The Pflugerville ISD board of trustees voted 5-1 at its Dec. 13 meeting to uphold a new district insurance plan that offers employees the opportunity to cover domestic partners.
Hundreds of people came to the board meeting, which was moved to the Pflugerville High School cafeteria to accommodate the larger-than-normal audience. More than 40 people offered public comments to the board—the majority of whom spoke in support of the domestic partners benefits plan.
"Tonight we are here to ask you not to rescind benefits you have granted the PISD employees," Pflugerville Educators Association President August Plock said. "The teacher down the hall should have the same benefits as myself, my wife and my children."
The district has become a lightning rod for debate between advocates and opponents of the plan, which made PISD the first school district in Texas to offer insurance for domestic partners—which includes same-sex couples who share households. Although the plan had already been approved by the board Aug. 16 as part of the district's budget package, several members felt they were left in the dark as to what the changes actually meant to the district.
The domestic partners benefits were added to the insurance plan at the behest of the the district's employee insurance commission and were later approved by PISD Superintendent Charles Dupre. Dupre said he was surprised by the public backlash the decision brought.
"I must be honest with you—I was unprepared for some of the reactions we have received, both positive and negative," Dupre wrote on his district blog Oct. 17. "In hindsight, I was somewhat naive, but I never imagined this decision would elicit such a response. From my perspective, it was simply a change to our benefits plan that recognized our ongoing dialogue about equity and social justice, and our dedication to valuing every member of the PISD family."
At the Board's Nov. 16 meeting, PISD trustee Jimmy Don Havins made a motion for the board to revisit the issue and possibly take action on removing the benefits.
"I am disappointed in Mr. Dupre's statement that he thought this was an issue that was simply overlooked by the administration," Havins said prior to the vote Dec. 13. "I've struggled with that response and found it disingenuous.
"I move we make a motion to rescind offering insurance to domestic partners."
Despite the majority of trustees agreeing with Havins' assertion that the board had been left out of the process, none of them felt compelled to overturn the plan. Five of the seven trustees voted to continue the plan, with trustee Vernagene Mott abstaining.
"I think it was somewhat of a misstep by Mr. Dupre to misgauge the public reaction," PISD trustee Carol Fletcher said. "But nothing is more important than making clear that we respect the values of all our employees.
"I'm all in—this is the right thing to do."