Trustees who voted against the deal included Noelita Lugo, At-Large Position 8; Andrew Gonzales, District 6; Kathryn Whitley Chu, District 4; Candace Hunter, District 1; and Ofelia Zapata, District 2.
“This is a failed program with a history of broken promises, and I am concerned we will see this pattern repeated with this agreement,” Zapata said just before trustees voted.
Throughout the public comment session, more than a dozen people spoke both in favor of and against the Chapter 313 agreement. Those concerned, most of whom identified themselves as members of nonpartisan organization Central Texas Interfaith, said they were worried about the agreement resulting in the district “giving handouts to big corporations.” A handful of people spoke in favor of the agreement.
Thirty-five members of the public called in and left recorded messages prior to the meeting to express their opinions about the agreement. During the prerecorded public comment, most callers said they were in favor of the deal with 27 members of the public speaking for and eight against the agreement.
Following the vote, CTI spokesperson Minerva Skeith said she and other members of the organization commend the trustees for their votes against the agreement.
“[Trustees showed] courage and leadership in refusing to participate in Chapter 313—a failed program that costs taxpayers over a billion dollars a year—money which could be going to public schools," Skeith said. "Today, they stood with students, teachers, taxpayers and ordinary citizens across the state in voting against NXP’s request of $100 million in tax breaks.”
Most who spoke against the deal said the lack of job creation was a predominant reason for not wanting the agreement to go forward. In previous iterations of the agreement, the company would have been required to provide 350 jobs with an average annual wage of $71,168.
"NXP is only required to produce 25 jobs, and job No. 1 doesn't even have to begin until the first year the program is implemented sometime around 2026-27," Zapata said. "The 350 jobs are a maybe and not a guarantee.”
The Chapter 313 program will end Dec. 31. This decision was made after state legislators declined to renew it during the 2021 legislative session.
“This vote today signals a new day for AISD,” Skeith said. “[Trustees] turned a new page in their commitment to partner with the community in building a stronger district and a stronger school funding system in Texas.”
