Published: May 03, 2009 12:26 am      

Bonds, boards up for grabs Saturday

Palestine and Elkhart school district voters will take to the polls Saturday to determine the fate of bond elections designed to upgrade those districts’ facilities.

Polls will be open throughout the state on Election Day Saturday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Early voting remains in effect through Tuesday.

In the PISD, early ballots can be cast from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday and Tuesday at the district’s administration building.

Also, branch early voting in the PISD election is available at Story Elementary from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Monday. The Palestine Middle School cafeteria will additionally offer early voting from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Early voting in the Elkhart election will also continue Monday and Tuesday, with the polls open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the EISD administration building on both days.

The Palestine Independent School District’s $64 million bond election calls for improvements to all of the district’s campuses, with the high school receiving a near-total facelift and accounting for roughly half of the total bond.

Proponents point out the PISD has not passed a bond election since 1988, saying the district’s facilities have fallen into a steady decline and placed students at a disadvantage in some academic areas and extracurricular activities.

If passed, PISD officials say the average homeowner residing in the district would see their school taxes increase by 54 cents a day or $16.48 a month.

The $16 million bond election in the Elkhart Independent School District calls for the construction of a new high school on property owned by the district on U.S. 287.

The high school carries a projected pricetag of $19 million, but existing funds would cover $3 million of that cost, according to EISD officials.

EISD officials say the average homeowner in their district would see a $8.71 monthly increase in their school taxes if the bond issue is approved by voters.

Both the PISD and EISD also have contested school board elections.

In the PISD, incumbent Wade Hobbs is being challenged by former PISD Superintendent Jerry Mayo in the Place 2 race.

PISD board members Dyna Tutt and Janie Sepulveda are also up for re-election, but did not draw opposition.

The EISD will have two new board members as current trustees Sharon Davenport and David Mendiola are not seeking re-election.

In the race for Position 6 on the EISD board, Michael Hampton and Gary McShan are the candidates, while the Position 7 race is a three-way contest featuring Dale Crane, Charles R. McShan and Randy Smith.

The Westwood Independent School District canceled its school board election as incumbents Lisa Gilkey and Carey G. McKinney were the only candidates to file for office.

The same is true in the Frankston Independent School District as incumbents Carl House and Bob Whitehurst did not draw opponents.

In Cayuga, Jerry Don Kelley, Tammy Lightfoot, Donald Loving and Jody Radford will all earn three-year terms as the four candidates filed for four positions.

All except Lightfoot are holdovers from the previous board.

Lightfoot was the only person to file for the position previously held by her husband, Doug Lightfoot.

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Paul Stone may be contacted via e-mail at pstone@palestineherald.com