'Water wars' in Texas town may keep 650 students from going back to school

UPDATE: All schools in the La Villa Independent School District were closed Monday due to the unresolved dispute over water rates and payments. Classes will likely be cancelled at least through Wednesday when an administrative hearing will be held with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to find a resolution.

January 13, 2:24 p.m

More than 600 students in a southern Texas town may be barred from attending school on Monday due to an impasse over water payments between the school district and the city. 

The city has cut off water to the La Villa Independent School District for refusing to pay $58,000 in water bills. School officials say the city raised the water use charges to $14 for each student in early 2013 after coming to an agreement to charge $6 per student and staff member in December of 2011. The city argues that the additional money is needed to fund an improved water plant that is in desperate need of repairs and upgrades.