Midland, Texas (CNN) A Midlanders school district board member is taking aim at a controversial fund that funds public school construction and renovation projects in the region, saying it has been used for partisan purposes.
The Midland Independent School District is seeking to block the fund from being used by the Texas Education Agency to pay for construction of a new high school in the town, according to a lawsuit filed Tuesday in the state District Court.
The school district’s board member, Daniele Giamati, is suing the agency over its contract with the Midland Area School District.
The district’s contract with Midland is for the purchase of up to $1.5 million in state funds to build the new high-school, which is scheduled to open in the fall of 2019.
The contract also allows for the school district to use up to one-third of that amount to pay the Midlands construction costs.
The lawsuit, filed Tuesday, alleges that Midland’s contract for the new school “violates the state constitution and other state and federal laws that require public schools to provide equal access to all students regardless of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability.”
The lawsuit is seeking monetary damages for violations of the Texas Constitution, the state’s fair housing laws and the state Fair Labor Standards Act.
Giamati says the Midlanders contract violates the Constitution because the Midlimes’ contract includes a provision that allows the school to use the money to pay “for the actual cost of the construction.”
The school board has not responded to CNN’s request for comment.
Midland is a predominantly African American and Hispanic suburb of Houston.
It sits just south of the border and near the site of the proposed new Texas Capitol.
