Clear Creek ISD will swear in three new school board trustees next week after a recount was conducted for the May 1 District 5 trustee election.
In accordance with the Texas Election Code and the secretary of state rules and procedures, CCISD held an electronic recount of the District 5 race results. Christine Parizo, a District 5 candidate, had filed a request for the recount, according to a district media release.
The recount committee met the morning of May 19, led by board President Laura DuPont and consisting of four members: Yanet Brister, Judith Fogelman, Lou Ann Hollis and Chair Beatriz Bentley, according to the May 18 order calling for a recount. Candidates had the opportunity to have two watchers in the room for the recount, per the release.
At the conclusion of the recount, the election results remained unchanged, and incumbent Jay Cunningham won re-election for District 5.
Unofficial results from earlier in the month indicated Cunningham received 1,406 votes, or 62%, with Parizo receiving 841 votes and Keith Esthay receiving 10. Two votes for Parizo were not in the originally posted unofficial results since these were provisional ballots the district was waiting to receive back from county officials, CCISD officials said. The two votes were included in the final canvass, which was approved by the board May 10 and states Parizo received 843 votes. The recount confirmed her total was 843.
Per state regulations, Parizo is liable for paying certain costs associated with the recount since the recount did not change the race's outcome. She incurred a total of $335 in costs, CCISD Chief Communications Officer Elaina Polsen said via email; $300 of these costs were for a deposit, and the remaining costs were for the hourly rate of election officials and a service fee.
District taxpayers will pay a total $2,690 for machine technicians involved in the recount, according to an invoice from election technology company Hart InterCivic. These fees cannot be sent to the candidate who requested the recount, Polsen said.
Cunningham will be sworn into office at the May 24 board meeting, Polsen said via email May 19, along with Jonathan Cottrell for at large Position A and Jeff Larson for District 4. Cunningham has been involved in PTA for more than a decade and has served on various district committees, Community Impact Newspaper previously reported.
