Voters cast ballots today

For more information on the elections, visit The Monitor's online elections guide at www.themonitor.com/elections. Also, check there for the latest election results as they come in after polls close at 7 p.m.

EDINBURG -- Voters here will decide today whether to approve a $112 million bond to pay for fine arts facilities and other buildings in the school district.

If approved, it would be the first time voters in the school district have approved a bond issue since 1999.

The school system enrolls nearly 30,000 students, and district leaders expect that figure to grow 50 percent by 2016. Proponents of the bond tout the need for improved facilities given that growth, but critics have called it excessive spending.

Voters across Hidalgo County will go to the polls today to register their decisions about the future of their cities and school districts.

Most voting locations are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., and results should be released shortly thereafter. In many areas, so many candidates are vying for a single office that the contests are almost certain to go to runoff elections in the coming weeks.

Voters in the Pharr-San Juan-Alamo and Weslaco school districts will vote today on whether to approve bonds to fund new facilities.

San Juan is the only area city with a mayoral election, as incumbent Mayor San Juanita Sanchez attempts to defend her position against a pair of challengers.

In Weslaco, voters face a field of 19 candidates vying for six seats - including two newly created positions - on the City Commission. Weslaco elections got a makeover this year, with candidates now running for single-member districts rather than at large.

In Pharr, the City Commission's majority hangs in the balance as voters decide whether to keep the current commissioners in place or replace them with a slate of candidates backed by powerful Mayor Leo "Polo" Palacios.

The cities of Elsa, Edcouch, Edinburg, Mission, La Joya and Alton also have municipal elections today.
____

Ryan Holeywell covers PSJA, the Mid-Valley and general assignments for The Monitor. He can be reached at (956) 683-4446.