Candidates file for five seats on Austin ISD board of trustees

The deadline is approaching to file for candidacy for a seat on the Austin ISD board of trustees, and several candidates have announced their bids in the past few weeks.

Elections will be held for single-member Trustee Districts 1, 4, 6 and 7, and Trustee At-Large Position 9 in November. The school district serves about 85,000 students at 128 schools.

Trustee positions include:

At-Large Place 9

Currently held by: Tamala Barksdale, who said she does not plan to run again.

Candidates:

Kendall Pace

Pace filed for candidacy Aug. 10 and is an AISD parent, AISD Advisory Council member, Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce Education and Talent Development Council member and management consultant with Smart Flour Foods.

Kazique Prince

Prince has not filed yet, but At-Large Place 9 trustee Tamala Barksdale said he plans to run. An Austin ISD parent, he has been active in local PTAs. He is also an East Austin resident and founder of Jelani Consulting, LLC, which provides consultation and coaching focused on cultural competency and communication for individuals, teams, and organizations in business, education, government, healthcare, and for nonprofit groups.

Andy M. Trimino

Trimino filed for candidacy Aug. 14.

District 1

Currently held by: Cheryl Bradley, who has said she does not plan to run.

Edmund T. Gordon

Chair of the African and African Diaspora Studies Department, he is also Associate Professor of African and African Diaspora Studies and Anthropology of the African Diaspora at The University of Texas.

Stanton Strickland

In addition to working as associate commissioner for the Texas Department of Insurance, Strickland serves as president of the Organization of Central East Austin Neighborhoods and Robertson Hill Neighborhood Association. "I've got a lot of experience in community service and trying to bring people together and collaborate for a common good. That's at the heart of what it would take to go forward in a positive way and build upon what the school board has already done," he said. He said he plans to establish a campaign website soon.

David "D" Thompson

Thompson filed for candidacy Aug. 13.

District 4

Currently held by: Vincent Torres, who has said he does not plan to run.

Julie Cowan

Cowan ran in 2010 against Tamala Barksdale for At-large Place 9. She worked for two years as the School Improvement Facilitator at Anderson High School, serves as second vice president of the Austin Council of PTAs' executive board, and has been president of the PTAs at Doss Elementary, Murchison Middle and Anderson High schools. She also served on those schools' campus advisory councils. www.facebook.com/pages/Julie-Cowan-for-AISD-District-4/

Karen Flanagan

Flanagan is an AISD parent and served on the Community Bond Oversight Committee.

District 6

Currently held by: Lori Moya, who has said she does not plan to run.

Candidates:

Monica Sanchez

A native Austinite, Sanchez served as president of the Austin Council of PTAs for two years.

District 7

Currently held by: Robert Schneider.

Candidates:

Theresa Bastian

The volunteer, PTA president and former teacher announced her candidacy Aug. 11. "Austin is one of the fastest-growing cities in the country, and while I've been impressed by the teachers and principals that my children are around, I believe our quality of education is at risk because of the board of trustees' inability to keep up with the changing needs of this community," Bastian said in a news release. www.votebastianaisd.com

Robert Schneider

Schneider announced July 1 that he will seek reelection. He was first elected to the board in 2002 and was reelected in 2006 and in 2010. He retired from full-time work on massively parallel computing systems at The University of Texas after 30 years. Schneider has also served on numerous neighborhood, environmental, and school committees and task forces. www.facebook.com/TrusteeSchneider

Yasmin Wagner

Wagner has served as a PTA board member and on the AISD Boundary Advisory Committee, as well as in leadership roles with nonprofits including the YWCA of Greater Austin, Girls Rock Austin and SafePlace. www.yasminwagner.com

The filing deadline is Aug. 18. More information about elections is available at www.austinisd.org.