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Heads up, taxpayers and parents: We’ve audited the upcoming HITCHCOCK ISD agenda. There are 4 items targeting parental consent and taxpayer funds that need your immediate attention before the gavel falls.
| 🚨 Alert (LEVEL 9) |
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District Seeks to Bypass Parent Oversight on Library Books, Curriculum
Under the guise of ‘innovation,’ the board is voting on a plan to exempt itself from state laws that ensure parental oversight. This ‘District of Innovation’ plan would allow the district to ignore parent petitions for library advisory councils, avoid posting curriculum plans online, and use its own weaker grievance process instead of the state standard.
Response
DEMAND A RECORDED VOTE: This plan is hidden in Consent Item 5.B. Email the Board of Trustees (contact info on district website): ‘Pull Item 5.B from the consent agenda. I oppose any plan that exempts Hitchcock ISD from state laws protecting parental rights on library books and curriculum transparency.’
💰 Impact: Reduced Parental Rights
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| ⚠️ Warning (LEVEL 8) |
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Tax Rate Vote Lacks Key ‘No-New-Revenue’ Comparison
The board will vote to adopt the 2026-2027 property tax rate of $0.9807. However, the agenda documents fail to show how this rate compares to the ‘no-new-revenue’ rate, which is the rate that would raise the same amount of money as last year from the same properties. Without this comparison, taxpayers cannot know if this is a backdoor tax increase driven by rising appraisals.
Response
DEMAND THE DETAILS: Email the Board of Trustees (contact info on district website): ‘Before voting on Item 7.B, please publicly state the no-new-revenue rate and the voter-approval rate. Taxpayers deserve to know the true impact of this tax rate on their wallets.’
💰 Impact: Potential Property Tax Hike
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| ⚠️ Warning (LEVEL 7) |
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District Paying Taxpayer-Funded Lobby Group to Write Policy
The board is set to approve academic policy changes ‘facilitated by the Texas Association of School Boards (TASB).’ TASB is a taxpayer-funded association that lobbies the Legislature, often against the interests of parents and taxpayers. District funds should not be used to pay a lobby group to influence local policy.
Response
DEMAND A RECORDED VOTE: Email the Board of Trustees (contact info on district website): ‘Pull Consent Item 5.C for a separate vote. Taxpayers should not be funding lobby groups like TASB to write our local school policies. Please vote NO.’
💰 Impact: Taxpayer-Funded Lobbying
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| 🚩Watchlist (LEVEL 6) |
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Board to Vote on Slowing Down Public Records Access
The board plans to designate ten specific days in 2026 and 2027 as ‘non-business days’ for the purpose of responding to Public Information Act (PIA) requests. This is a legal but unnecessary maneuver that slows down the public’s right to access government records and reduces transparency.
Response
QUESTION THE NEED: Email the Board of Trustees (contact info on district website) regarding Consent Item 5.J: ‘Why is the district choosing to slow down public information requests? Please vote NO on designating non-business PIA days and commit to maximum transparency.’
💰 Impact: Reduced Public Access
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