The Denton County District Attorney’s Office has agreed to place two Denton ISD administrators on pretrial diversion after both were indicted for electioneering in April. Rick Hagen, the attorney representing Jesús and Lindsay Luján, said there will be neither a judge nor a conviction.
“As long as a person on pre-trial diversion abides by the terms of the agreement, the prosecution will dismiss the criminal case, and the person is eligible to have the charges expunged,” Hagen said in a statement.
Jesús Luján is principal at Borman Elementary School, and Lindsay Luján is the district’s director of special education programs. Attorney General Ken Paxton filed an injunction against the two administrators, who are married, last April after the discovery and publication of separate emails each sent to their schools.
In the emails sent to the staffs at Borman and Alexander Elementary School, where Lindsay Luján was principal at the time, the two urged staffers to vote in the Republican primary election for candidates who aren’t in favor of school vouchers.
Vouchers, or education savings accounts, were a contentious issue during the 88th Texas Legislature and ultimately gridlocked lawmakers. By the end of the session, state lawmakers didn’t increase the funding allotment for schools, and the booming North Texas region has seen school districts funded at 2019 levels, operating on deficit budgets and closing campuses.
Denton ISD started the 2024-25 school year with a deficit budget and more than 100 full-time positions unfilled. The district had to delay the opening of one of two elementary schools originally scheduled to open last week.
Paxton said both emails violate the Texas Election Code forbidding electioneering among school officials, and Jace Yarbrough, a Republican attorney who went on to lose a runoff election against Brent Hagenbuch to represent Texas Senate District 30, filed an affidavit to trigger a criminal investigation of the Lujáns. Yarborough filed the affidavit with the Liberty Justice Center, a nonprofit litigation firm based in Chicago.
Hagen described his clients as “dedicated public servants and passionate about educating children.”
“They have dedicated their lives to ensuring that all students are provided the best possible education,” Hagen said. “Their enthusiasm and passion for our school children is unsurpassed.”
Denton ISD was among seven school districts Paxton filed electioneering injunctions against this year. The others were Aledo, Denison, Castleberry, Hutto, Huffman and Frisco.
Hagen said the case involved two educators urging staff members to exercise their right to vote but said their mistake was doing so electronically.
“Several politicians have made comments regarding this case,” Hagen said. “School funding is a volatile issue in Texas. Schools across the state are closing, and class sizes are increasing. Instead of using this case for political advantage, politicians need to focus on fixing the problem.”