Editor’s note: This story has been revised from its original format. 

On Saturday, Coppell ISD Place 7 trustee Tracy Fisher was re-elected to the CISD Board of Trustees with 2,320 votes. Place 7 candidates Sonal Tandale and Sam Wellington received 1,034 and 1,156 votes, respectively. Place 6 was unopposed for Place 6 trustee Nichole Bentley, who is starting her second term on the board. 

This election marks the start of Fisher’s fourth term. Fisher identifies the budget deficit, legislative work and promoting adherence to CISD’s core values as her priorities in her new term. 

The budget deficit was an estimated $7.2 million in the fall. The CISD Board declared in April that the deficit will be approximately $2.8 million, though it will not be finalized until a few months time. 

“We have our work cut out for us in the next few months while getting our budget set for the next year,” Fisher said. “We know our core values, and it’s really important we keep looking at everything we do through that lens, like great teaching and redefining success. We’re going to do more to get the community involved in legislation. I’ll probably go down to Austin two or three times by the end of the session, which is the end of May, to testify and to have meetings and encourage people to vote for certain things.”

Wellington’s candidacy brought him lessons and visibility in the district, but he thinks of the relationships he built with members of the district as most important.

“It’s humbling to have affected people so deeply that they will go out of their way to help you,” Wellington said. “There was one point when we had about a dozen questions and answers and videos going out in the span of about six days and it can be overwhelming and a bit exhausting. While you’re doing that, you need to think about the rest of your campaign and all the other messages you’re getting out there and those people were putting pressure on me to make sure I got the message out there. They were almost like coaches.”

Tandale aims to continue her communication with district families. 

“Throughout my campaign I said that “Sonal is vocal, conservative and fearless” and I’m going to maintain that,” Tandale said. “I have a personal vested interest in the school district, and I will continue to care for the students as much as I care for my daughter [a first grader at Mockingbird Elementary] who is in the school district.”

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