Q&A: Get to know who is running for the Hays CISD board of trustees ahead of May 7 election

What would be your top priorities if you are elected?

1. Support and empower teachers: Honor teacher expertise, increase supports, and empower teachers within the classroom. Offer competitive pay and benefits to recruit and retain a diverse team of teachers and support staff. 2. Safe, equitable education for all: Every child deserves an excellent education regardless of learning style, income, identity, neurotype, race, or campus. 3. Whole child education: Students need to feel safe and supported in our schools to excel. That includes mental health services and with neurodiversity-affirming social/emotional learning.

What best ways do you see the district handling growth?

Projections are showing a gain of thousands of more homes scheduled to build out in Hays CISD. We need to future-think, plan, and build out for what will be here. Classes are jam-packed in the elementary and middle school campuses. Teachers are overwhelmed with the student-teacher ratios. Even the arts classes are too large. We need more space, educators, and resources to be ready when the enrollment numbers climb. We also need to consider shaking things up and branching out from the traditional campuses we have to more functional campuses.

What would be your top priorities if you are elected?

We need to strengthen our learning environment for students and staff while also making every resource available to rapidly close the achievement gap. Our students need to have hands-on experiences in extracurricular activities, Career and Technology pathways and we also must continue to provide resources for every student with special needs and a support system for their families. Kids need to feel connected in society and Hays CISD can provide that connection.

What best ways do you see the district handling growth?

As a member of the Facilities Bond Oversight Committee for the last four years, I am very aware of our future growth. We must deliver needed resources and assets on time, and our ability to use the district's demographer’s data to meet these objectives is critical when managing growth. The bond we developed for May addresses not only our student growth with a new elementary school, but our administrative growth with the academic support center.

What would be your top priorities if you are elected?

A larger investment in mental health professionals, current practices and procedures: More and more kids are living with mental health issues that sometimes are undiagnosed or untreated and the numbers rose after COVID. More [career and technical education] programs to allow our kids to curate their learning experience and better prepare them for the next chapter: Let’s do more to help our kids set up the next steps in their education or, potentially, into a career. Only a small percentage of district students get put into programs that help with post-high school development. We can do better.

What best ways do you see the district handling growth?

Political divisiveness is getting in the way of the school board's ability to best serve the Hays CISD. The future is about to bring us some very complex topics that cannot be represented by a school board that all believes the same thing (LGBTQ, book bans, [critical race theory], more COVID-related issues, among others). If the tilt continues, the Hays CISD school board will continue to act as one mind—despite the responsibility to best serve their individual districts.

What would be your top priorities if you are elected?

1. Accelerating learning for students, especially with the gaps we have encountered due to the pandemic; 2. Providing mental health resources through access to therapeutic counseling and social emotional learning programs; 3. Recruitment and retention of highly qualified teachers and staff during a time marked by high levels of employee shortages across the nation. Student achievement is paramount; we must continue to strengthen our programs and capitalize on what we have done well and build on that.

What best ways do you see the district handling growth?

The district is cognizant of the fact that we are a fast growing district. We employ the expertise of a demographer to pinpoint the amount and locations of our population growth. This allows us to anticipate staffing needs in existing locations and as new schools come online. Our district’s facilities bond oversight committee incorporates the demographic information into our comprehensive building and expansion plan.