The board secretary and former president and vice president said he has “greatly enjoyed” serving on the FISD board since he was first elected in 2015. Opting out of re-election, he said, is something that has always been in the back of his mind.
Rudy said he was mostly sure about ending his tenure on the board after his last re-election in 2019. About a year ago was when he said he and his wife talked it through. Despite what he called "fiscal and social issues happening in the world today," Rudy said he has reached a final decision.
“With what's all going on in the current environment, it's kind of made me take a little bit of a pause and really reconsider some of it,” Rudy said. “But I have decided that it is my time, and that this is the time that I think is the best for me to not seek re-election.”
Rudy said FISD’s financial success, rapid growth and quick response to the COVID-19 pandemic are accomplishments to which he is most proud of contributing. FISD was the reason he moved to Frisco in the first place, he said.
One accomplishment Rudy said he is particularly proud of is recruiting Superintendent Mike Waldrip back to FISD in July 2017.
Waldrip’s leadership and the team he assembled around him, according to Rudy, were instrumental in expanding the district’s many programs, such as the International Baccalaureate accelerated learning program and the Junior ROTC.
In addition, Rudy said he looks forward to the district completing a community accountability program, which will explore what the community in Frisco values and how FISD can acknowledge that.
“People continue to do their homework, and they choose to move to Frisco to educate their students,” he said.
That same growth has led to one of the challenges the school district has ahead, according to Rudy. With 11 high schools and the 12th, Panther Creek High School, well under construction, Rudy wondered just how many high schools FISD should build.
“We were focused on that growth originally, but now, we're still experiencing high growth,” he said. “We’re seeing the light at the end of the tunnel and starting to look at what it's going to finally look like. ... We've got 12 high schools. Is there [going to be] 13 or 14? Is 12 satisfactory?”
Rudy said he will continue to “work hard” for the district in any nonelected capacity, be it on a committee or helping FISD devise future bond packages.
“I'm not going anywhere,” he said. “We still love the community and still plan to be very involved in the community.”
Election day is scheduled for May 7. The filing period will run from Jan. 19 to Feb. 18.
