
for all schools, harming many rural Texas communities where families have few, if any,
private school options; and Texas parents who accept a voucher would lose out on a long
list of important parental rights outlined in Texas state education code and in federal law,
especially protections for students receiving special education services.
ADMINISTRATIVE CONSIDERATION/FACTS AND ANSWERS:
San Angelo ISD Board of Trustees calls on the Texas Legislature to reject any diversion
of public dollars to private entities in the form of education savings accounts and similar
voucher programs."

As for the Tax Appraisal District Board members, SAISD Trustees have very little control to replace them.  Below is the process: 

"The process of nominating candidates to serve on the appraisal district board of
directors, as provided for in Section 6.03 of the Texas Property Tax Code, has
begun. The current two-year term of the five-member board of directors ends on
December 31, 2023.
All five of the current Directors have expressed their willingness to serve another term
if elected. The current members of the Board of Directors are as follows:

• Louis Gomez
• Kandi Pool
• Bob Reeves
• Scott Tankersley
• Eric Wilson

You may nominate the existing Board of Directors again or the steps for selecting
a new nomination are listed below.
Chapter 6 of the Tax Code provides for the following steps to be taken:
• The chief appraiser calculates the number of votes to which each
taxing unit is entitled and delivers written notice of the voting
entitlements before October 1, 2023.
• Each eligible taxing unit may nominate by resolution adopted by its
governing body one candidate for each of the five positions to be
filled. The resolution must be adopted prior to October 15, 2023.
The presiding officer of the governing body of the voting unit shall
submit the names of its nominees to the chief appraiser prior to
October 15, 2023.he chief appraiser shall prepare a ballot, listing the candidates
alphabetically and shall deliver the ballot to the presiding officer of
each of the voting jurisdictions prior to October 30, 2023.
• The governing body of each taxing unit shall determine its vote by
resolution and submit it to the chief appraiser prior to December 15,
2023.
• The chief appraiser shall count the votes, declare the five (5)
candidates who receive the largest vote totals elected, and submit
the results to the governing body of each unit and to the
candidates prior to December 31, 2023.
• The elected directors begin their term of office January 1,
2024.
Eligibility requirements for serving on the appraisal district board of
directors are outlined in Section 6.03(a), 6.035(a)(b), 6.036 and 6.05(f).
The taxing units eligible to vote and currently participating in the
appraisal district and their voting entitlement under Section 6.03(a), are
as follows: