Voters approve East Texas school bonds

EAST TEXAS (KLTV/KTRE) - East Texas voters have passed six school bond proposals so far Saturday night.

Chapel Hill ISD passed three propositions. This is a year after voters turned down a bond.

“This is a tremendous victory for the entire Chapel Hill community, and it would not have been possible without their incredible support and participation,” Superintendent Lamond Dean said. “We are so grateful to our community for their dedication to our schools and our students.”

“We are grateful for the support of the Chapel Hill community in passing this bond, which will enable us to make vital improvements to our school facilities,”School Board President Les Schminkey said. “With this investment, we will be able to create a safe and modern learning environment that will better prepare our students for the challenges of the future.”

Bonds have also passed in Broaddus, Carthage, Marshall, Neches, Pewitt and San Augustine.

The three propositions presented to voters in Carthage will fund renovations to the intermediate school, phase 2 of the baseball/softball complex, resurfacing of the turf and track at Bulldog Stadium, and improvements to instructional technology.

“On behalf of the Carthage ISD Board of Trustees, staff and students, we want to thank our taxpayers and community for the overwhelming support in passing this bond election,” Carthage ISD Superintendent Jarrod Bitter said. “As we continue our work to provide every student with a quality education and an exceptional experience, we are excited about the opportunities that this bond package will provide.”

With the majority of Marshall’s bond initiative dedicated toward the high school, MISD Superintendent Dr. Richele Langley said, “This is a win for the students and for the community. The bond will provide us with the opportunity to build a new Career and Technical Education (CTE) building, a new auxiliary gymnasium, and renovations to the high school. A dedicated CTE facility means more students can take college-level classes, in a SACS accredited building, on campus. That will be a huge savings to families and an advancement for student careers.”

In Lufkin, voters elected a new city councilman and new school board member. Adam Lowther unseated incumbent Trent Burfine in an 86-11 vote. Joe Caesar is the newest school board member, unseating incumbent Andra Self. Kristi Gay retained her school board position.

In Tyler, Cody Levrets won a school board seat, unseating the incumbent, Trish Nation.

In Nacogdoches, former General Hospital star Brad Maule won the Northwest Ward of city council. Kathleen Belanger retained her seat in the Northeast Ward. James Montoya was elected to another term at Nacogdoches ISD.

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