Candidate responses may have been edited for length, style and clarity. Incumbents are identified with an asterisk (*).
Jenny Proznik*
Occupation: volunteer
Residence: lives in Frisco and within the district for 22 years
Contact: [email protected]
Chris Bowen
Occupation: president of Bowen Pools
Residence: lives in Lewisville and within the district for 10 years
Contact: [email protected]
Why are you running for office?
Proznik: LISD is my home, and it’s a district that gave my children a great education. I have seen an LISD education from kindergarten through graduation (twice) and that allows me the ability to listen well, relate and understand situations and scenarios teachers, students or parents face when working through our public education system. LISD covers a large geographical area, and I have made a serious effort to invest in all of our LISD communities by collaborating with elected officials and chambers and learning about the community groups and nonprofits that support our students and campuses. I have invested a great deal of time in service, campus visits and meetings along with research and learning during the past six years and I still feel like there is a great deal of service that I can continue to do.
Bowen: I am running for school board because I believe that public education directly impacts the vitality of our community. Investing in our children now means a vibrant future. I am the father of two beautiful girls who will be students in LISD and the husband to an amazing wife who is a school teacher in LISD.
What are the biggest challenges facing the district?
Proznik: Staffing shortages and lack of substitute teachers is a serious challenge we are currently working to address. Human Resources presented plans to the board and taken the Board’s direction to find a solution that keeps the best teachers possible in the classrooms and supporting them with as many quality substitutes as we can contract. There is nothing more important in a classroom than the teacher. Working to fill the learning gaps for all students COVID created gaps for students who never had them before. As a district, we need to continue to try to identify ways to help students, who may not be quite on grade level in one or more subjects, “rise” to grade level and then even accelerate. Early intervention is key, but we must provide the resources (assessment, staff and tools) for our campuses to take this task on in the natural scope of their daily teaching.
Bowen: The biggest challenge facing the district currently are budget restrictions with so much money being redirected to the states general fund through recapture. Staffing shortages would be another challenge facing the district currently. These are a few of the challenges I would like to help solve.
If elected, what would be your top priorities?
Proznik: I want every student to feel a part of his or her school and Lewisville ISD. The board has asked for 100% participation by students in an extracurricular activity as a goal. Research shows that students who feel a connection to their school through extracurricular activities have better attendance, higher grades and fewer discipline problems. School finance in Texas will always be a challenge. As a board, we best support this by making sure our superintendent maintains a student- and teacher-focused budget with financial staff that is well versed in the patterns of Texas school finance. As a board we must continue to look forward and keep our focus on our the district we are elected to steward, making sure our staff has the ultimate support they need to do their jobs to the best of their ability each day, regardless of what is going on in Austin.
Bowen: To work with my fellow board members to help keep a balanced budget. As well as help come up with ways we can increase retention of current staff and increase the district's ability to recruit new staff.
What are some new ideas or programs you would like the district to explore?
Proznik: Before we add to the many opportunities across Lewisville ISD, I would want to make sure that the programs we have in place are being implemented effectively. At the secondary level, LISD has established two state of the art career centers where our students can take career and tech learning to the next level. The district should always be exploring student preferences as well as marketplace opportunities, such as our Fire Fighter Academy, Collegiate Academy, and the new cybersecurity classes now available. An expansion of the INCUBATOR to the Flower Mound High School, Marcus High School and Hebron High School is an area of opportunity for this amazing program.
Bowen: One idea that I would like for the board to explore, which is an idea I got from a community member a few months ago when we met for coffee (thanks Paul), is the idea of bringing JROTC to middle school. LISD is a large district and very diverse. One way I feel that can help bring routine and structure to young men and women’s lives is through this program. It’s currently in the high schools, but I’d like to see it in middle schools as well to be able to reach kids at a younger age. Another idea I would like to explore is changing teacher pay from monthly to b weekly. This would help teachers with flexibility in their personal lives and shortening the gap between pay periods.
