Mahmoud, McElhany elected to board

By Jayson Larson

May 12, 2008 09:42 am

— It was a bittersweet Saturday for Jennie Mahmoud and Steve McElhany.
Both expressed gratitude Saturday night after winning their respective elections for the Athens Independent School Board. Each also vocalized their disappointment after the failure of the $28.4 million school bond.
Mahmoud retained her seat on the AISD board by defeating former board member Larry West, while McElhany — also a former board member — claimed victory over Nick Rosenberg.
Mahmoud retained her seat by earning 1,019 votes to 675 for West. Voters gave Mahmoud the edge in early voting, as well, casting 338 ballots in her favor compared with 132 for West.
“I greatly appreciate the support the people have for me,” Mahmoud said. “I’m just honored to be re-elected.”
Mahmoud was appointed to the board to fill the final eight months of McElhany’s term. She was then elected to her first full term in 2005.
She said she wants to continue the work the board has put forth on addressing the district’s space issues in the face of a growing student population.
West said he ran for the board for a number of reasons, including keeping an “active” school in the North Athens community. As Athens ISD administrators talked over the winter about shuffling campuses to address overcrowding issues, some local residents expressed concerns that no school would be left in North Athens after the plans were decided. The administration decided to move sixth-graders from the district’s lone North Athens campus, R.C. Fisher, to Athens Middle School beginning next year regardless of Saturday’s bond vote. Pre-kindergarten students are expected to move to Fisher next year.
West said he isn’t sure if those moves will still be made since the bond issue failed. He said he plans to keep watching the issues.
“Obviously I’m disappointed” with the loss to Mahmoud, West said, “but my faith is such ... if it was God’s will, he would have provided the means for me to do that.”
McElhany had a much tighter race.
He held a 62-vote advantage over Rosenberg in early voting, 263 to 201. Saturday brought much closer results, with McElhany getting 611 votes compared to 577 for Rosenberg — a difference of 34 votes.
McElhany said he stepped down from his position on the board years ago so his wife could work in the district as a teacher. He said he decided to return because he wants to play a role in helping the district prepare for what he says could be significant growth in its immediate future.
“I’d like to be a part of the community that says we’re ready to grow,” he said Saturday. “It’s time for us to get ready to be proactive rather than reactive.”
District officials have released statistics over the last few months claiming Athens schools could see six to nine percent growth over the next five years.
Rosenberg took his loss in stride, saying, “We gave it a good ride, didn’t we? It’s all right. We ran a very good campaign. We did everything we were supposed to do. I’ve never run for anything.
“I feel good, I really do. But at first (the loss) did sting.”
Rosenberg said he hopes the board, in the face of the bond loss, will begin to research a “reasonable bond” for the immediate needs of the campuses. He said he rejects any plan that will cut teacher salaries to help pay for improvements while administrators’ salaries remain the same.
“The board needs to keep the money as close to the kids as possible and further away from 104 Hawn Street,” he said, referring to the address of the district’s Administration Building.