Document: YISD superintendent violated election code, ordered to pay civil penalty

The Texas Ethics Commission has determined there is a “credible violation” of the election code by Dr. Xavier De La Torre, the superintendent of the Ysleta Independent School District; and Patricia Torres-McLean, the district’s former school board president.

“The complaint alleged the respondent, as an officer or employee of a political subdivision, spent or authorized the spending of public funds for political advertising,” the Commission’s “Order and Agreed Resolution’ states.

According to the document, De La Torre and Torres-McLean “authorized the spending of public funds for a newsletter that advocated for the approval of a YISD bond measure … the newsletter was published in the fall of 2015 in advance of a November 9, 2015 YISD school bond election.

The newsletter was “published with YISD funds” and “contains descriptions of the bond measure and a letter signed by the respondent and the YISD board president,” the document states.

In its order and resolution, the Texas Ethics Commission states the newsletter’s first page included early voting dates, a picture of students in a classroom and the statement, “YISD seeks community support for the proposed bond.” The newsletter also included graphs and information telling voters that passage of the bond would lead to lower property taxes for some homeowners based on homestead exemptions.

Specifically in question is a letter, included in the newsletter, titled “Greetings from YISD.” The letter includes a reference to Texas State Proposition 1, stating, “If voters approve both Proposition 1 and our (YISD) bond, many homeowners would not only see a decrease in their annual YISD tax bills, but they will have given our district the money it needs to significantly improve, modernize and rebuild schools.”

In the newsletter, Torres-McLean wrote a letter titled “Greetings from the Board President.” The letter states, “Our facilities needs are so great that we just don’t have the money to do it on our own … Ysleta ISD is 100 years old and many of our schools have deteriorated to the point where they must be repaired, rebuilt, or modernized.”

The YISD bond election was approved by the voters on November 9, 2015.

De La Torre denied the allegations, arguing the newsletter contained factual statements and did not advocate for the passage or defeat of the measure. The superintendent further stated he only reviewed and authorized the “Greetings from YISD” section of the newsletter and asked readers to read the entire newsletter before making a decision. De La Torre told the Commission the “Greetings from YISD” letter was prepared by district staff.

The Commission argues it has provided a brochure on political advertising that expressively warns against “wrapping up a factual explanation with a motivational slogan.” The Commission’s brochure also warns against statements and calls to action like “put children first” or “show us that you care about education.”

The Commission states the letters in question go “beyond a factual description to advocate for the passage of the bond in two ways: “Presenting voting to approve both the expanded homestead exemption measure and the school bond measure as a way to achieve a net property tax reduction” and by “ending his letter by thanking the YISD community for its ‘dedication, loyalty and support of our schools.'”

In its conclusion, the Commission states, “The obvious implication of tying the school bond measure to the unrelated homestead exemption measure is that voters should approve both measures and get the best of both worlds: better schools, lower taxes.”

“When viewed as a whole, the ‘Greetings from YISD’ section of the newsletter goes beyond factually describing the measure and advocates for its passage. Therefore, it is credible evidence of a violation of the election code,” the Commission’s conclusion further states, “The ‘Greetings from the Board President’ section is structured as a persuasive essay … and also includes a call to action.” The Commission found Torres-McLean’s letter also “goes beyond factually describing the measure and advocates for its passage.”

The “Order and Agreed Resolution” provided by the Commission imposed a $500 civil penalty against De La Torre and Torres-McLean.