The unofficial results for last night's election show neither one of the proposed bond propositions for TISD passed. So what happens next?
Right now it’s a waiting game. Officials in Bell County say they’re still waiting on mail-in ballots to finalize the vote especially for Propostion A. Proposition B was shot down by over 600 votes, but just three ballots were the deciding factor for Proposition A.
Jeannette Compean Bell County Elections Chief Deputy said, "It was a really close call."
The narrow margin is familiar to election officials like Compean.
"We have seen it in the past where it is just neck and neck and yesterday just happened to be one of those," Compean said.
She says many of the voters from the City of Temple, Terris Goodman was one of them.
"I am a parent, as well as a graduate of TISD back in 2010. A lot of the facilities are honestly outdated for the size of the student body that we have," Goodwin said.
Goodwin said she wishes more people would’ve learned more about the propositions before Election Day.
Goodwin said, "There were some community open community bond meetings early on in this process, I attended all of those, as well as some, some other community members, but not near enough. The process actually started as what was it back in July, and it started as a bigger price tag, and they whittled that price tag down based on the community's response."
Compean said this is a teaching moment for Temple. According to the Census Bureau, there are over 82 thousand people in Temple with 62 thousand eligible votes. However, not even a third cast ballots.
"No vote is too small so yes if you can go out and do your due diligence so that way your vote can be that difference. It's really important for people to come out and vote, especially for things like Proposition A especially because the race was so close. If you want to make a difference and see a difference you must make your voice heard," said Compean.
The $178 million proposition would replace portable buildings with permanent ones, that have been put in place between 1995 and 2011 depending on the campus.
The Bell County Election Board is set to meet on Tuesday, Nov. 9, where the results will be finalized. In a statement the school district already planning on requesting a recount if the margin of votes on Proposition A is still so close.
The statement from Temple ISD Superintendent Bobby Ott said:
We have been in contact with Bell County officials today and they have confirmed that election results are still not official. Proposition A is behind by three votes. For the next several days mail-ins and provisional votes will be counted and next Tuesday an official result will be reported. This will unlikely change the results for Proposition B. If the margin of votes remains close for Proposition A, we will request a recount. If at that time the bond does not pass, I would just like to say that I am very proud of our professionalism, positivity and honesty throughout this process. No matter what side of the vote, our entire community has highlighted these things throughout the bond process. The needs were determined by our citizens and our engagement with the community has been nonstop. I suspect that votes against were more to do with external factors.
As I told our staff today, our response to this election is how we will be judged. In Temple ISD, our response will be consistent with our values prior to the election: professional, honest, positive and forward thinking. Temple ISD will continue serving our kids and improving their lives the Temple Way. This is just what we do. TISD’s facility needs remain the same, especially in light of growth, and this is something we will need to re-engage with the community and address in the future.
