The voting in this rural district of 242 regsitered voters ran close—but in the end both propositions for bond-financed school improvements failed to persuade a majority of them.
Patton Springs ISD, with 80 students enrolled in grades K-12, had proposed an $8.4 million package to cover school security and improved facilities, plus $800,000 for the purchase of land and teacher housing. Both propositions would have been funded largely by an anticipated windfall of property tax revenues due to Galaxy Digital’s Helios bitcoin mining facility and related industries within their district.
When votes were counted Saturday night, 79 had voted against and 73 had voted for Proposition A, the $8.4 million package. (These figures, as with all elections, are unofficial until a cavass occurs.)
On Proposition B, the $800,000 package, the count remained tied at 76 through Monday, the deadline for one unreturned mail-in ballot that did not come in. A tie vote, according to Patton Springs superintendent Bryan White, is effectively a defeat, as a decision “for” must be based on a majority.
Mail-in ballots had been requested by five voters.
Asked about community reaction, White said, “In our building everybody is disappointed, but we will move on.”
“We’ll discuss and weigh our options,” he said, for any future proposals
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