Smithville trustees stay put

SMITHVILLE — The school board election is over before it started.

Trustees Chris Hinnant and Grant Gutierrez have effectively been re-elected to new terms at Smithville Independent School District. Their places on the board were eligible to be on the ballot in May.

Residents had from Jan. 18 to Feb. 17 to file candidate applications for places 1 and 2, which in addition to places 3-7 are chosen at large. Hinnant and Gutierrez filed to be incumbents but drew no opponents. The SISD board then canceled the election Feb. 27.

Gutierrez and Hinnant serve as board president and vice president, respectively. The duo will begin three-year terms in May.

Terms for trustees Nancy Towry and Alan Hemphil expire next year. Candice Parsons, Josh Magden and Michael Hancock were elected last year and have terms to May 2025.