Three seats were up for grabs on the Douglas School Board of Education in last week’s general election.

Incumbents Susan Kramer, Mike Ortega and Mario Ramos were being challenged by Natalio Sabal and Louie Tartaglia.

While some ballots are still being counted in appears as if two seats have been filled. As of press time Tuesday morning Ortega had garnered the most votes with 2,654 retaining his seat for another four years. Sabal followed with 1,872 and Kramer had 1,639, Ramos 1,572 and Tartaglia had 1,208 votes.

“I am humbled by the voters giving me an opportunity to continuing serving them as a member of the DUSD Board of Trustees,” Ortega said following his appointment. “I look forward to working with the community, other Board members, and staff to give our students the best education possible by providing them an environment for success in their lives.”

Sabal said he’s very appreciative of the voters that have appointed him a position to serve the district.

“I hope that I fulfill their expectations,” he said.

When asked their thought on Prop 204 failing Ortega said although he is disappointed that Prop 204 did not pass, he does respect that the voters have spoken and they are not interested in sustaining that particular revenue source.

“It is now up to us at the local school district level to make adjustments where needed to absorb potential reductions that may be coming from the State,” he said. “I have asked for a work session of the DUSD Board to go over options we will need to consider. I know the staff is working on options now and will wait to see what they generate. I am hopeful this work session will occur within the next 30-45 days.”

Sabal said he’s sure the DUSD administration has been preparing just in case Prop. 204 did not pass.

“I understand the impact that it has on all the school districts,” he said. “I do feel the administration has been preparing for a situation such as this.”

Kramer is holding off making a statement until the results become official.

All 3 board members will be sworn in to their seats at the January meeting.

According to the Cochise County Elections Department voter turnout rate was 55.09 percent. There are 80,372 registered voters in Cochise