Supporters, opponents of HB 343 respond following Texas Attorney General opinion

Any disgruntled El Paso school board trustee who wants to quit to avoid filing financial disclosures must have a replacement sworn in by Jan. 1, 2015.

ABC-7 has been following the controversy surrounding House Bill 343 for quite some time. It goes into effect in 2015. In the past, Ysleta, Socorro and Canutillo school boards have passed resolutions opposing the law. But now, an opinion from the Office of Attorney General Greg Abbott addresses some questions trustees have.

“Those who want to resign because of the compliances, it’s a very broad form. It’s a very simple form. It doesn’t ask for specifics, it asks for ranges,” EPISD Board of Managers President Dee Margo said.

To file or not to file was the question for many of the school board trustees in the nine districts across El Paso County in regards to a new financial disclosure law, HB 343.

“We already file conflict of interest forms to document any type of business or organization that could potentially do business with the school district,” Patricia McLean from Ysleta Independent School District Board of Trustees said.

Many argue the law is too intrusive, and wonder why it’s not implemented across the state. McLean said others are paying for the El Paso Independent School District corruption scandal from a few years back.

Margo said it is a bracketed bill because of the timeline in the legislature in 2013. He said lawmakers couldn’t get it passed on a statewide basis, but he believes it should be.

“I’m a law abiding citizen, so whether I agree or disagree with the law, I’m going to comply,” McLean said. She said a lot of board members would rather file with the state ethics commission instead of with county commissioners.

School district representatives and an elections administrator ABC-7 spoke with said if any trustee were to resign, it’d likely be too late to hold a special election in November to find their replacement. That means the school board would have to appoint someone. However, if an appointment isn’t made by Jan. 1, 2015, the old trustee must file the financial disclosure.

Socorro ISD trustees all plan to comply, as well as Canutillo ISD.