On Feb. 13, the San Marcos CISD board of trustees will discuss early voting locations for the May 6 election, which will include elections to decide trustees for districts 1, 2 and 3 as well as a possible bond election. If the district chooses to pursue a bond, trustees will likely make the decision at the Feb. 13 meeting. The deadline to call the bond election for the May 6 ballot is Feb. 17. Trustees had the option of determining early voting sites at a meeting Monday, but they opted to wait until a final decision of whether to place the bond on the ballot has been made. “I’m trying to understand why we’re meeting to talk about this today,” trustee Kathy Hansen said. “On Feb. 13 we’re meeting to talk about the proposed bond. I feel like we have the cart before the horse.” City Council will discuss and potentially approve voting sites for its bond on Tuesday. The district will likely split the cost of running the polling locations with the city of San Marcos. Assistant Superintendent Karen Griffith said she did not expect the district’s overall cost to hold the election to exceed previous years’ costs, which were typically $10,000-$15,000. If more early voting sites are added, that could increase the cost of the elections. The initial early voting sites included the Hays County Health Department, 401A Broadway St.; the Hays County Government Center, 712 S. Stagecoach Trail; Texas State University, 700 Student Center Drive; and San Marcos High School, 2601 Rattler Road. Trustees opted to wait to approve the early voting locations so that if a bond is called—which would affect each voter in the district—more early voting locations can be added to increase voter turnout. “We want to make it as easy for as many people as possible to increase what’s awful turnout in some of these elections,” Trustee John McGlothlin said. McGlothlin said he was in favor of taking steps to increase voter turnout—including looking at online voting—but he did not want to create the impression the district was selectively choosing where to place voting locations in order to influence the election. SMCISD’s bond will likely be near $100 million. Officials say they do not expect the bond’s passage to affect the district’s tax rate. Potential bond projects include expansion of existing facilities, construction of a new elementary school, and other upgrades at campuses and facilities throughout the district.