Plano ISD board President Missy Bender announced Jan. 16 she will not seek re-election in May. Bender has served on PISDs board of trustees for 13 years, and is finishing her third year as board president. Bender said she plans to focus on advocating for school finance reform in the state’s 86th Legislative session. “I really feel like we have some opportunity to see significant improvement in public education funding this [Legislative] session,” Bender said. “The timing of the session and the timing of a re-election campaign coincide, and I feel like I need to invest all of my energy in the opportunity to see school finance reform through.” Bender has been an outspoken voice in favor of restructuring Texas’ school finance formulas, and testified in front of the states’ school finance commission last year. “Certainly I’m working on behalf of Plano ISD and communicating with our local delegation members, but I’m also working statewide with education groups, business groups and non-profit groups to bring them together to find common ground,” Bender said. “This is a continuation of work I’ve been doing over the last couple of years.” Trustees will make future leadership decisions after the elections in May, Bender said. “Following that, I will just enjoy spending time with my family and have an open mind about what comes next,” Bender said. Editor's note: This story has been updated to include comments from Bender.