Del Valle ISD trustee vacancy due to primary residence paperwork, says board counsel
DEL VALLE, Texas - A Del Valle ISD Board trustee is out after he allegedly filed paperwork claiming primary residence in another school district.
The Board's counsel says that Damian Pantoja, while serving as a trustee for Single Member District 2, filed a sworn statement of residency in Austin ISD so he could receive a homestead exemption.
In Travis County, a general residential homestead exemption is available to taxpayers who own and reside at their property as of Jan. 1. In order to apply for the exemption, the Travis County Appraisal District says taxpayers must submit a complete application with a driver’s license or state-issued ID with that same address.
The Board's counsel says that according to Texas Education Code, Pantoja immediately and automatically ceased holding office in Del Valle ISD when he filed the statement saying his primary residence was in Austin ISD.
Texas Education Code Section 11.052(g) states that trustees must be a resident of the district they represent, and a trustee vacates their position if they cease to reside in the district they represent.
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In a statement posted on Facebook, Pantoja says he did not obtain "the professional advice I should have, in retrospect, sought." He says that the paperwork he filed, which he did not specify what kind in his statement, was being used by his opponents to claim he vacated his seat.
"That was never my intent, but my error has given my opponents the opportunity to have me removed," Pantoja stated. "This is being done without the community’s knowledge and my seat on the Board may be replaced by someone of their (DVISD School Board) choosing."
He says he believes his removal is undemocratic and is calling for a special election to fill the remaining time in his term.
However, the Board's counsel says that the 1999 Tovar v Somerset ISD decision deemed the Texas Education Code to be "self-enacting," so the Board was not required to "remove" Pantoja or seek court action.
Pantoja was elected to the board in Nov. 2020 and his term was set to expire in 2024. The district's website shows the Single Member District 2 position as vacant.