With 100 of 100 Election Day precincts reporting and all early votes counted in Montgomery County, 54.64% of voters approved Willis ISD's $100.15 million bond. The district did not immediately provide a statement on election night.
Meanwhile, Paulette Traylor garnered the most votes for Position 2 on the board of trustees, with 54.81% of votes. Traylor said she is "thrilled" to have won.
"I'd like to thank all my supporters that came out and made this possible for me," she said. "Without their support, this would not have happened."
Charles (Coach) Perry Sr. earned the most votes for Position 6, with 56.68%. Community Impact Newspaper was unable to find contact information for Perry for comment on election night.
Updated 8:05 p.m.
A slight majority of voters are in favor of Willis ISD's $100.15 million bond, based on early voting totals by the Montgomery County Elections Office.
With early votes counted, 8,767, or 54.14% of early voters are supportive of the school district's Proposition A, a proposal for the issuance of bonds for the construction of and renovation of school buildings, with no property tax rate increase projected. Meanwhile, 7,426 have voted against it.
Proposition A includes: new gyms at Turner, Meador, Cannan and Parmley Elementary, at $2.16 million each; classroom additions at Lucas Middle School, at $14.06 million; a new $21.88 million pre-K center; and $55.57 million in facility improvements.
The district had originally called for a $175 million bond package with three propositions for the May election but pushed it to November due to the pandemic. In August, the board of trustees cancelled this bond package, choosing to present just Proposition A. Due to the economic conditions created by the pandemic, the board felt it was not the right time to call for this bond, where there could have been a maximum tax rate increase of $0.07 per $100 valuation, WISD Superintendent Tim Harkrider said.
Although the language of the ballot states, "This is a property tax increase," Proposition A will not increase the district's tax rate, Harkrider said.
For more information about the bond, click here.
Board of trustees
In addition to the bond election, the board of trustees has two contested positions.
Paulett Traylor leads the race for WISD board of trustees Position 2, and Charles (Coach) Perry, Sr. is leading for Position 6, based on early voting totals from the Montgomery County Elections Office.
Perry has garnered 7,391 votes, or 56.39%, while opponent and incumbent Michelle Bischof has 5,716 votes, or 43.61%, as of 7:20 p.m. Traylor has 7,246 votes, or 55.19%, while John Thompson has 1,282 votes, or 9.76%; Scott Carson has 2,582 votes, or 19.66%; and James Bishop has 2,020 votes, or 15.38%.
Results are updated as of 8:05 p.m. and are unofficial until they are canvassed and certified by the county clerk. Under Texas election law, the clerk accepts and counts mail-in ballots postmarked by Election Day and received by Nov. 4, if they were sent from inside the U.S., or Nov. 9 if they were sent from outside the U.S.
Visit communityimpact.com/voter-guide/election-results to see results from all local elections in your community.
