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New Faces Join Central Texas School Boards as Budget Pressures Mount
Central Texas voters sent a mixed message to incumbent school board members on May 2, electing some new trustees while returning others to office, as districts across the region grapple with growing budget deficits and shifting enrollment trends.
The most notable shakeup came in Lake Travis ISD, where voters ousted two sitting board members. Tiffany Bennett and Natalie Nugent defeated incumbents Robert Aird and Keely Cano, respectively, each winning with roughly 54-55% of the vote. The 11,000-student district is facing a $4.2 million budget deficit and is weighing staff cuts to reduce costs.
In Eanes ISD, two new trustees will join the board of the 7,600-student district, which faces a $5.5 million shortfall. Kate Ivers won the Place 1 seat with 56% of the vote, while Jennifer Blackman captured Place 2 with 53.7%, unseating incumbent Laura Clark. Incumbent Diane Hern narrowly survived her challenge, holding Place 3 by just half a percentage point.
Voters in Hutto ISD returned incumbent Felix Chavez to the board alongside newcomer April Adams, who together edged out three other candidates in a competitive at-large race. The fast-growing district, with 10,700 students, is contending with a $3.5 million budget gap.
In Hays CISD — which is preparing to cut 125 positions and reduce its budget by $12 million — voters chose two new trustees, Katy Armstrong and Alex Zavala, to help navigate those difficult decisions.
Elgin ISD was the exception to the evening’s trend, with both incumbents winning comfortably in uncompetitive races.
The newly elected trustees will take their seats at a challenging moment, as districts across the Austin area balance financial constraints with the demands of growing or shifting student populations.
Here’s a summary of the Central Texas school board election results from May 2, 2026:
Eanes ISD (7,600 students, $5.5M deficit)
- Place 1: Kate Ivers (attorney) won with 56%, replacing outgoing Board President Kim McMath
- Place 2: Jennifer Blackman defeated incumbent Laura Clark with 53.7%
- Place 3: Incumbent Diane Hern narrowly held on with 50.3% over challenger Swasti Apte
Hutto ISD (10,700 students, $3.5M deficit)
- Two at-large seats: Incumbent Felix Chavez (28.2%) and newcomer April Adams (28.1%) won, defeating three other candidates
Lake Travis ISD (11,000 students, $4.2M deficit)
- Place 6: Tiffany Bennett unseated incumbent Robert Aird, 53.9% to 46.1%
- Place 7: Natalie Nugent unseated incumbent Keely Cano with 54.8%
Hays CISD (facing $12M in cuts)
- Place 2: Katy Armstrong won with 63.6% over Jose Luis Perez
- At-large: Alex Zavala won with 54.5% over Ashlee Thurston
- Place 1: Incumbent Raul Vela Jr. ran uncontested
Elgin ISD
- District 1: Incumbent Byron A. Mitchell won decisively with 77.8%
- District 2: Incumbent Cheryl Renee Reese won with 62.4%
Key Takeaway: Incumbents had a mixed night — several were unseated, most notably in Lake Travis ISD where both Place 6 and Place 7 incumbents lost.
MAYORAL RACES
| City | Candidate | Status | Results/Notes |
| Bee Cave | Kara King | Incumbent | Won with 69.9% (681 votes) against Elaina Fowler (30.1%). |
| Lakeway | Kelly Brynteson | Newcomer | Unopposed; declared elected after filing on January 14, 2026. |
| Round Rock* | Craig Morgan | Incumbent | Won decisively with 83% of the vote. |
OVERALL TURNOUT
- Total voters: 12,696 out of 98,979 registered voters
- Overall turnout rate: 12.83%
- In-person voters: 12,007
- Mail ballots received: 689
Election Day (Saturday, May 2)
- 4,361 total voters on Election Day alone — by far the biggest single day, representing about 34% of all votes cast
- That day saw 4,292 in-person voters and 69 mail ballots
Early Voting Period (April 20–28)
- Early voting ran across 9 days with varying turnout
- Strongest early voting days were Tuesday April 28 (1,625) and Wednesday April 22 (1,262)
- Sunday April 21 was nearly zero (17 mail ballots only)
Top Locations by Total Volume
- Randalls Flagship West Lake Hills — 3,386
- Bee Cave City Hall — 3,218
- Laura Bush Community Library — 475 (Election Day only)
- Lakeway Activity Center — 2,208
- Lost Creek Limited District — 366 (Election Day only)
The Election Day-only locations (open May 2 only) collectively added roughly 2,085 voters to the total.
All results are complete but unofficial.
VOTER TURNOUT
Williamson County voters turned out Saturday to decide a handful of mayoral races across the region, and when the dust settled, incumbents largely held their ground while one city made history.
In Cedar Park, Mayor Jim Penniman-Morin secured a second term in convincing fashion, defeating challenger Dean Doscher by a margin of 68% to 32% with all precincts reporting.
The outcome was never really in doubt after early voting painted a similar picture, and Penniman-Morin heads into another four years with a clear mandate from Cedar Park residents.
Round Rock‘s race was the most unusual of the night. Incumbent Mayor Craig Morgan cruised to a fourth term, pulling in roughly 83% of the vote against challenger Kelly Hall — but Hall’s name probably shouldn’t have been on the ballot at all.
City officials declared Hall ineligible in April after a residency challenge revealed that his address on a separate Democratic primary filing listed Cedar Park, not Round Rock, as his permanent home. The deadline to remove his name had already passed, leaving voters with an awkward choice. In the end, it didn’t matter: Morgan’s landslide made any what-if scenario moot.
Taylor‘s race was arguably the most historically significant of the evening.
For the first time ever, Taylor residents voted directly for their mayor — a change made possible by a charter amendment passed in 2024 that converted the old at-large council seat into a directly elected mayoral position. Local businessman and Taylor native Jim Buzan dominated, capturing nearly 75% of the early vote over Taylor Stubbs and Sandra O. Wolff. Buzan’s strong showing suggests voters were ready to embrace the new structure with enthusiasm.
In Florence, incumbent Mayor Ben Daniel faced a challenge from David Merideth in a nonpartisan contest, though final certified totals for that race were still pending as of election night.
All results across Williamson County remain unofficial until canvassed by the county.
Thousands of runners — and their dogs — are taking over downtown Austin this morning for the 14th annual H-E-B Austin Sunshine Run.
The race kicks off at Vic Mathias/Auditorium Shores, with the Fastest Dog in Austin 5K getting underway at 7:55 a.m. and the 10K and 5K starting at 8:00 a.m. Certified courses run along W. Cesar Chavez Street in downtown Austin, parallel to Lady Bird Lake. All proceeds go directly to Austin Sunshine Camps, a nonprofit providing free overnight summer camp experiences to more than 500 Austin youth each year.
If you’re heading downtown this morning, plan ahead. Several streets in the area will be blocked due to the race, so drivers should budget extra time. The race course crosses the South 1st Street bridge and loops toward West Austin before returning to the finish line at Auditorium Shores.
City officials note that road closures will significantly affect public recreational use of the park during event hours, and access to park areas, parking lots, and waterways will be impacted.
The event wraps up at 10:00 a.m., after which streets are expected to reopen.
Reports of a stabbing downtown on Red River Street early this morning.
(Timestamp shown is PDT. Actual time of call was 5:07 a.m. CDT.)
The victim is a 49-year-old woman. No other information is available.
Cedar Park police made arrests in connection with a ‘jugging‘ incident.
The five people killed Thursday night in a plane crash in Wimberley have been identified.
Residents of Caldwell County will have a chance to voice their concerns about proposed data centers in the area at a town hall meeting today.
Spirit Airlines has ceased operations.
— Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (@AustinAirport) May 2, 2026
Passengers scheduled to travel on Spirit will experience cancellations and should make alternative travel arrangements with other carriers operating at AUS.
Spirit counters at AUS are closed. (1/2) pic.twitter.com/fCT7reTSzy
Nearly 2,800 sterile grass carp were released into Lake Austin on Friday, according to Austin Watershed Protection.
WEATHER
SATURDAY’S HIGH / LOW TEMPERATURES
AUSTIN-BERGSTROM INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
CAMP MABRY
5-DAY FORECAST / AUSTIN, TEXAS
Texas is not the Big Apple, but these days it seems everyone wants a big bite. Not one. Not two. But three stock exchanges now have addresses in the Lone Star State, including a homegrown rival to the long-established exchanges from New York. Big Money is banking on Texas being central to this country’s future growth. Why are the exchanges here? How will this change Texas? And is even Texas big enough for all three of them? The Jasons hear from Edward Crawford with NYSE Texas about the Texas stock market stampede.
On this week’s edition of Real Texans, Brandon Waltens sits down with Jace Yarbrough to discuss his congressional run, his fight against COVID-era mandates, and what an “America First” agenda should look like in Washington.
State Sen. Sarah Eckhardt won the Democratic nomination for Texas comptroller in March.
On Wednesday, April 29th Eckhardt met with Matthew Watkins, the Tribune’s editor-in-chief, for a conversation about the candidate’s goals for the office, her relationships with the state’s top leaders and the upcoming general election.
(Episode from May 1, 2026)
On a “From the Vault” edition of “Inside the Investigation,” KXAN Director of Investigations & Innovation Josh Hinkle and Senior Investigative Producer David Barer revisit KXAN’s “Mental Competency Consequences” investigation into treatment backlogs and deaths in Texas jails.
(Episode from May 2, 2026)
On this episode of Texas Take, host Jeremy Wallace looks at how President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown is affecting Texas politics, Latino voters and families held at the Dilley detention facility. Houston Chronicle immigration reporter Julián Aguilar explains the cases of detained children and families, while Democratic strategist Laura Barberena breaks down how backlash over the crackdown could reshape South Texas congressional races. Plus, they’ll get into why Texas music star Kacey Musgraves is helping shine a bigger spotlight on it all with her new tour. Finally, after seeing Post Malone in a Texas-themed anti-litter ad, Wallace counts down the five best “Don’t Mess with Texas” ads in history. Sure, Willie Nelson is guaranteed to make the cut, but will George Strait, Matthew McConaughey, Warren Moon and Earl Campbell?
(Episode from May 1, 2026)
SPORTS
COLLEGE BASEBALL: No. 4 Texas put the tying tally on first and brought the game-winning run to the plate in the ninth, but No. 10 Mississippi State held off the Longhorns to even the series with a 7-4 win at UFCU Disch-Falk Field on Saturday afternoon. (Texas Longhorns)
TODAY
MLB SCOREBOARD
TODAY
Watch the highlights as the Texas Tailgaters take down the Savannah Bananas, 4-3, in the biggest game in Banana Ball history at Kyle Field, home of the Texas A&M Aggies football team.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL: Texas Tech officials and coaching staff were described as “surprised” by the investigation into quarterback Brendan Sorsby‘s alleged sports gambling.
MLS: Austin FC will play its second consecutive home match this Sunday afternoon, when the VERDE & Black face St. Louis City SC at Q2 Stadium. The match will kick off at 4:30 p.m. CT and feature as Apple TV’s Sunday Night Soccer broadcast for the week. (Austin FC)
Earlier in SPORTS, we talked about the Savannah Bananas baseball team.
The Bananas are one of the most unique and entertaining sports organizations in America. They are an exhibition barnstorming baseball team based in Savannah, Georgia. They play a variation of baseball known as Banana Ball, which emphasizes showmanship, fan participation, and quick-paced games. Players engage in dance routines, comedic sketches, and other performances between — and often during — innings. They are often compared to the Harlem Globetrotters, though Savannah Bananas games are unscripted and competitive.
Last night, they brought fun to Texas.
