By Mary Jane Farmer for the Van Alstyne News/ Scene In Town
Two items on this year’s election ballots met with voter approval, and the third item, for the only contested chair on either the Van Alstyne ISD or the Van Alstyne City Council, came out with voters selecting the (appointed) incumbent on its board.
The ISD asked the voters to sanction a $325 million bond to allow the District’s board and administration to be able to build a new high school and possibly two new elementary school, purchase land for necessary use, improve the existing high school and current extra-curricular activities.
According to the District’s bond Website, vasisdbond.com, in the long run and as the population growth requires it, there could be four levels of school. Elementary schools could include students up to grade 4; then there could be an intermediate school for grades 5-6, junior high for grades 7-8, and the high school to educate grades 9-12.
This Website also depicts that “There will be (would have been) no Interest & Sinking (I&S) tax rate increase if the voters approve the bonds. Likewise, there will be (would have been) no tax rate reduction if the voters do not approve the bonds.”
The site explains that enrollment could grow to 4,300 students by school year 2030-31.
Unofficial numbers, supplied by the Grayson County election Website, there were a total of 644 votes cast and, of those, 517 were for the bond and 127 against. Official numbers will be posted by next week’s end.
Voters also gave VA ISD Board member Beau Williams a go-ahead to stay on the Board of Trustees. He received 490 votes to challenger Anthony Albertini’s 99 votes. The other incumbents ran unopposed.
The City’s Proposition 1, seeking reapproval for city use of sales taxes, passed with a total of 243 votes; 221 for and 22 against. State law required that every few (designated) years for cities to get voter sanction and these rates or uses cannot change without the consent approval.
There were no challengers for the City Council chairs that were up for re-election, and so these incumbents will be re-sworn in at the May 11 Council meeting.
Apathy seemed to have prevailed across the county, with only 4.5% of the registered voters turning to make these and area-specific decisions. The percentage of individual towns’ number of registered voters is not broken down by cities/towns.