After tabulating the unofficial results following the Dec. 18 deadline for the county’s taxing entities to submit their nominations for the Tarrant Appraisal District’s Board of Directors, Chairman Vince Puente and Member Gary Losada lost their seats.

The details

According to the TAD website, the following appointed incumbents will return next year:
  • Alan Blaylock
  • Wendy Burgess
  • Gloria Pena
Newly appointed members include Michael Alfred and Fred Campos. These five board members will join Rick Barnes, who will also serve as the tax assessor-collector beginning in 2025.

Barnes defeated Burgess in the March primary race for the Republican candidacy.

The three board members elected at-large are Matt Bryant, Eric Morris and Callie Rigney. Incumbent Rich DeOtte did not seek reappointment.


According to biography information listed on the TAD website, Alfred, a fifth-generation Texan, is a lawyer who lives in Colleyville and is a former candidate for the Grapevine-Colleyville ISD school board.

Campos, a lifelong resident of Tarrant County, has served as a trustee on the Hurst-Euless-Bedford ISD School Board since 2015.

TAD’s website states the official results will be released Dec. 30 and the new board members will begin their terms Jan. 1.

The backstory


TAD’s primary role is to assess the value of properties—both real and personal—within the county for taxation purposes, according to its website. This process directly impacts the amount of property taxes homeowners, business owners and other property owners in the county will pay on an annual basis.

The TAD board approved a reappraisal plan despite objections from numerous school districts during an Aug. 9 meeting in Fort Worth.

According to prior Community Impact reporting, the changes that were formally approved in the meeting were voted on during a July 22 special meeting, where the board passed:
  • Reappraisal every two years instead of every year
  • Freezing residential property values for tax year 2024-25 at current property values, except for new construction
  • Setting appraisal caps or thresholds of 5% on properties, absent clear and convincing evidence or other possible limitations
Jonathan Pastusek, Northwest ISD Chief Financial Officer, said the district could lose up to $10 million with the changes in the reappraisal.

“Helping the taxpayers will hurt school districts,” he said after the Aug. 9 meeting.


Northwest ISD Superintendent Mark Foust echoed the impact the change could have. He said NISD is operating with a $16 million deficit for the fiscal year 2024-25 and further cuts could lead to the district eliminating programs or teaching positions.

Board Member Callie Rigney, a former Colleyville City Council member, said taxpayers should be the TAD board’s priority.

“People are literally getting taxed out of their homes,” Rigney said after the Aug. 9 meeting. “And without taxpayers, you don’t have a school district.”