Austin, TX
Texas AG Ken Paxton sues Denton principals for electioneering on district emails
DENTON, Texas (TEXAS TRIBUNE) – Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has sued the Denton Independent School District, alleging that two elementary school principals violated state law by encouraging their staffs to vote against opponents of school vouchers in the primary election.
On Feb. 5, Lindsay Lujan, Denton ISD’s director of special programs and principal of Alexander Elementary School, sent an email from her school address urging staff to vote in the upcoming Republican primary. Including a quote from a Texas superintendent warning that “if Texas educators do not come together and vote on a candidate that will support public schools, [they] are in trouble,” Lujan urged staff to do “[their] part.” She included a link to a list of candidates organized by whether they support or oppose public school education.
Jesus Lujan, principal of Borman Elementary School, sent out a similar email sometime in February from his school email address encouraging staff to vote, even if they aren’t Republicans, “for candidates who support public education and school funding.” Stating that “85% of primary votes in [Texas] want vouchers,” he emphasizes the importance of teachers and public schools turning out to vote in these elections.
Both principals stated within their emails that they’d allotted 30 minutes of coverage for employees to go vote during the primaries.
Paxton claims that the defendants violated multiple sections of state law concerning inappropriate use of government resources for electioneering.
“It is absolutely improper for publicly funded entities like school districts to engage in electioneering as Denton ISD has done,” Paxton said in a news release.
Paxton went on to say that government officials are “on notice” that he’ll do everything he can to “stop school districts from influencing or coercing their employees to vote any particular way.”
“Our elections must be completely protected from any illegal interference,” he said.
State law says that independent school districts can’t use state or local funds or resources of the district to electioneer for or against candidates. The emails, Paxton said, violate this code.
His office argues in the lawsuit that the emails constitute political advertising and that the use of DISD’s internal mail system to distribute political advertising violates a provision in state law that says “an officer or employee of a state agency or political subdivision may not knowingly use or authorize the use of an internal mail system for the distribution of political advertising.”
Paxton is requesting a series of legal orders aimed at restraining the district and its employees from engaging in various forms of political activity using public resources or emails.
In a press release, the Office of the Attorney General noted that it’s not currently able to unilaterally criminally prosecute election law violations. That’s because Texas’ highest criminal court, the Court of Criminal Appeals, ruled in 2021 that the state’s constitutional separation of powers mean Paxton’s office must seek permission from local prosecutors before pursuing criminal charges. Paxton is campaigning to pressure the court to overturn that decision.
Still, Paxton said he’s seeking a civil injunction to secure a court order to prevent school districts from unlawfully trying to sway elections.
Denton ISD said in a statement that it has been in conversation with Paxton’s office and agreed that election laws should be followed. It said it will train all trustees and administrators to make sure they do so.
“Our employees’ passion for serving our students and community is undeniable,” the statement read. “The current primary elections on March 5 are especially significant for public education. These elected officials will make crucial decisions that impact our students, teachers, families and our district as a whole. … Public education supporters need to proactively engage in the democratic process.”
Copyright 2024 The Texas Tribune. All rights reserved.
AUSTIN (KXAN) — As flood threats continue across parts of South Central Texas, Austin Pets Alive! has activated emergency response efforts to support animal shelters affected by the inclement weather.
In a social media post, APA! wrote, “We began offering aid last night, working to secure fosters for 10 dogs in the Castroville shelter, an open-air shelter that sits at the bottom of a valley.”
APA! said the situation escalated overnight with additional shelters reporting flooding. One shelter confirmed that floodwaters reached its facility, APA! added.
Communities overwhelmed due to weather include Uvalde, Castroville and Sabinal.
The nonprofit is asking the Austin community to foster, adopt or donate to free up capacity for animals displaced by the disaster. APA! needs to clear out its facilities to assist the animals in need of shelter.
Here are ways you can help:
- Adopt: APA! is offering a “Name Your Own Adoption Fee” on all animals.
- Foster: The shelter is seeking foster homes for a minimum of three weeks.
- Donate: Proceeds will fund vans and response teams setting up a staging and triage center at the heart of the disaster zone, along with an expanded stockpile of preventatives, PPE and additional supplies.
If you would like to donate, click here.
AUSTIN, Texas — With heavy rain expected across parts of Central Texas this week and flooding top of mind, the city of Austin is proposing to put more money toward flood mitigation improvements in next year’s budget.
The proposal would invest in new flood infrastructure, add staff, and help move flood mitigation projects forward, according to city leaders. Austin City Councilmember Ryan Alter said the investments are aimed at keeping the city prepared for future flooding.
Residents who live near waterways say they have seen how quickly conditions can change. David Haderspeck, who lives near Shoal Creek, said the creek “fills up pretty fast” and “gets a lot higher than you’d expect.” He said he has watched the water rise dramatically after rain.
“I’ve seen it come up probably 10 to 15 feet to the ordinary high-water mark,” he said.
This week, parts of Central Texas, including the Hill Country, are expected to get heavy downpours. While Austin is not expecting the same impacts as parts of the Hill Country, leaders said the city is using this year’s budget planning to continue investing in flood safety.
Alter said the city has the expertise to address flooding risks but needs to follow through on projects.
ALSO| Central Texas urged to prepare as heavy rainfall sits in forecast over next two days
“We have the experts. We just have to put the plans into practice, and that’s what we’re doing in this budget,” he said.
Under the budget proposal, the city would provide about $134.5 million for the Drainage Utility Fund, which helps pay for flood mitigation, drainage infrastructure and watershed protection efforts.
Alter said the proposal would shift more of the funding balance toward building new infrastructure.
“What we’re going to do is shift that balance a little bit more to building new infrastructure so that when we do have large flooding events, we’ve got that infrastructure in place to keep people safe,” he said.
The proposal also adds staff and invests in both new and existing flood mitigation projects across the city.
Asked whether the proposed investments would be enough moving forward, Alter said, “I do…I think we’re doing the right thing and just making sure that our residents have the infrastructure to stay safe.”
Alter said heavy rain cannot be prevented, but the city’s goal is to have infrastructure in place to help keep people safe when it happens.
FILE – LinkedIn logos are displayed on an iPhone and computer screen. (Photo by Carl Court/Getty Images)
AUSTIN, Texas – The Texas Attorney General’s office has opened an investigation into LinkedIn over allegations that the professional networking platform misleads consumers with advertising and profiting from misleading or fake job listings, otherwise known as “ghost jobs.”
LinkedIn investigation
In this photo illustration a Linkedin logo seen displayed on a mobile phone. (Photo Illustration by Stanislav Kogiku/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
What we know:
Texas announced on Tuesday it has issued a Civil Investigative Demand (CID) seeking documents, data and internal communications related to LinkedIn’s advertising, marketing, job listing verification practices and its Premium subscription services.
The investigation centers on whether LinkedIn violated Texas’ consumer protection laws by promoting paid subscription services while allegedly failing to disclose that some job listings on the platform may not actually be representative of hiring opportunities.
What is a ‘ghost job’?
An image of a woman holding a cell phone in front of a LinkedIn logo displayed on a computer screen. On Tuesday, January 12, 2021, in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. (Photo by Artur Widak/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Dig deeper:
LinkedIn is owned by Microsoft and the world’s largest professional networking platform, with more than 1 billion registered users worldwide.
A “ghost job” generally refers to a position advertised online that either is no longer available or that an employer has no immediate intention of filling. The attorney general’s office cited independent studies estimating that ghost jobs account for between one-fifth and one-third of online job postings.
Texas AG targets Premium Subscription Fees
Photographer: Mark Felix/Bloomberg via Getty Images
What they’re saying:
According to the office of the attorney general, LinkedIn does not independently verify the hiring status of most job listings on its platform. Ken Paxton’s office alleges that the company’s marketing for its Premium subscription services does not disclose that a significant number of postings could be inactive, unfilled or not reflect genuine employment opportunity.
“I will use every resource available to my office to help job-seeking Texans find and secure real employment opportunities,” Paxton said in a statement. “LinkedIn has a duty to provide the services it advertises and ensure that consumers paying for Premium subscriptions are receiving access to legitimate job postings.”
Texas officials said LinkedIn’s Premium Career and Premium Business subscriptions cost about $39.99 and $69.99 per month, respectively, and are marketed to jobseekers looking to improve their employment prospects.
What’s next:
The investigation does not include any formal allegations of wrongdoing, and no lawsuit has been filed.
The Source: Information in this article was provided by the Texas Attorney General’s Office.
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