The unofficial result of the the Katy ISD board of trustees election didn’t change after previously uncounted provisional ballots were tabulated Friday, district officials announced.
George Scott was still considered the unofficial winner of the Position 1 election after the district’s ballot board tallied 14 provisional votes on Friday. The extra ballots gave Scott a three-vote victory over 27-year incumbent Joe Adams.
George Scott[/caption]After the extra ballots were counted, Scott had 1,475 votes, or 50.05 percent, to Adams’ 1,472 votes, or 49.95 percent.
Scott—who had a seven-vote lead after the May 7 election—is still the unofficial winner of the race, pending the results being canvassed and made official by the board of trustees. The KISD board of trustees is scheduled to vote on the results at their May 23 meeting. Scott and incumbent Rebecca Fox—who ran unopposed for the Position 2 seat and was re-elected on May 7—are both set to be sworn in at the meeting after the vote.
Denisse Cantu Coffman, KISD’s director of communications, said district officials do not plan to conduct a recount of the vote unless one of the candidates asks for a recount.
After the initial election results were released May 7, Adams said he would ask for a recount if he was still the loser after the provisional ballots had been tabulated.
Adams said although he is unhappy with the outcome of the election, he will not decide on whether to file for a recount or not at this time.
“We’re still disappointed with the results,” Adams said. “The margin has grown smaller, but in terms of asking for a recount, I will make that decision over the weekend.”
Joe Adams[/caption]Scott, who hesitated to celebrate after Saturday’s initial results were released, said he is still preparing himself for a variety of different possibilities.
“I’m terribly delighted to have been unofficially elected after the ballot board [meeting],” Scott said. “Joe still has his rights. Whatever decision Joe makes, he’ll make in what he thinks is the best interest of his family and the district.”
Scott said the board of trustees has allowed him to sit in on this week’s interviews of six candidates seeking to be hired as the district’s next superintendent. Scott said his role has only been observational, but he said the gesture has gone a long way toward an approach of transparency by the district.
“The school board has been extremely gracious in allowing me to participate in superintendent interviews,” Scott said. “It’s a major step forward in what I hope, if everything goes the way we think it is, that we’ll be able to build some bridges. The election indicates that it’s still a very divided community. There’s some bridges to build in this community, and I want to try to do that.”
Scott also said during the superintendent interviews, he and Adams have been together in the same room together for hours during the interview process.
“I will say that Joe has been nothing but professional and cordial as the board has allowed me to sit in on the superintendent interviews over the past several days,” he said. “I have a lot of praise with the way Joe has handled the personal situations over the last three days.”
Adams agreed that despite the election results, the interviews were conducted with respect on all sides.
“Everybody conducted themselves in a professional manner,” Adams said.
