Moulton Eagle
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Debra Luksovsky

Luksovsky wins out in MISD’s lone contested race

  • Debra Luksovsky unofficially led Lavaca County's ballots by 13 votes when the Moulton citizens headed to the polls Saturday to select who would serve on their school board.
    Debra Luksovsky unofficially led Lavaca County's ballots by 13 votes when the Moulton citizens headed to the polls Saturday to select who would serve on their school board.

    Right at 245 people—about a quarter of Moulton’s total population, per latest census data—took part in Saturday’s election to decide the local school district’s lone contested race for Place 1 on its board of directors.

    After every ballot in Lavaca County was tabulated Saturday, just 13 votes separated the two candidates, unofficial election night returns showed, with challenger Debra Luksovsky edging out incumbent Moulton school board member Mary Kay Fishbeck by a vote of 129 to 116. 

    The two were tied at 16 votes each among early voters, with Luksovsky gaining a seven-vote advantage in the absentee ballots (19 to 12) and gaining six ballots more on election day, when the single day’s votes stacked up 94 to 88 in her favor.  

    “A big thank you to all who voted for me in the MISD board election,” Luksovsky later wrote to Facebook, after the unofficial results had circulated. “I will not take this position lightly, and I am well aware of the responsibility that you have given me. Your vote demonstrates that you trust me to be your voice, and I cannot thank you enough for your support.”

    Fishbeck, the incumbent, likewise commented late Saturday.

    “The results are in, and it was not meant to be,” she said. “I would like to say thank you to all who came out and supported me. I truly appreciate your confidence and support. It means a lot to me. To my fellow board members, it was truly an honor and blessing to serve with all of you. I know you will continue to do amazing things for MISD.”

    While she may have lost her official district role, Fishbeck pledged to find other ways to support and serve MISD. “My heart is for kids, and that will never change,” she said.

    Also on Saturday’s ballot but running unopposed for his Place 2 seat was David Beyer, who claimed 158 total votes, unofficially. Similarly, Place 3’s Chad Chaloupka collected 191 votes for his unopposed school board seat.

    Given the small margin involved in the Place 1 race, there is a possibility—however remote, based on overall voter turnout numbers Saturday—that the numbers presented by the Lavaca County elections office Saturday night could change slightly, potentially even shift standings, because some of the district’s potential voters reside outside of Lavaca’s boundaries in Gonzales or Fayette counties. 

    Regardless, however, the board will make that determination when it canvasses Saturday’s returns and, ultimately, approves results at its next meeting. 

    The election results remain “unofficial” until such a vote occurs. Moulton school board members plan to take that up as part of their regular monthly business session at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, May 12.