$569m bond wins by 12 votes, “unofficial”

Dave Joyner and Christine Foreman clap for the voter turnout for city elections Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2019 at Ally Outdoors. Jacy Lewis/Reporter-Telegram Dave Joyner and Christine Foreman clap for the voter turnout for city elections Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2019 at Ally Outdoors. Jacy Lewis/Reporter-Telegram Photo: Jacy Lewis/Reporter-Telegram Photo: Jacy Lewis/Reporter-Telegram Image 1 of / 15 Caption Close $569m bond wins by 12 votes, “unofficial” 1 / 15 Back to Gallery

Midland ISD’s $569 million bond passed by 12 votes, it was announced four hours after the polls closed Tuesday.

Members of “We Choose Our Future” — the special-purpose action committee in favor of Midland ISD’s $569 million bond — began about 6:30 p.m. at Ally Outdoors what it hoped to be its celebration party. By 10:15 p.m., SPAC co-chairs Christine Foreman and Dave Joyner left the party to go to the Midland County Annex because of a delay in voting results caused by technical difficulties.

Foreman and Joyner were at the Elections Office when early voting results — which showed a six-vote lead — and mail-in votes — which showed a deficit of 42 — were published online about 10:35 p.m. The total difference -- before the count of Election Day’s 9,000 votes -- was 34 votes against the bond.

“Nearly 25,000 people voted for this election,” Foreman said early in the night “We should be really proud of Midland for the high voter turnout, and that this is the reason we are experiencing these issues.”

By the time votes were published, Foreman said she was “very nervous” and “really frustrated” with what happened Tuesday night.

District administrators, including several of the cabinet members, board President Rick Davis and Superintendent Orlando Riddick, were also at the party to wait for results. Some of them also went to the Elections Office on “A” Street and Scharbauer Drive.

The final votes were counted at about 11:15 p.m.: 11,560 in favor of the bond and 11,548 opposed.

The elections office confirmed with the Reporter-Telegram that provisional and military ballots will still need to be counted. Provisional ballots are used to record a vote when there are questions about voter’s eligibility.

“It’s a little too close for comfort - but we’ll take it,” Foreman said. “I think while we are glad that we have the lead, we also know that there’s still a lot of work to be done to unify our community for what’s best for students and teachers. We look forward to continuing the work to bring everybody to the table and work together.”

Joyner agreed and said, as the bond item moves forward, they don’t want “anyone to feel left behind.”

The bond monies are set to fund two new high schools (Midland High and Lee High) and renovate the existing Lee (to be renamed) and the existing MHS – which would become San Jacinto Middle School and a specialized sixth- through 12th-grade academy. All high schools would serve ninth through 12th grades.

The current San Jacinto would become home of the Young Women’s Leadership Academy. The existing freshman campuses would become two additional middle schools, and all would serve sixth through eighth grades.

Maintenance and security and technological upgrades are part of the bond plan.

As a result, the MISD I&S tax rate is projected to increase from $.08 to $0.959 over a 20-year amortization period. However, because of new legislation, the M&O rate will receive a decrease from $1.04005 to $0.97005. Effective January, the total rate would increase from $1.12755 to $1.14595 per $100 valuation — what would have been $1.05 total with the M&O decrease.

Both Foreman and Joyner said they are glad to start with the lead for the unofficial results and are “eager” to learn of the true results.

“It’s unofficial until it’s official, and we will operate that way,” Foreman said.