Updated May 12 at 1:30 p.m. with quote from Ashley Vann.
Voters elected two new members to the Katy ISD school board May 10, Ashley Vann and Courtney Doyle, to fill positions 3 and 4 respectively, while position 5 incumbent Henry Dibrell was re-elected for another term.
Board newcomer Vann unseated the incumbent, Bill Proctor, by better than 2 votes to 1. Vann tallied a total of 2,620 votes to Proctor's 1,285.
"I am pleased that the voters in this year's Katy ISD Board of Trustees election overwhelming chose for me to serve in Position 3," said Vann, 42, who works as a homemaker and volunteer. "It is my plan to work hard, be present, ask the relevant questions and always vote on district matters in a way that best serves the students, staff and taxpayers of Katy ISD. I look forward to being a part of great things in Katy ISD."
She said in interviews leading up to the election that properly managing the growth of the district and ensuring the safety of students are her top two priorities.
Doyle, 39, also won her seat with a healthy showing at the ballot box. She beat out two other contenders, incumbent Terry Huckaby and another challenger, Jennifer Camero. Huckaby totaled 1,023 votes, while Camero trailed with 363 votes.
Doyle, a stay at home mom, campaigned on her desire to be a voice on the board for residents who are from some of the newer developments in the Katy area.
"As a board member I would like to help rebuild trust so that the board can work with the community to handle this growth in the most fiscally responsible manner," Doyle said in a question and answer interview leading up to the election.
Dibrell and his opponent Cyndi Lawrence had the closest race of the day. Dibrell ultimately earned back his seat by 63 percent of the votes (2,461) to her 37 percent (1,430).
Dibrell has been on the board since May 2011 and served as its treasurer. He works as the Executive Director of the Amobi Okoye Foundation and is a licensed minister. Dibrell campaigned on, among other things, his support for expanding educational opportunities in the district, including workforce-ready programs, ROTC units, STEM initiatives and other programs.
He said that the board has two sets of residents it must be concerned about. The first are the students, the second are the taxpayers.
"For [students] we need to fight for academic achievement coupled with extracurricular programs to insure student success," Dibrell said in a pre-election question and answer interview. "The taxpayers [are] the ones paying the bills, we need to strengthen Katy ISD financially and work with business to expand our business tax base," he said.
The May 10 election are not official until the Katy ISD Board of Trustees canvasses the results. A meeting for that purpose is scheduled for May 19. New board members are slated to be sworn in at the same meeting.
