HUTTO, Texas — Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed another lawsuit against a Texas school district over allegations of electioneering ahead of the Super Tuesday primary election, this time in Central Texas.
Paxton's office on Monday night announced it was suing the Hutto Independent School District, alleging officials are "using state resources to influence political races through illegal electioneering." The lawsuit lists Hutto ISD's Board of Trustees and Superintendent Raul Pena.
Paxton on Friday also said he was suing the Huffman Independent School District, near Houston, and Aledo ISD, near Fort Worth, for similar allegations.
The Hutto ISD lawsuit cites a Facebook post from Feb. 28 about school vouchers.
“Vouchers hurt out public schools,” the Hutto ISD post reads. “For every 100 Hippos lost to a voucher, Hutto ISD would lose $1.15 million dollars, which could mean a loss of 18 teaching positions or 8 new school buses.”
The post does not explicitly tell people how to vote on the issue.
“Hutto ISD, using official government resources, advocated for certain political policies and measures on its social media accounts,” Paxton’s statement reads. “Such actions directly violated 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.’”
On Tuesday, Hutto ISD responded to KVUE's request for comment about Paxton's lawsuit, saying:
"Hutto ISD was surprised to learn of a suit filed by Attorney General Ken Paxton. At no time has the District used public resources to advocate for or against a candidate, ballot measure or political party, in violation of state law. At Hutto ISD, our focus remains on empowering student success and advancing our district. We're committed to enhancing every student's journey towards excellence."
Paxton's latest round of suits followed suits against Denison ISD, Castleberry ISD, Frisco ISD and his initial suit against Denton ISD.
Paxton has accused the districts of using official resources to urge people to vote in favor of a certain policy.
"Earlier this month, Denison ISD’s official website expressed its support or opposition for certain political candidates and stumped for its preferred policy agenda," Thursday's statement reads. "Similarly, the Castleberry ISD Superintendent used her official email to send out an endorsement list of political candidates and instructed the district’s administration to ‘vote accordingly.’"
On Feb. 29 Paxton said he secured a restraining order against Frisco ISD. The restraining order is for 14 days according to the order, a Temp injunction hearing is set for March 5.
"Repeatedly and as recently as February 27, Frisco ISD’s Government Affairs department used official resources to stump for certain policies and political measures," the statement reads. "Such actions 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.'"
While Paxton's office can't currently prosecute Election Code violations due to the Court of Criminal Appeals' decision in Texas v. Stephens, it may still seek civil injunctive relief to get a court order barring districts from "unlawful attempts to influence elections."
Paxton's office is also investigating other possible violations around the state, the statement read.
Last month, Paxton accused principals at two Denton ISD elementary schools of stumping for certain candidates in emails to their staff earlier this month.
Ross Fischer, a former chair of the Texas Ethics Commission, told KVUE sister station WFAA that the commission, which can levy civil penalties, takes a broad view of what constitutes public funds, and that includes public resources, such as the use of the email system.
WFAA contributed to this report.