The Bridge City School trustees voted Monday night to continue with no changes to the district’s local homestead exemption. In June 2015 the trustees voted to exercise their local option and not grant a homestead exemption for taxpayers in the district.
Superintendent Todd Lintzen indicated his office received a letter last week from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and the Commissioner of Education Mike Morath strongly encouraging Bridge City to reverse its local option and grant the homestead exemption. Lintzen informed that the letter stated funding from the state may not be made available to Bridge City. “They’re both government entities and there’s no vehicle for them to take this money back from us,” Lintzen commented.
The vote was 6 to 1 by the trustees not to change the district’s waiving of granting a homestead exemption. The lone dissenting vote was by Marla Zoch. She was asked after the meeting why she opposed the board’s decision, but Zoch said she had no comment at that time.
Lintzen said the school board’s decision to waive the homestead exemption is because the state’s funding of public schools is not equitable. Lintzen pointed out the difficulties for Bridge City to prepare its students to compete with others from school districts that get twice the funding from taxes at a time when the cost of supplies is going up as are salaries for teachers. “We have a hard enough job without having to deal with this,” Lintzen concluded in reference to the letter from Paxton and Morath.
Trustees Rebecca Rutledge, Jerry McInnis, and Thad Hill were given their oaths of office Monday night. The school board re-organized its officers. The trustees selected Hill as president and Mark Anderson as vice-president. Michael C. Johnson will be the secretary and Judy Cole will serve as the assistant secretary for the trustees during the next year.
Summer hires were approved by the trustees. Kelly Bright is an in district transfer who will now be a PEIMS Coordinator. Jake McDonald will be a high school social studies teacher and coach. The middle school will have a new special education teacher and coach in Jolee Dunigan. The elementary school has Cassie Ritchie as a new kindergarten teacher. There were also two resignations accepted in the district.
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