Travis County Liberals Still Control Round Rock School Board

While I was quite pleased to see Conservative Aaron Johnson win his race for the Leander School Board, other results for Williamson County districts were disappointing. 

While Conservative David Dziadziola won the Williamson County portion of the Round Rock School District with a healthy 56% of the vote, Travis County voters gaave Liberal Diane Cox 70% and effectively shut out the Wilco voice.  Dziadziola had an uphill battle in that he did not have pre-election name recognition and faced an entrenched incumbent who successfully downplayed her party affiliation and controversial stances.  Another factor of course was higher levels of voter enthusiasm in the Austin portion of the district since they were also voting on which City Council candidate would keep Austin the weirdest. 

All things considered, Dziadziola made a very good showing, but once again, the Austin/Travis County Liberals dominated the Round Rock School Board election. 

Early Voting Begins May 2

Early Voting for the May 14, 2011 Uniform Election Day for local political subdivisions begins Monday, May 2, and continues through Tuesday, May 10. (No Sunday voting.)  I have written about the contests for the Round Rock School Board (I recommend David Dziadziola and Brian Sellers,) and the Leander School Board (Aaron Johnson is the standout,)  but there are additional races on the ballot for Austin, Georgetown, Hutto, Taylor, and other Williamson County political districts.

Early Voting Schedule:
Monday, May 2 through Saturday, May 7: 8:00 am to 6:00 pm
Monday, May 9 and Tuesday, May 10: 7:00 am to 7:00 pm

Standard Locations:
Williamson County Inner Loop Annex, 301 SE Inner Loop, Georgetown
Sun City Social Center, 2 Texas Dr., Georgetown
Georgetown ISD Administration Bldg, 603 Lakeway Dr. Georgetown
McConico Building, 301 W. Bagdad St. Round Rock
Round Rock Randalls, 2051 Gattis School Road, Round Rock
Cedar Park Public Library, 550 Discovery Blvd, Cedar Park
Taylor City Hall, 400 Porter St. Taylor

Mobile Locations are also available on a limited basis. For a list of dates, times and locations, please see the Williamson County Elections Department website.

Sample Ballots may be viewed here.

Will The Real Diane Cox Please Stand Up?

At one of last week's forums for the Round Rock Independent School District Board, candidates were asked about raising district property taxes without voter approval.  According to the Round Rock Leader, Diane Cox replied, "If we do raise taxes even by that small of an amount we need to get voter approval." 

What the Leader story did not deign to mention is the fact that Diane Cox serves as President of the Central Texas School Board Association, and that CTSBA is actively lobbying to change State law to allow school districts to raise property taxes without voter approval.  Not only is Ms. Cox the President of this organization, but on August 19 of 2010, she presented to the RRISD Board an agenda item* that includes the following:

Additional Golden Pennies: The current finance system requires school districts to seek voter approval in setting the maintenance and operation tax rate above $1.04. Legislation is needed which grants school boards the discretion of two additional golden pennies without voter approval."

Interestingly enough, the CTSBA brochure outlining their 2011 legislative agenda (which includes the above item,) states "Publication design by RRISD."  Sounds like the RRISD and the CTSBA have been working very, very closely.

While the Round Rock Leader has chosen to ignore this information, the Community Impact Newspaper's report includes the following:

In previous years, the Central Texas School Board Association, which Cox is president of, has lobbied at the Texas Capitol for a measure that would allow school boards to raise taxes without voters' consent. Cox said that she is not lobbying for such a measure this year, but noted, “There is a fundamental issue with the whole [education finance] system."

Of course, Diane Cox' desire for the power to raise taxes without voter approval is no secret to political activists in Williamson County.  Last Fall at a candidate forum for Texas House District 52 candidates, Ms. Cox asked Larry Gonzales and Diana Maldonado if they would support raising the tax cap without voter approval.  According to witnesses, Cox became so upset with the resulting conversation that she stomped out of the building. 

Challenger David Dziadziola has been adamant about keeping voters involved in the process of setting tax rates.  Matt Stillwell, who is challenging Brian Sellers, gave an interesting answer when asked if he favored allowing tax increases without voter approval, "In extreme circumstances, it would be a good thing to have in the toolbox, but as a general rule, it should be put to a vote."   Well, alrighty then.

Perhaps Diane Cox has had a change of heart about this important policy issue.  If so, she should resign as CTSBA President and repudiate its legislative agenda.  If not, it doesn't seem she is being entirely genuine about her stance on the issue. 

*See pages 43-44