Trustees Renae Mitchell and Claudia Yañez were the dissenting votes.
The gist
According to district officials, the resolution has been under consideration by the district's policy committee. Per the resolution, which will go into effect in 2026, trustee terms will remain three years in length.
Places 6 and 7, currently held by trustees Jean Mayer and Chevonne Lorigo-Johst, are the only seats up for election next year and will be the first under the new election cycle.
Offering input
Mitchell suggested suspending the vote, saying the resolution gives the current seated board five additional months in office and could have potential new trustees starting in the midst of a school year.
"I don't want it to seem as if we're doing this to benefit the current board or some current issues or things that may be happening," Mitchell said. "I want us to be very intentional about this and to think this through a little bit more than what we have."
Trustee Alex Okafor, who is part of the policy committee, said the process behind changing the policy was rooted in saving the district money by moving to a November election cycle and boosting voter turnout.
District officials said that while election costs vary each year, PfISD could have saved approximately $130,000 if elections were held in November for the past two years.
"I just feel personally that as a trustee, as a volunteer role, we shouldn't be costing our district extra dollars and we need to make that sacrifice in order to create a better experience for our students," Okafor said. "I believe voter participation would be ramped up. ... If we could get more people from the community participating in these elections, it's a bigger voice."
Looking ahead
With places 6 and 7 up for election next year, the candidate filing date deadline will now shift to August.
