Del Valle ISD board president abruptly resigns

Del Valle ISD board president resigns

Del Valle ISD board president Rebecca Birch resigned on Wednesday in response to the reappointment of a previously-resigned board member.

DEL VALLE, Texas - Del Valle ISD board president Rebecca Birch abruptly resigned on Wednesday in response to the reappointment of a previously-resigned board member. Birch had held the position for 12 years.

"I would like to thank the community of Del Valle for a wonderful 12 years," Birch said. "It has been an honor to serve you, and it is with a heavy heart that I must resign this position that I love so dearly effective immediately."

Birch started the meeting by unleashing a number of allegations against fellow board members, including threatening, harassing, intimidating, and participating in inappropriate relationships with district employees.

"I have tried to overcompensate for board members that sat on this dialsand didn't have the time to do their job in which you entrusted them to do: simply reading an agenda packet or doing what was required of them as board of trustees," Birch said at the meeting.

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The grievance that seemed to be a breaking point for Birch was the reappointment of Damian Pantoja.

Last June, Pantoja was forced to step down from the Del Valle ISD board after filing a homestead exemption outside the district's boundaries. His seat has remained vacant since he left.

"The straw that broke the camel's back was the immoral behavior last Thursday evening when they agreed to bring somebody back on this board that knowingly and intentionally falsified documents which seemed to be in an attempt to defraud Travis County," Birch said. "I can no longer for my conscience or my mental well-being sit in this incompetent behavior."