Final results for the May 3 general election were called Saturday night. Incumbent Margret Pruett retained her position on the Victoria Independent School District Board by defeating Andy Rockovich for the District 6 seat, while Mickey Kostella defeated Josh Moore for the vacant District 7 seat.
Pruett, who has served on the VISD Board for nine years, secured 69.20% of the total votes (764), Rokovich received 30.80 percent of the votes (340). A total of 1,104 votes were cast in District 6, while 4,496 votes were cast overall in Saturday's election, including for mayor of Victoria, the two VISD races, Proposition A and the incorporation of Bloomington.
Kostella received 50.88 percent of the total votes (1,395), beating Josh Moore who received 36.43% (999). Christian West, who conceded from the race prior to election day, received 12.69 of the votes (348).
Kostella will replace Mike Mercer, who served as VISD Board President since 2021. Mercer announced his intention not to run again in December 2024.
Pruett has served as the District 6 trustee since 2016. She is the current vice president of the Board. Through her campaign, Pruett has been an advocate for the expansion of Advanced Placement, Dual Credit and Career and Technical Education (CTE) courses at the district.
She has emphasized the importance of maintaining a strong relationship between the Board of Trustees, VISD and the community. During a University of Houston-Victoria Election Forum, she voiced her support for teacher pay initiatives such as the Teacher Incentive Allotment (TIA) program.
ƵI am feeling so blessed to have such an amazing community that supports me and went out there and voted and is allowing me to be their voice for another three years,Ƶ Pruett said. Ƶ[I will] continue to fight for the voice of our students and work with Mrs. [Sheila] Collazo to make some great things happen.Ƶ
Kostella similarly supported a push for the expansion of AP, Dual Credit and CTE offerings at the district. He looks to increase the dissemination of information regarding the offerings to parents so their students can make more informed decisions during class registration.
At the University of Houston-Victoria Election Forum, Kostella voiced his support for the TIA program. The program is a good way to increase teacher pay without having to cost taxpayers additional money, he said.
The elected candidates will be sworn in at the VISD Board of Trustees regularly scheduled May meeting, set for May 15. The reorganizing of the Board will then take place, with a new president and potential vice president and secretary being selected.
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