KATY, Texas (Covering Katy News) — Cicely Taylor, Jim Davidson and Nathan Shipley were elected to the Katy ISD Board of Trustees Saturday, according to unofficial results.
The board is expected to certify the results at its May 11 meeting, at which time the new board members will take their oaths of office. Each term is three years.
Here is a race-by-race breakdown.
Taylor wins Position 3 seat
Of 7,694 votes cast, Taylor, an education administrator, won 5,528 votes, or 72%. Haider Razvi, an EMS technician who also serves in the military, won 1,228 votes, or 16%. Sean Hesterly, a teacher, won 938 votes, or 12%.
Taylor, who was making her third run for the board after losing her first two attempts, will succeed Amy Thieme, who did not seek re-election.
"Just in general, I think this year is just a very odd year with none of the incumbents deciding to run," Taylor said. "I think that really surprised everyone. I think everyone was prepared to have a much bigger fight. But, for whatever reasons, they decided not to run."
Taylor said having three open races, with no incumbents, made things different.
"I'm proud of all the people who ran," Taylor said. "I think it's a brave thing to run for an elected office. This is my third time doing it. It's a lot of work. It takes a very brave person to do it. So, I highly respect everyone who chose to do it, even if we weren't necessarily aligned with the same thoughts."
Taylor said the district needs to be financially healthy, be able to take care of its staff in the best way possible and improve student outcomes.
"We have to make sure that we should not, in a district like Katy, have D-rated schools," Taylor said. "Unfortunately, we do have some D-rated schools. They haven't been D-rated for a long time, but academic outcomes is what our business is."
Davidson wins Position 4 seat
Of 7,642 votes cast, Davidson, a partner at a global consulting firm, won 4,725 votes, or 62%. Tiffany Auzenne, a financial compliance executive, won 2,329 votes, or 30%. David Greene, a nonprofit and youth services leader, won 588 votes, or 8%.
Davidson will succeed Morgan Calhoun, who did not seek re-election.
"Going into an election like that, you always have feelings and hunches, but you don't really know how things are going to work out until the numbers start to come in," Davidson said. "But I'm just excited. I understand that there's a lot of work ahead of us."
Davidson said addressing the district's funding challenges is a key issue as he prepares to take office. He said he wants to understand some of the more nuanced details of the district's financial situation.
"I'm familiar with things at a high level and understand that, ultimately, there's only so much you can do moving dollars around, and that funding comes from the state," Davidson said. "But I think that there are some opportunities."
Davidson said another priority would be to restore a school board that can have functional dialogue and disagreement.
"I think that's going to serve the community well, to be able to see a board that can work through issues, get all kind of the details out into the public through having a conversation that doesn't get shut down because it becomes an argument instead of a thoughtful debate," Davidson said.
Shipley wins Position 5 seat
Of 7,774 votes cast, Shipley, an executive director at a data analytics firm, won 5,127 votes, or 66%. Jesus Nieto, a nonprofit leader, won 1,601 votes, or 21%. Caleb Silverio, a retail sales lead who is also a college student, won 1,046 votes, or 13%.
Shipley succeeds Mary Ellen Cuzela, who did not seek re-election.
Multiple efforts to reach Shipley for comment were unsuccessful.
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