Clint ISD board denies Montana Vista, Horizon City to have single-member representation

In a 5-2 vote the Clint Independent School District denied single-member representation for Montana Vista and Horizon City, choosing instead to keep elections at-large.

Clint ISD is confronting an issue that has been plaguing the district for nearly 20 years. Electing board members at-large has led to the majority of trustees coming from Clint, leaving Montana Vista and Horizon City residents without representation. Right now 6 out of 7 trustees are from Clint.

This comes after parents in the district filed a lawsuit, claiming the majority of trustees coming from Clint means schools in Clint were getting more funding and students were getting a better education. That lawsuit is still pending in the Texas Supreme court.

A look at the numbers shows general fund spending per student at the three main high schools is similar (Spending per student- Clint High: $276, Montana Vista High: $288, Horizon High: $285). These reflect how much Clint ISD is paying for instruction, not including federal funding, staff salaries, utilities, band or athletic costs.

Commissioner Vince Perez said in a statement, “While at-large representation is more common in less populated districts, with fewer campuses, such as Canutillo ISD and Tornillo ISD (where each district only has one high School), the Clint ISD has grown To more than 12,000 students and will continue to experience significant growth in the years ahead…I fully support any effort To transition To single member voting districts.”

After the vote Perez said he was “disappointed” with the board.

ABC-7 spoke with the two trustees who voted in favor of change, Hilda James and Patricia Randleel, the only trustee from Horizon City.

“I think everybody, with every sort of governmental entity, everybody needs to have a voice,” Randleel said. “The way we have those voices are to have people who represent us.”

“We take it very seriously,” James said. “We vote on difficult decisions, policies, and budgets for the whole district. I would like to have new voices, new faces on the board, and new ideas to contribute to our district.”

Board President James Pendell refused to speak to ABC-7 to explain the board’s decision to keep district at-large. He nor any other trustee who voted in favor of moving to an at-large system refused to answer our questions and explain their reasons.

This comes before the November election and three seats are up for grabs. James and Randleel said people from Horizon City and Montana Vista don’t have the means to conduct a district wide campaign, putting their chances of getting elected at a disadvantage.