A candidate for the vacant spot on North East Independent School District’s board of trustees was sued by the district last year amid allegations she failed to pay property taxes in 2019 and 2020, court records obtained this week by KSAT Investigates show.
Jacqueline Klein owed a combined $8,429.14 in taxes, penalties and interest when she was sued by NEISD, Bexar County and the city of San Antonio in January 2022, lawsuit records show.
The most significant portion of that amount, $3,758.10, was owed to the school district Klein is now attempting to represent, records show.
A Bexar County district clerk official confirmed to KSAT that the suit is still pending, but did not have information on whether the total owed had gone up in the past 21 months.
Court records show Klein was unsuccessfully served in the case in May.
Klein, who is one of four candidates to replace the late Terri Williams as trustee for NEISD’s Single Member District 2, did not return a phone call and text message seeking comment Thursday.
Klein and the other candidates were interviewed by trustees Monday night. The board met in executive session for close to two hours before emerging just before 11 p.m. and informing attendees a vote on the replacement had been pushed to Friday at 8:30 a.m.
Klein, who sources say has the support of three of the six trustees, sparred at times with other trustees while she was interviewed over her past social media posts and her backing from a conservative political action committee.
Klein came up less than 80 votes shy of defeating Williams in the May 2022 election for the District 2 seat.
Williams passed away in early August after battling a lengthy illness.
Trustees have squabbled since Williams’ death about whether to allow voters to choose her replacement and then about how to conduct the interview process after the district missed the deadline to put the trustee position on the Nov. 7 ballot.
Klein declined to comment when asked by KSAT Monday night about her past political affiliations. She told a KSAT reporter he “clearly” didn’t understand politics before she walked away and got into a vehicle.
County records show the property at the center of the tax lawsuit is located just inside the western boundary of NEISD’s SMD 2.
The property has been solely in Klein’s name since May 2017, Bexar Appraisal District records show.
An NEISD spokeswoman confirmed Thursday that a person being sued by the district is not prohibited from holding office within the district.
She declined to provide additional comment on the situation.