Princeton school trustees pondered whether to change the district’s bond election schedule but decided Monday night to keep the status quo.

Trustee Duane Kelly raised the issue of eliminating the May election date and allowing Princeton ISD voters to decide bond issues in November, believing a larger turnout would be more representative of the community’s desire on a school-related bond issue. Kelly proposed a motion to eliminate the May election date, but the matter died for lack of a second.

Kelly expressed concern that bond elections draw relatively few voters. He said recent bond issues have been decided by fewer than 1,000 Princeton ISD voters. He noted the district has about 23,000 registered voters and said the low turnout doesn’t represent the community’s desires. Including a bond issue with federal and state issues in November, he said, would boost turnout and result in a more representative expression of voters’ preferences. Superintendent Don McIntyre, speaking in favor of the current two-election system, said the Texas Education Agency sets the dates and school districts are bound by state law to follow them. The TEA designates the first Saturday in May and the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November as the only dates public school systems can call bond elections.

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