KATY, Texas — There's a brand new Katy ISD Board of Trustees with three new board members sworn in just hours ago. The major shakeup to the school board comes after a divisive election fueled by outside conservative PAC money.
At the board meeting Monday, some people in the community called them "PAC puppets."
"I was quite disappointed in the election results here," Katy ISD parent Alfredo Castro said. "It's going too extreme. It's becoming too partisan."
The board only has seven members so the three new ones will have an impact on many decisions.
Realtor Amy Thieme, stay-at-home mom Morgan Calhoun and substitute teacher Mary Ellen Cuzela won their races easily. They were all endorsed by the conservative PAC Texans for Educational Freedom. The group spent thousands of dollars on mailers with misleading negative attacks about other less extreme candidates. It's a tactic they used in districts across the state.
"It was a bunch of lies just to get on a volunteer position," Castro said. "It's outrageous how much money was spent on a volunteer position."
It's not just some parents who are worried. Students voiced concerns about what the new board could do regarding book bans and LGBTQ rights.
"It shouldn't be about your political party," Katy ISD senior Logan McLean said. "It's about the students. It's about our education."
How the board will vote on future policy is impossible to predict, but the three new trustees helped elect Victor Perez as new board president and newcomer Thieme vice president.
"When you come in with these PACs you're beholden to them," Castro said. "They will expect something in return. They'll expect your votes to be a certain way."
The district says turnout this year in Katy ISD was higher than ever before, but still only about 5% of eligible voters.
KHOU 11 News tried speaking with the new trustees, but we were told that wasn't possible.