This article has been updated.
Two years after invading the Northeast Independent School District on San Antonio's North Side, conservative groups faced a massive backlash Saturday night.
There were five openings on the district's ballot, each fielded by candidates supported by local Democrats, parent-teacher associations and public education advocacy groups.
“They saw us coming this time,” said Crystal Keene, president of Parents United for Freedom PAC, which formed in opposition to the district's pandemic response.
North East ISD is one of 20 independent school districts in Bexar County, with approximately 60,000 students enrolled on 70 campuses and an annual operating budget of $890 million. The district includes some of the reddest Republican territory in a blue county in terms of political composition.
While conservative groups have had success electing school board candidates in other parts of Texas, NEISD is the only one with a big victory in Bexar County, where they will win two of the district's seven school board seats in 2022. The seats were reversed and we were one step closer. The third.
A few months later, the longtime District 2 trustee passed away, splitting the board evenly.
The past year's battles over sex education and parental rights were enough to send two long-term board members to term ends this year, opening the door to major changes in the state's 10th largest school district. It was decided to open.
and But with all the votes counted, candidates backed by conservative groups fell short in every election. The Conservatives lost incumbent Steve Hilliard in Ward 6. Hilliard lost to Terry Chidge, a retired educator who received 64.18% of the vote.
Leaders of the conservative Texas Family Action PAC gathered at Taco Palenque in Alamo Heights for a watch party and toasted the group's valiant (but unsuccessful) effort.
PAC Chairman Mike Knafke said it was “very disappointing.” “We worked hard to raise a lot of money and a lot of awareness, but the PTA machine is hard to overcome.”
Unlike 2022, PUFF and Texas Family Action raised real money for candidates this year. PUFF regularly campaigned at conservative events, including launching the new Young Republicans Club in March.
Meanwhile, candidates with ties to the administration and the PTA had their own political action committee, the Bexar County Public Education Champions PAC, which was formed in 2023. The group raised less money than conservative PACs, but received support from the Bexar County Democratic Party.
Results continued to roll in throughout the night as PAC-backed candidates filled the party room at Blanco BBQ, retiring District 1 incumbent Sandy Huey and her supporters cheered.
In one of the night's biggest upsets, one of the Public Education PAC's Bexar County champion candidates, Tracy Shelton, won the District 2 special election, replacing her friend, the late Terry Williams. .
After Williams' death, the board initially voted to appoint a successor, but disagreements over how the process should unfold resulted in months of stalemate and ultimately a special election. was convened.
Consultant Jacqueline Klein, backed by conservative groups in 2022, finished a close third in the seat that year, making her the outrageous favorite to enter the night.
“There are five candidates running. They're calling us political… They're saying we're supported by outside interests,” Klein said in a recent interview. Speaking at a candidate forum. “Parents are not outside the vested interest. It's the people inside the administration who need to worry, not outsiders like us.”
Mr. Shelton became emotional Saturday evening outside the Tobin Library, where he was greeting voters, as he spoke about his friend, his predecessor on the board, holding a copy of the San Antonio Report.
“The thing about Terry was that she was similar to me in that she was down to earth,” Shelton said. “And I never worried about NEISD when she was on the board, partly because I could walk down the hall and say, 'What's going on?'
“She really listened and made decisions in the best interest of the children,” Shelton said. “So after tonight is over and the results are certified by the current board, I will sit in her seat and look forward to continuing to make truly good decisions for all of our children. ”
Mr. Shelton kicked the San Antonio Report out of a swing barbecue party later that night. There, district officials were celebrating with the candidates.
Once the results were announced, cheers could be heard throughout the rest of the night at Swing BBQ.
Tom Cummins, executive director of the Northeast Federation of Teachers, who attended the watch party, said he was not surprised by the victory given the candidate's “deep roots” in the community.
“I think the vote numbers announced tonight reflect the respect they have for the candidates,” he said of voters.
District 1
In District 1, which was left vacant because Huey did not apply for re-election, PTA president Lisa Thompson won with 70.17% of the vote. Mr. Thompson was supported by the Bexar County Public Education Champions.
Michael Gerwitz, a former math teacher supported by PUFF and Texas Family Action, followed with 29.83%.
district 2
Shelton won the District 2 special election with 57.44%. Klein followed with 26.94%, followed by Rhonda Rowland, who finished with 15.62%.
District 4
In District 4, incumbent David Beyer defeated his opponent, cybersecurity expert Jack Hoyle, with 69.71% of the vote to Hoyle's 30.29%.
In his speech at the Blanco BBQ, Beyer thanked his family and supporters, as well as all of his neighbors for “texting” him in the final stages of the campaign, saying that this action had meant a lot to him. I believe this has galvanized support.
Bayer said it's sad to see political attacks being added to school board races.
“It's sad that as a school board election we have to succumb to something like that,” he said. “I tried to run the cleanest campaign possible.”
District 5
In District 5, the seat vacated by Board President Shannon Grona, Bexar County Public Education Champions PAC candidate Melinda Cox defeated two challengers with 54.41% of the vote.
She was followed by Dick “Raz” Rasmussen with 38.55% of the vote and Chris Evans with 7.04%. Rasmussen has decorated the district's wallpaper with signs, but on Saturday, critics of her campaign called police, accusing her of bringing an overly large sign to the Encino Library polling place.
district 6
Hilliard, backed by Parents United for Freedom and Texas Family Action, finished with 35.82% of the vote, compared to his opponent Chidsey, who received 64.18%.
Two incumbents elected in 2022 with the support of conservative groups, Marcia Landry in Ward 7 and Diane Siva Villarreal in Ward 3, will join the winner of the special election in Ward 2 in 2026. You will be participating in the voting.
Southwest ISD
The incumbent member of the Southwest Independent School District held a comfortable lead in the final unofficial election results for the at-large seat on the seven-member board.
The unofficial final tally posted on the district's Facebook page shows incumbents Florinda “Flo” Bernal at 22.5%, James Sullivan Jr. at 21.16% and Daniel Ray Carrillo at 21.16%. Mr. was 20.95%.
Challengers running for a change in how the district conducts elections to bring it more in line with other school districts received the votes needed to oust incumbents for up to three seats in the 13,000-student district. could not.
In the unofficial final tally, Yolanda Garza-Lopez finished with 11.24%, Pete “Pedro” Bernal finished with 11.12% and Carla Reyes Medina finished with 10.15%.
Unlike other school districts in the area, which partner with Bexar County to conduct elections, Southwest ISD has a long-standing partnership with the city of Lytle. The arrangement means some voters will have to go to two polling locations to participate in both the Southwest ISD board election and other local elections.
Last May, incumbents Garza López and Bernal lost their seats in an election decided by fewer than 2,000 voters. Garza López was first elected in 2008 and Bernal in 2020. Since their time on the board, both men have advocated for changes to voting methods.
Medina Valley ISD
No school board races were held in the Medina Valley, which includes parts of Medina and Bexar counties west of San Antonio. This adds one new candidate, Joe Biediger, who ran unopposed from District 2 to replace Beth Zinsmeyer.
Two bond proposals totaling $290 million were on the ballot in the district, and both were approved by voters on Saturday.
Proposition A was a $249 million bond issue for school facilities and land, and Proposition B was a nearly $41 million bond issue for Medina Valley High School's Panther Stadium and a new high school stadium facility.
alamo college district
The nine-member Alamo Colleges District Board took up one race this year, and the incumbent won.
Longtime Trustee Gene Sprague, who represents the Northwest Side and northwestern Bexar County in District 6, fended off a challenge from Bexar County Young Democratic Representative Nicolette Ardiente.
Sprague's percentage was 54.04%, and Ardiente's percentage was 45.96%.
The campaign was controversial in its final stages, with Mr. Sprague accusing Mr. Ardiente and his supporters of political and apolitical positions. Sprague, who teaches pre-med classes at UTSA, received support from the Bexar County Republican Party.
