Runoff in the Works for Pivotal Dallas ISD School Board Seat

A critical seat on the Dallas ISD’s board of trustees looks like it won’t be decided for another month, leaving a potential tax hike worth millions hanging in the balance for the district.Incumbent Bernadette Nutall and challenger Justin Henry will likely face off in a June runoff election for the District 9 seat -- which covers parts of downtown, Deep Ellum, South Dallas, Pleasant Grove, Uptown and East Dallas.With 43 of 51 precincts reporting late Saturday, neither candidate had received a majority of the votes cast. Henry led in early and in-person voting, finishing roughly 60 votes shy of a 50 percent threshold. Nutall beat community organizer Ed Turner to at least make the runoff. A fourth candidate, Ona Marie Hendricks, picked up fewer than 50 votes.The runoff could have big implications for DISD's $1.4 billion operating budget.Over the past three years, Nutall has been part of a quartet of trustees who have blocked a 13-cent tax increase from going to voters. To call a tax ratification election, which DISD administration attempted to do in 2016 and 2017, a school district needs approval from a “super-majority” of its board -- which, in DISD, is six out of nine members.Nutall supported some smaller measures -- a two-cent increase or a two-cent “swap,” which would have moved money from the district’s debt tax rate to its operations rate -- but not the full 13-cent increase.  Continue reading...