Here's why Del Valle ISD appointed the same board member after 9 months with vacancy
After almost nine months without a representative on the Del Valle school board, residents in District 2 will have a trustee representing their area after a majority of the board agreed Thursday to appoint Damián Pantoja, who previously held the seat.
The 5-3 vote came down after months of failed attempts by the board to agree on a new board member for the seat, which became vacant due to a homestead tax exemption within another district that Pantoja said he unintentionally filed.
After interviewing three candidates for the District 2 seat during a closed session Thursday night, the eight board members, in a split vote in open session, appointed Pantoja, returning him to his position.
More: Del Valle school trustee claims homestead exemption in Austin, triggers ouster from office
The Del Valle school board normally operates with nine members, though it had only had eight while the District 2 seat remained unfilled.
Board President Rebecca Birch and members Richard Rendon and Ann Heuberger voted against Pantoja’s appointment. After securing a majority with Pantoja, the board didn't vote on the other two applicants.
Pantoja had been on the Del Valle school board representing District 2 since 2019, when he was appointed to fill a vacant seat. He won the election in 2020 for the four-year term with 66% of the vote.
District 2 represents a compact area of the Del Valle district, largely from East Riverside Drive and East Oltorf Street between South Pleasant Valley Road and Montopolis Drive. The district includes parts of the Montopolis neighborhood and several multifamily apartments.
Pantoja said Thursday he is excited to get back to work.
“I'm just excited to be back on,” Pantoja said. “I’ve been fighting. It took a lot of growth for me to be patient and understand the process and be prepared for the decision.”
The District 2 seat has been vacant since June, when Pantoja got a homestead exemption on a property within the Austin school district, which effectively disqualified him for the Del Valle school board office. The board that month voted to acknowledge the vacancy, but district officials at the time said Pantoja had been automatically removed when he sought the homestead exemption outside the district.
School board members must live within the district they represent. A homestead exemption claims a property as the owner’s primary residence.
At the time, Pantoja’s lawyer said seeking the homestead exemption had been a mistake and that Pantoja continued living in the Del Valle district.
State rules allow school board members to choose between appointing a new member or holding a special election when a seat becomes vacant, according to guidance from the Texas Association of School Boards.
Typically, boards must fill the vacancy within 180 days — or six months — if the office has more than a year remaining in the term, according to state code.
The Texas Secretary of State’s Office didn’t immediately return American-Statesman inquiries about any potential penalties school boards could be subject to if they pass the 180-day deadline without filling a board vacancy.
Last month, Del Valle board members met to appoint a new board member to the vacant seat but couldn't reach a majority agreement. Pantoja and David Albert, who ran against Pantoja in 2020, had applied for the seat. The board had initially failed to come to a majority consensus during a vote in September.
Birch noted Thursday that Pantoja will be officially reinstated on the board during a regularly scheduled meeting Tuesday.
Pantoja's appointment came a day before Del Valle school Superintendent Annette Tielle announced she planned to retire in December to spend more time with her family. Tielle has been with the district seven years and served as superintendent since 2020.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Del Valle ISD appoints ex-board member Damián Pantoja to retake seat
