Crutchfield, Newsom win school board seats

By Amanda Rogers

Mansfield Record

Mansfield ISD has a new trustee and a familiar face after the May 4 school board elections, while reaction to the school district’s $777 million bond was mixed.

Associate professor Jandel Crutchfield earned 60 percent of the vote to professor Angel Hidalgo’s 40 percent in the Place 2 board election. Crutchfield took 5,835 votes to Hidalgo’s 3,550 votes. Hidalgo had been declared ineligible by the Mansfield ISD school board before the election because he was not a registered voter when he signed up to run, but his name could not be removed from the ballot, according to the Mansfield school board.

Desiree “Dez” Thomas, incumbent for the Place 2 seat, filed to run for re-election, but withdrew from the race due to family concerns.

For Place 1, incumbent Michelle Newsom, a healthcare executive, earned 60 percent of the vote to construction manager Matthew Herzberg’s 40 percent. Newsom had 5,774 votes to Herzberg’s 3,782 votes.

Results are unofficial until canvassed by the Mansfield ISD school board. All results are from Tarrant County as Johnson County has not reported. Both Mansfield ISD trustees will serve three-year terms.

The five-part Mansfield ISD bond for repairs, replacements, renovations, technology and new construction got mixed results, with two propositions passing and three failing.

Proposition A passed 54 percent to 46 percent. This was the largest of the five propositions, amounting to $584,500,000, for facility improvements (replacing roofing, plumbing, electrical, flooring, HVAC, fire alarm systems, pavement, lighting, kitchen equipment and playground services), technology infrastructure, safety operations, transportation (buses, renovations to bus facility and construct a bus shop) and fine arts (renovate  choir rooms at Howard, Wester and Worley middle schools, add orchestra space to Coble, Howard, Jones, Jobe, Wester and Worley middle schools).

The proposition also includes adding space and converting classrooms to computer labs at Ben Barber Innovation Academy, athletics (resurface middle school tracks, build high school batting cages, install baseball and softball field turf at high schools, renovate middle school weight rooms and replace bleachers and scoreboards), and building another early learners academy for ages 3-4.

Proposition B also passed, earning 52 percent of the vote compared to 48 percent against. The proposition, which amounts to $4 million, will go to instructional technology and updating outdated equipment.

Proposition C failed with 53 percent against and 47 percent for the proposition, which would have spent $50,500,000 for renovations at R.L. Anderson and Newsom stadiums, and resurfacing the tracks, turf and scoreboards at the high schools.

Proposition D also failed with 53 percent against and 47 percent for the proposition, which would have spent $85 million for fine arts and athletic complexes. Fine arts would have received classrooms, practice and rehearsal spaces for band, cheer, dance, drill teams and JROTC, and renovations to band halls for orchestra. The athletic funds were for the Phase 2 of the multi-purpose athletic complexes at each high school for locker rooms, showers, offices and storage.

Proposition E failed to pass with 57 percent against and 43 percent for the $53 million for Phase 3 of the multi-purpose athletic complexes at the high schools, including a 50-yard indoor practice field that were to be used for athletics, band, cheer, dance, drill teams and JROTC.

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