Updated Nov. 4 at 9 a.m. With all precincts reporting, unofficial results in the Cy-Fair ISD school board election show Darcy Mingoia narrowly winning a tight race for Position 3 and Debbie Blackshear with a convincing victory in the race for Position 4. Mingoia, the only incumbent of the four candidates running for the two contested seats, is posed to defeat challenger Natalie Blasingame with 51.76 percent of the vote—a total of 16,292 votes to Blasingame's 15,186 votes, or 48.24 percent. Blackshear defeated her opponent Pamela Redd with 70.14 percent of the vote, or 22,554 votes to Redd's 29.86 percent, or 9,603 votes. Mingoia, who will serve her second term on the board, said she wanted to capitalize on the board's excellent reputation to continue bringing advantages to CFISD students. "We must work to close all achievement gaps," she said. "We must work to correct inequities in school funding. We must involve increased numbers of parents and community members in our schools. CFISD’s quality of education is its most important advantage, and we must protect that asset." At an Oct. 12 candidate forum, Blackshear said one of her main goals was to ensure the district receives equitable funding at the state level. She has served a variety of organizations related to CFISD, including Community Leadership Committee, Cy-Fair Houston Chamber of Commerce and the Cy-Fair Education Foundation. “As a member of Community Leadership Committee, I have been talking about this with state legislators for a number of years,” she said. “It is ridiculous that our district should not be given our fair share of funding. I think its imperative that we continue hammering our elected officials until we get this issue resolved.” Trustees Tom Jackson and Christine Hartley are also up for election this November, running for positions 1 and 2, respectively. They are both running unopposed. The board of trustees is responsible for a variety of tasks, including approving budgets, contracts and personnel decisions, establishing and reviewing educational standards and goals, reflecting community standards and making decisions related to student welfare. Trustees serve on a volunteer basis for four-year terms. Trustees John Ogletree Jr., Don Ryan and Bob Covey will be up for election in 2017 for positions 5, 6 and 7, respectively. All results are unofficial until canvassed. Posted Nov. 3 at 7 p.m. With unofficial early voting results tallied in the Cy-Fair ISD school board election, Darcy Mingoia has the lead in a tight race for Position 3 while Debbie Blackshear is off to a strong start in the race for Position 4. Mingoia, the incumbent in the race, leads challenger Natalie Blasingame with 52.65 percent of the vote—a total of 7,601 votes to Blasingame's 6,837 votes, or 47.35 percent—while Blackshear holds 70.79 percent over Pamela Redd. Both Blackshear and Redd are new to the school board, running to replace trustee Kevin Hoffman, who is not seeking re-election. Mingoia is seeking her second term on the school board. She has pointed to the board’s recognition as outstanding school board of 2015 by the Texas Association of School Boards as a reason for her re-election. "CFISD has consistently produced high-level graduates despite financial constraints and fast growth," she said. Blasingame has focused her campaign on closing the achievement gap and providing more options for students with challenging schedules and obligations. She also said she believes the use of the separation of church and state to keep religion out of schools should be re-examined. “It’s a very touchy subject,” she said. “I believe this is an area to be explored for the greatness of all students. I believe it is over-interpreted. I think it basically shuts down educators from being able to be their full selves in school. Children are not able to exercise their values in conversations. I think we should train our staff to know what’s OK and allow for more personalization toward the goal of producing more well-rounded students.” Blackshear said her familiarity with the district and the issues it faces makes her the best candidate in the race for Position 4. "I have served on three previous CFISD bond committees and co-chaired last year’s $1.2 billion Long Range Planning Committee," she said. "It has helped me to understand their challenges and needs as well as to have a better understanding of the education profession." Redd, a principal with Spring Branch ISD who has served CFISD in volunteer capacities, said she hopes to continue the excellent work being done by the board while reaching out to students who are struggling. "As we grow, the demographics of the district mirror the demographics of the city and the state," she said. "Yet, the state has not resolved the funding issue to provide equitable funding for school districts–funding which is required to meet the needs of every student. To complicate matters, the state testing requirements have become a moving target; the test becomes more difficult every year, and the number of items needed to pass is also increasing."