Three positions on the Spring Branch ISD Board of Trustees were up for election on May 7.  According to unofficial results, Lisa Alpe won the election for Position 5; John Perez won the election for Position 6; and Caroline Bennett won the election for position 7.  All three won their elections by more than 30 percentage points.  Alpe got 67.2 percent of the record 13,415 votes cast for Position 5 Trustee, beating out incumbent Position 5 trustee J. Carter Breed who got the other 32.8 percent. view article

Bastrop school district voters returned all three incumbents to the board after only one received a challenge and defeated his opponent in an election Saturday.  Bastrop school board president Ashley Mutschink fended off a challenge by Joseph B. Thompson with more than 64% support from voters. Mutschink received 1,966 votes compared to Thompson’s 1,095.  This was Thompson’s second time vying for a seat on the school board after running unsuccessfully last year against incumbent Kellye Seekatz.  School board members Chris Dillon and Matthew Mix were unopposed in their reelection bids.  view article

SUGAR LAND, Texas — Orjanel Lewis had been asleep for less than two hours when her alarm went off Saturday morning. The 35-year-old attorney and mother of two had been out past 4 a.m., crisscrossing the sprawling suburbs southwest of Houston to put up last-minute campaign signs outside almost 40 voting locations. Now, as the sun rose on election day, Lewis slipped on a bright green campaign T-shirt, got her children, ages 5 and 7, dressed, then loaded them into the car. view article

An Election Day push by voters put the Rev. Kallie Pitcock over the top in the race to replace retiring Nacogdoches ISD board member Pam Fitch. Pitcock led a tight four-person race after early voting but received 152 votes Saturday — more than anyone single candidate up and down the ballot — to get 533 total votes, according to unofficial election results. view article

Now that Greenville ISD’s proposed $169.4 million facility bond was defeated, the district will likely need to purchase portable buildings or explore other options to accommodate expected enrollment growth. Voters shot down the bond proposition 1,402-1,073, or about 57% to 43%. In a statement after Saturday’s election, GISD Supt. Sharon Boothe said, “We respect our voters' decision, and we will focus on our future plans to best serve our students with the aging facilities we have. “We will need to purchase or lease portable buildings, and will consider making the necessary adjustments in relocating students and staff to other facilities as needed,” Boothe added. “We will study this closely and will share details when final plans are made. view article

Retired school official Nanette Weimer has defeated business owner Trent Perez and physician’s assistant Ellen Kuo to win the Pearland ISD Position 7 trustee seat, according to unofficial results. Weimer, who recently retired from the school district as a deputy superintendent, said during the campaign that she’s committed to making sure students graduate and said she’s worked to mentor both students and parents to make it happen. view article

Saturday's election day in Texas has come and gone but there are a few local races that are still hanging in the balance. Some have headed into recounts. It could affect who gets to make big decisions in two large school districts in North Texas. The races involve open seats on boards in Dallas ISD, Dallas College, and Frisco ISD. In Dallas County, county election officials are working through pending votes and late-arriving mail-in ballots, which they said should be completed by this Friday. Results in a three-candidate race for the District 1 seat on Dallas college's board are headed toward a recount and potentially a runoff. This seat encompasses North Dallas and Lake Highlands. view article

CLAUDE, Texas — A school district near Amarillo will have a fresh perspective on their board of trustees after one graduating senior was elected to the board via write-in vote over the weekend.  Carsen Roberts, an 18-year-old senior at Claude High School, was elected to the Claude ISD Board of Trustees during the May 7 election, beating four other candidates. County election results show Roberts won with 158 votes, beating the runner-up the race, Lea Lee, by just 12 votes. view article

CLAUDE, Texas (KVII) — A Claude High School senior won a seat on the school board as a write-in candidate. Carsen Roberts finished with 26% of the vote, the most of any candidate. Incumbent Leah Lee earned 24% of the vote to maintain her seat. Clause ISD Board of Trustees view article

The Denton County elections administrator said Monday he doesn’t expect overseas ballots to swing a Denton ISD school board race in incumbent Douglas Chadwick’s direction view article

Voters across North Texas went to the polls Saturday to elect school board trustees and city council members, as well as approve or reject two property tax-related amendments to the Texas Constitution. These are the unofficial results for select school board elections in Collin, Dallas, Denton and Tarrant counties. view article

All but one of the 11 Tarrant County conservative school board candidates, who were backed this year by several high-profile donors and big-money PACs, defeated their opponents during Saturday’s statewide election, according to unofficial election results. The one candidate backed by the groups who didn’t win outright advances to a runoff election in June. The 10 candidates won the school board races for the Grapevine-Colleyville, Keller, Mansfield and Carroll school districts. The candidates' sweep shows a large swath of voters across the county responded to their calls to eradicate so-called critical race theory from classrooms and remove books discussing LGBTQ issues, which concerned parents have described as “pornographic.” Education experts, school administrators and teachers all say that critical race theory, a university-level concept that examines the institutional legacies of racism, is not taught in classrooms.    (9) view article

With margins within a few dozen votes, two Dallas County education races are still in the balance days after Saturday’s municipal election.  Results in a three-candidate race for a seat on Dallas College’s board and the lone contested DISD race could flip, as county election officials work through pending votes and late arriving mail-in ballots.  For a mail-in ballot to be included in the final results, it must be postmarked by 7 p.m. Saturday to be considered.  The process for reviewing provisional and mail-in ballots that were rejected or are pending review will be completed by 4:30 p.m. Friday, said Nicholas Solorzano, Dallas County Elections communications director.  Recounts in at least one of the races are still in play. view article

Denton school board President Douglas Chadwick said Saturday night he won’t concede an exceedingly close race with challenger Amy Bundgus, though Bundgus finished the evening with 50.2% of the vote. Results are final but unofficial. Voters returned incumbents Charles Stafford and Mia Price in Places 5 and 4, respectively. Chadwick and Bundgus’ Place 3 race drew the most votes of any Denton County contest on Saturday, with 18,575 votes. The Denton mayoral race earned 15,909 ballots in comparison. view article

Complete but unofficial results show Lisa Andrews Alpe was elected to the Position 5 seat, John Perez was elected to the Position 6 seat, and Caroline H. Bennett was elected to the Position 7 seat. Each board member serves a three-year term. Alpe received 9,015 votes in the complete but unofficial results, defeating incumbent trustee J. Carter Breed, who received 4,400 votes for the Position 5 seat. John Perez received 8,744 votes for the Position 6 seat in the complete but unofficial results, defeating Laura M. Mafridge who received 870 votes and, Ed Kaczenski who received 3,707 votes. Caroline H. Bennett received 8,705 votes for the Position 7 seat in the complete but unofficial results, defeating David Slattery, who received 4,295 votes and Jenny Morace, who received 335 votes. Complete but unofficial results also show that voters in Spring Branch ISD approved a $381.6 million bond referendum (Propositions A & B) with 73 percent of the vote. The district does not expect any tax rate increase as a result of this bond election. Learn more about the Bond 2022 package: www.springbranchisd.com/2022Bond read more

Two of the three incumbents seeking reelection to the North East Independent School District board lost to challengers backed by a political action committee that staked out conservative positions on national culture war issues. Diane Sciba Villarreal defeated trustee Omar Leos with 58 percent of the vote in unofficial returns to claim the District 3 seat on the board. “I’m very excited and absolutely thrilled,” Villarreal said. “We worked really hard and got out and block walked. …It was such a team effort.” Leos, the fine arts coordinator at Harlandale ISD, has been a teacher or administrator for 23 years. view article

David Hamilton has won the May 7 race for Fort Bend ISD board of trustees Position 7, according to unofficial voting data provided by Fort Bend County. As of 7:25 a.m., May 8, Fort Bend County is reporting early, absentee and election day vote totals from 65 of 65 vote centers. Hamilton won the race with 8,365 votes —47.95% of the vote— followed by Orjanel Kianna Lewis, who had 7,821 votes, or 44.83% of the vote. Candidate Shell McClue has 1,261 votes, or 7.23% of the vote. The Position 7 incumbent, Dave Rosenthal, decided not to run for re-election. Hamilton, who has called Fort Bend home for over a decade with his wife, Katie, ran for the school board position for the May 7 election coming from a family of educators, with two parents that are retired teachers, Hamilton said in a Jan. 25 news release. Hamilton has recommended a more collaborative approach with the community, businesses, and parents to best ensure the future success of FBISD students. Hamilton has two children enrolled in Fort Bend ISD. He has previous experience in banking and oil and gas, and currently works in commercial insurance. view article

All three incumbent members re-secured their seats and will continue serving on AISD’s Board of Trustees. Craver secures second term on Abilene City Council Place 4 candidate Cindy Earles beat opponent Reini King by a vote of 62% to 38%. Earles is currently retired. Place 5 candidate Dr. Danny Wheat beat opponent Jeff Carr by a vote of 55% to 45%. Dr. Wheat is currently a physician. Place 6 candidate Billy Enriquez narrowly beat opponent Justin Anderson by a vote of 51% to 49%. Enriquez is also retired. view article

Final vote totals are in for the May 7 Lake Travis ISD board of trustees election for Places 3, 4 and 5. Small-business owner Erin Archer won the competition for Place 3 on the LTISD board of trustees, according to results from the Travis County Supervisor of Elections at 10:55 p.m. on May 7. Archer won with 56.48% of the vote, with a total of 5,916 votes. Lawyer Laurie Higginbotham finished the night with 43.52% and 4,559 votes. Incumbent John Aoueille won Place 4 with 56.93% and 5,918 votes. Kit Crumbley lost with 4,478 votes, or 43.07%. view article

CLUTE — Chris Dunn will serve another three years in Position 5 on the Brazosport ISD board, easily withstanding a challenge from businessman Mike Walls. First elected in 2019, Dunn earned a second term with 347 votes, or 72.29 percent of those cast, according to final, unofficial results released Saturday night by the Brazoria County Elections Office. Results are unofficial until canvassed by the school board. view article

The Celina ISD Board of Trustees is expected to be welcoming a new member to its ranks. According to final unofficial election results from Collin and Denton counties, challenger Dan Williams will be replacing incumbent Choc Christopher as the Place 2 member of the Celina ISD Board of Trustees. Results indicate Williams won 55% of the votes (834) over the 45% (686) garnered by Christopher. Also indicated is a win for Place 1 incumbent Chuck Hansen, who won 65% of the votes (929) over challenger Vicky Hogue, who won 35% (501). Results are not considered final until canvassed by the board. view article

Lufkin ISD candidates Allyson Langston and Delphina Maxie were elected to the district’s two at-large positions with 768 votes and 743 votes, respectively, during Saturday's municipal and school board elections. Candidate Joseph Ceasar received 630 votes.  Maxie said she was overjoyed and overwhelmed to have been elected to the school board. As a trustee, she hopes to work to ensure students in the district are getting the education they deserve. “I’m excited that the community trusted me to know that we’re going to get in there and do the work that we need to do to make our schools better for our children, for our teachers and everyone that is involved,” she said. “I’m ready to work. I know we have a lot of work to do, and I know we can make it happen.”  Langston was unavailable for comment late Saturday.  Incumbent Guessippina Bonner won the Ward 1 position for Lufkin City Council with 125 votes to Lynn Hargrow’s 41. view article

The next Southlake residents to assume Place 6 and Place 7 on the Carroll ISD school board of trustees have been decided. Alex Sexton accumulated the most votes on May 7 to fill the seat for Place 6, and incumbent Andrew Yeager gained the number of votes needed to take Place 7, according to unofficial vote tallies from Tarrant County. In total, Sexton accumulated 5,098 votes, or 71.37%, for the Place 6 seat. His opponent, Laura Durant, received 2,045 votes, or 28.63% in the campaign. For Place 7, Yeager accumulated 5,085 votes, or 70.92%. His opponent, Stephanie Williams, received 2,085 votes, or 29.08%. view article

Incumbents Heather Sheffield and Ellen Balthazar won reelection to the Eanes school board, according to unofficial final results. Incumbent Heather Sheffield defeated challenger Jim Withers in the race for Place 6 with 51.7% of the votes — or 4,094 votes total. Long-time incumbent Ellen Balthazar defeated two opponents, Jay Lamy and David Barrutia, in the race for Place 7 with 4,148 votes, or 52.6%. Lamy has 44.6% of the votes and Barrutia has 2.8%. view article

Sherry Clemens and Vanessa Pacheco are headed to a runoff in the Richardson ISD board of trustees District 2 race after no one received more than 50% of the vote May 7, according to unofficial results posted by Dallas County. Three candidates were on the ballot for the single-member District 2 seat: Clemens, a small-business owner, Pacheco, who is a business executive, and incumbent board member Eron Linn. Clemens came in first in the election with 1,722 votes, or 40.80%, while Pacheco received 1,681 votes, or 40.80%. Linn has 717 total votes, or 17.40%. view article

The Celina ISD Board of Trustees is expected to be welcoming a new member to its ranks. According to final unofficial election results from Collin and Denton counties, challenger Dan Williams will be replacing incumbent Choc Christopher as the Place 2 member of the Celina ISD Board of Trustees. Results indicate Williams won 55% of the votes (834) over the 45% (686) garnered by Christopher. Also indicated is a win for Place 1 incumbent Chuck Hansen, who won 65% of the votes (929) over challenger Vicky Hogue, who won 35% (501). Results are not considered final until canvassed by the board. view article

With all election day precincts reporting in Montgomery County, the three incumbents in the Magnolia ISD board of trustees races on May 7 will retain their seats on the board. Position 1 incumbent Dacia Owens received 1,767 votes, or 61.31% of the votes, winning her seat, while challenger Irma Dunmire received 705 votes, or 24.46% of the vote. Jordan Miles, who withdrew from the race but remained on the ballot, received 410 votes, or 14.23% of votes cast. view article

In Argyle ISD, voters elected Matthew Slaton to Place 6 and Joshua Westrom to Place 7. They also strongly supported the district’s $268 million bond package to address a surge in enrollment. view article

Unofficial election results are in for Lewisville ISD's 2022 election in Denton County. While the results of Tarrant County's elections is currently pending, and while Lewisville ISD's district does not have an election in Dallas County this year, all the precincts in Denton County have reported. The results on the Denton County Election Office's website are below as follows: view article

Rick Garcia has won the May 7 race for Position 3 on the Fort Bend ISD board of trustees, according to unofficial voting results from Fort Bend County. As of 7:09 a.m., Fort Bend County is reporting early, absentee and election day vote totals, with 65 of 65 vote centers reporting. Garcia received 9,102 votes—51.70% of the vote—while Rice received 8,503 votes, or 48.30%, of the votes. "It's been overwhelming for sure against such a heavyweight," Garcia said in an interview with Community Impact Newspaper. "I'm very grateful to the voters and will work hard as the teachers, parents and district need me." view article

Alamo Heights Independent School District voters reelected Brian C. Hamilton, the school board’s vice president, to a second term, and Southwest ISD incumbents also turned back challenges. Hamilton, 45, the chief operating officer of American Roofing & Metal Co. Inc., has been on the board for three years. He had 2,664 votes in unofficial returns, more than the combined total of his two challengers, Dr. Jane Lindell Hughes, an ophthalmic surgeon, who had 1,622, and Dr. Elise Kibler, a pediatrician, who had 252. Hamilton thanked those who voted for him and said the results showed the community’s endorsement of the district administration and its hard work. view article

Frisco ISD has released final unofficial election results for the three spots that were up for election on the district board of trustees.  With all precincts and vote centers reporting in Collin and Denton counties, reports indicate a win for Gopal Ponangi, Marvin Lowe and Stephanie Elad for places 1, 2 and 3 respectively. Results are not considered official until canvassed. Frisco ISD has said its canvassing date is scheduled for May 18.  According to the Frisco ISD elections webpage: "There are no runoff elections; the candidate who receives the most votes (a combined total from Collin and Denton counties) wins the seat on the School Board."  view article

Three spots are up for election tonight on the Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD Board of Trustees, and whoever gains the most votes will be sworn in.  In 2016, CFBISD began allowing cumulative voting, which allows voters to cast as many votes as there are board member seats up for election. In addition, voters may use all of their votes for one candidate or distribute them among multiple candidates, according to the district website. The candidates who get the highest number of votes for the number of open positions will be elected.   According to unofficial election numbers as of 11 p.m. , Ileana Garza-Rojas leads with 4,276 (26%) votes. Tara Hrbacek has 3,887 (23%) votes. Randy Shackman follows with  3,787(23%) votes. Kim Brady has 2,843 (17%) votes.  James Allen has 1,761 (11%) votes. view article

Ahead of a recent debate for the local school board, the Frisco Chamber of Commerce made rules to ensure that candidates running for the three open seats did not derail the event. As the forum in the northern Dallas suburb commenced, hosts Tony Felker, the president of the business organization, and Christal Howard, the Dallas–Fort Worth publisher of Community Impact Newspaper, set clear guidelines: each candidate would be allowed to respond to opponents only with “civil” challenges. The debate for the first open seat on the seven-member board, contested between Angela Dunford, a conservative pharmaceutical research contractor, and incumbent Gopal Ponangi, a liberal information technology consultant, adhered to the guidelines. The event appeared to be progressing in a civil manner. view article

The race for two Arlington school district seats has centered around higher teacher salaries and filling learning gaps caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, these contests haven't been immune to local politics and national discussions about race and sexual orientation in the classroom and on library shelves. School board incumbents Justin Chapa and David Wilbanks received blowback last fall from board meeting attendees when they proposed extending mask mandates and joining other school systems in suing Gov. Greg Abbott over his executive order limiting COVID-19 pandemic protocols. view article