Two Northside Independent School District school board trustees held onto their seats while union-backed challengers ousted two incumbents in a fiercely contested election on Saturday.
Voters returned trustees Carol Harle and Karen B. Freeman to board seats in districts 6 and 7, respectively, while challengers Sonia Jasso and Laura Zapata prevailed in districts 2 and 5.
With a major budget deficit and possible cuts to programs, one prevailing candidate says voters wanted a measure of new leadership.
“Voters are looking for change,” said Jasso, who defeated District 2 incumbent Homer Guevara, Jr. “They want board members to be innovative and creative because we’re going into an interesting budget cycle with a $96 million deficit.”
Jasso, high school programs director at Palo Alto College, won District 2 with 50.55% of the vote.
A second union candidate, Laura Zapata, defeated District 5 incumbent Corinne Saldaña with 54.56% of the vote.
“I would say the voters wanted to be heard, valued and considered,” said Melina Espiritu-Azocar, president of the Northside American Federation of Teachers. “The voters spoke.”
Freeman narrowly edged out Larissa Martinez with 50.61% of the vote for district 7, while Harle captured 58.2% of the vote to defeat Nicolette M. Ardiente.
Harle, an education professor at the University of Texas at San Antonio, struck a unifying tone in victory.
“I look forward to working with the new board members,” said Harle, who was elected to her fourth term. “We’re in this together. We’re a board that’s supposed to be role models for our kids.”
Zapata echoed the sentiment.
“We need to work together, whether we agree on things or not,” said Zapata, an assistant principal at Edison High School. “I am excited. I am confident in the board we have.”
Andrea Drusch contributed to this report.
