Harrison County voters approved the formation Emergency Services District 6 and provided the Karnack Independent School District Board of Trustees a choice of wealth reduction options in Tuesday's election.

Elections Administrator Pam Brock was pleased after a discouraging turnout of voters the week before election day, with only 1,171 of the 45,480 registered Harrison County voters taking advantage of early voting.

"It was a much larger turnout than we anticipated," said Pam Brock, elections administrator. "Realistically, I wasn't looking for a big turnout."

A total of 1,766 people voted in the constitutional and local elections on election day.

Electricity was also out for an hour at the Hallsville voting station, Harrison County Judge Richard Anderson reported.

"The right to vote is an important right people have given their lives for, and I'm pleased the people in the county have gotten out to vote," said Anderson.

ESD 6

The district, which will provide funding for fire and ambulance service to areas north of Marshall in the Woodlawn vicinity, was approved with 66.67 percent of the votes.

"We wanted to keep the issue low key so there wouldn't be as many nay-sayers," said Andy Burnett, a volunteer with the Woodlawn Volunteer Fire Department and EMS. "Some people didn't understand that the low additional tax will make their insurance go down and they will be better protected."

Formation of the ESD will allow a fire board to levy up to 10 cents per $100 valuation property taxes to fund the district's fire and ambulance coverage.

Burnett and his wife, Tamara Burnett, waited for the final results of the election Tuesday night at the Harrison County Elections Office. The Burnetts have supported the passage of ESD 6 since it began as a petition.

"These ESDs are important," said Ms. Burnett. "The firefighters are out there in 20-year-old fire equipment and are fighting fires for containment only. The ESD is the difference between saving a home or a person or only containing the fire."

The money will help the department replace equipment, like outdated bunker suits that cost $1,500 each. Over time, the funding may also help the department establish satellite stations so that equipment can be accessed quickly on both sides of the railroad tracks.

WVFD Chief Don Dowdell was glad to have the ESD established so that he and his department can better serve the community.

"A lot of people don't understand that eventually their home owners insurance will go down. Once we get our ISO rating down, that will help homeowners a lot," Dowdell. "The cost of the fire district — once taxes are levied — will not even be a drop in the bucket compared to what homeowners insurance is."

Now that the measure has passed, Harrison County commissioners will appoint a fire board for the district, and the board will set the tax rate.

"We will still be under a budget, and the fire board will manage the funding from the county from the tax dollars," said Dowdell. "I just appreciate the voters who got out and voted for it. I'm relieved it passed. That will give us something to work with now."

KISD Chapter 41

Both of KISD's wealth sharing options were approved by voters.

Option 3, which allows the district to purchase attendance credits from the state, passed with 71.43 percent of the vote. Option 4, which allows the district to contract to educate non-resident students from partner districts, passed with 63.16 percent.

"I want to thank my community for coming out and voting," said KISD Superintendent Cozzetta Robinson. "We thank them for their support by coming out to vote for options three and four and giving the Karnack ISD Board of Trustees the flexibility of choosing either method of reducing its wealth."

Because of the tremendous increases in property value over the past two years — mainly to the oil and gas industry — KISD now has more wealth per student than is allowed under Chapter 41 of the Texas Education Code, commonly referred to as "Robin Hood," school officials said.

"And we don't have to go back and ask for another election," said Ms. Robinson. "Once you vote on the options once, you don't have to go back and hold another election."

Ms. Robinson said the result of the election, "makes it easier for us to select the best choice."