By Andy Sevilla

As election season gets in full swing, Hays CISD is likely to take on an incumbent and a newcomer onto the school board, though a third person was close to throwing their hat in the ring.

Three minutes kept a third person from filing for office, according to school district officials. 

“We did have a candidate submit an application for the ballot at 5:03 p.m. on Friday (Feb. 27),” Hays CISD spokesperson Tim Savoy said. “The Texas Election Code sets a month-long window to file with the statutory deadline of 5:00 p.m. on the 71st day before the election, which was Friday.”

Savoy went on to say that in consultation with the Secretary of State Office, the school district’s legal counsel and the Hays County Elections Office, the school district had to reject the application because it was submitted late. 

“Unfortunately for the prospective candidate, the election law is very specific on the filing window,” Savoy said.

Hays CISD election filings for school board show only incumbent Holly Raymond filed for her expiring at-large seat; and newcomer Bert Allen Bronaugh, Jr. was the lone candidate to file for School Board President Robert Limon’s expiring single-member-district 3 seat.

Limon announced last month he would not seek reelection to his seat. 

“It was a tough decision to make,” three-year school board member, Limon, said in his announcement. “But with recent changes in my work responsibilities, and my family commitments, it would be difficult to dedicate the time our community deserves from its school board members.” 

Raymond, who is vice president of finance and operations for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Texas, said she decided to run for the school board again to continue her work on the board and see many of the board’s projects — the audit report recommendations, 2014 bond package and the visioning initiative, to name a few — come to fruition in the next three years.

“I’ve worked over the last three years to be available to anyone who needs help with an issue and to follow it through to the end,” Raymond said. “Volunteering and staying active on three different campuses also helps me have an ear to what is happening in the district.

“I hope that running unopposed means that people are happy with the Board as a whole and the direction that the district is moving in right now.” 

Bronaugh, who served one term on the school board before being ousted by Limon in an election three years ago for the same seat, says he’s excited to return to the board.

“I’m really looking forward to being able to have a positive impact on the kids of this district,” he said. 

Bronaugh said his family has a long history with the school district, having had three children graduate from Hays CISD, and a fourth in high school presently.

Election Day is May 9, but since both offices up for grabs at Hays CISD are unopposed, the board this month will deliberate whether to cancel the election.