Here are Mansfield ISD’s school board candidates for May 4 election

mansfield ISD will allow an ineligible candidate to remain on the ballot for the May 4 election. 

Angel Hidalgo, a professor at Tarrant County College, has faced questions regarding his eligibility throughout the election, and employees and school board members knew for months that Hidalgo was likely ineligible, according to the Star-Telegram. 

During a special meeting April 18, the school board ruled Hidalgo ineligible because he was not a registered voter of Mansfield ISD by the filing deadline of Feb. 16, 2024. However, Mansfield ISD will not remove Hidalgo from the ballot, stating that “the statutory deadline to remove an ineligible candidate from the ballot was Feb. 24, 2024.” 

Candidates have to be registered to vote in the territory where they are elected, according to the Texas Election Code. 

All votes in the election will be counted. If Hidalgo wins, the spot will remain vacant, and board members may appoint a replacement until the next trustee election or order a special election to fill the vacancy, according to a statement from Board President Courtney Lackey Wilson on the district’s Facebook page. 

Hidalgo’s opponent, Jandel Crutchfield, associate professor at the University of Texas at arlington, is deemed eligible to run for the Place 2 seat. Trustee Desiree Thomas initially filed for reelection to the seat but later announced on Facebook her withdrawal because of family-related health issues. 

For the Place 1 seat, incumbent Michelle Newsom faces challenger Matthew Herzberg. 

Mansfield ISD voter Angela Perdue said at the special meeting that the board is setting a precedent in its handling of the Place 2 race and expressed her disappointment that trustees didn’t act sooner to remove Hidalgo from the ballot.

“Unbelievable — that’s what this whole parade has been,” Perdue told the board. “This entire carnival of crazy.”

In addition to two available school board trustee spots, Mansfield ISD voters will also decide on a $777 million bond focusing on upgrading school facilities, renovating stadiums and improving fine arts education. At the meeting, multiple speakers expressed they would not vote to approve the bond because of their distrust of the district. 

The election is May 4. Early voting begins April 22 and ends April 30. Polling places can be found here. 

Place 1

Incumbent Newsom is the current president of Surepoint Emergency Centers. 

She has been on the board since 2015 and won her Place 1 seat with more than 72% of the vote in the 2021 election. 

Her top issues include addressing educational finance, prioritizing school safety, preparing for students’ career path, advancing academic opportunities and mastery in mathematics, according to Newsom’s website.

Her challenger, Herzberg, is in the construction management industry after 14 years working in Mansfield ISD, serving in various positions from band director to principal. 

His priorities include focusing beyond state test scores, investing in teachers and leaders, responding to students’ needs, supporting staff members and transparency, according to Herzberg’s website. 

Place 2

Crutchfield is UTA’s associate professor in the School of Social Work. Her priorities include investing in the whole child’s well-being by meeting physical, mental and emotional needs; investing in staff; and remaining nonpartisan and transparent with data, according to her website.

Hidalgo is Tarrant County College’s Spanish professor. His goal, which Hidalgo said “is simple yet ambitious,” is to ensure that every student in Mansfield ISD receives quality education, according to his Facebook. 

Both candidates running for Place 2 have faced questions regarding their eligibility before the May 4 election. Crutchfield’s eligibility was reviewed and “she has been determined to be in compliance with election eligibility requirements,” Wilson said in an April 4 statement on the district’s Facebook.

Editor’s Note: The story was updated April 18, 2024, following the school board’s decision to deem Angel Hidalgo ineligible.

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