The Travis County Taxpayers Union filed a lawsuit against Round Rock ISD over its approved tax rate Sept. 29.
An original petition filed by the TCTU alleges that the RRISD board of trustees acted in "bad faith" when five of its members voted to approve its tax rate during a Sept. 14 meeting. The suit also alleges that the board acted inappropriately in limiting available seating and used district police improperly to enforce a capacity restriction.
The suit, filed in Travis County district court, alleges the board violated the tax code by not having enough board members vote to ratify the tax rate. Two of the board's seven members were absent, resulting in a 4-1 vote, which the lawsuit alleges failed to meet the threshold of 60% of the board approving the measure—60% of seven is 4.2. The TCTU also claims limiting seating in the meeting room violates the Opens Meeting Act.
Community Impact Newspaper previously reported that capacity had been limited for seating inside the lecture hall for three meetings up to that point, with the meeting streamed to the cafeteria and overflow seating added to allow for social distancing, according to the board. The practice is in line with what several neighboring districts did durning the pandemic.
