With the polls closed at 7 p.m. and ballots counted, unofficial election results from the Hays County Elections Office show the two incumbent candidates running for San Marcos CISD board of trustee at-large seats winning.

Trustees Anne Halsey and John McGlothlin have received 1,067 votes, or 47.15 percent; and 968 votes, or 42.78 percent, respectively. Newcomer James McCutcheon has come in third place with 228 votes, or 10.08 percent.

Since the seats are at large, the top two vote-getters are named the winners.

This will be McGlothlin's and Halsey's second term on the school board. Each school board trustee serves three-year staggered terms.

Both McGlothlin and Halsey were endorsed by the San Marcos Educators Association, a local branch of the Texas State Teachers Association.

During the election, the two incumbents touted their success on the board in the last three years. Together with the seven other trustees, they were able to reduce class sizes, passed a more-than-$100-million bond to increase capacity and update several school campuses, and most recently, gave educators the largest compensation increase in the district's history.

McGlothlin said the fact that he and Halsey received a similar amount of early and absentee votes—527 and 609, respectively—was a "positive affirmation of the incumbency".

He credited the direction the school board took during his first term to bring down class sizes and increase compensation for employees as a way to bring out the voters in he and Halsey's favor.

"[Voters] are speaking loudly that they want that direction to continue," he said.

Halsey said she also heard from many voters who were grateful about the three percent pay increases.

"I am extremely grateful to all the partners and teachers and citizens of San Marcos who have entrusted me to continue in this capacity for another three years. I love this district, I love these kids ,and I want to see San Marcos CISD continue to do amazing things," she said.

McCutcheon's top item on his platform was school safety. While Halsey and McGlothlin both said they felt their own children were safe inside SMCISD's buildings, McCutcheon called for tighter security, more staff manning the doors and floated the idea of randomly searching students' backpacks during a Facebook Live interview with Community Impact Newspaper.

McCutcheon said over the phone he wanted voters to be prepared for their taxes to rise now that McGlothlin and Halsey were getting another term on the board.

"I know those two will actually raise taxes and everybody can prepare for it," he said.

McCutcheon said he learned during the election that "teachers really don’t matter."

"That's what I learned from the Texas State Teachers Association," he said of the state organization whose local branch endorsed his opponents. McCutcheon was endorsed by Empower Texans, a nonprofit service organization whose aim is to "educate and inspire Texans to exercise effective citizenship", according to its website.

He said he was also saddened by the low voter turnout in the May 5 Election. According to the Hays County Elections Office, about 2.52 percent of registered voters living in the SMCISD district turned out to vote.

"I think it’s sad that we have a such a low voter turnout and nobody really takes an interest in the local elections," he said, adding he was thankful for those who turned up to vote for him.

All vote totals are unofficial until canvassed. Community Impact Newspaper will update this story throughout the night.