She will run against incumbent Kronda Thimesch in the election May 5.
Community Impact Newspaper sent Weinstein a series of questions about her candidacy. Her written responses, edited for publication style, are below.
- What do you think is the biggest issue facing Lewisville ISD?
School finance is the biggest issue for our district. Most of our property taxes (70 percent) goes to financing LISD. LISD only gets 14 percent of its funding from the state and 1 percent from [federal money]. Due to rise in property values and an unanticipated decline in enrollment, over $35 million will go from LISD to Austin for recapture. Additionally, we are facing a deficit of $4.6 million this year.
2. What are your plans to fix this issue?
As a trustee I would partner with the town councils and work with legislatures to advocate for school finance and property tax reform. I would also solicit input from the community and work to decrease the deficit with as minimal an impact to programs as possible while also engaging to ensure we have a robust marketing plan in place to promote the benefits of the LISD and grow enrollment.
3. If elected, what will be your top priorities?
My top priorities are:
-School finance reform
-Installing a mental health coordinator for the district. This position would serve as a conduit between the schools and parents to identify and connect parents and distressed students with resources to meet their needs. We have a wonderful guidance department, but it needs to be more proactive in identifying children starting in kindergarten who are lonely and sad and helping them adjust or refer for services.
-Improving communications to promote programs, public meetings and ensuring all of our citizens are engaged and aware of all the opportunities and benefits the LISD has to offer.
4. What are your plans to address the district's declining enrollment?
We need a smart marketing program addressing young families with children entering kindergarten through primary grades to promote the school district. Much of the drop-off has been attributed to charter school enrollment. I have nothing against charter schools, but I feel that if parents truly understood the kind of unique and innovative educational experience that the LISD offers they would make public school their first choice. This story is not out there. I recently had a conversation with a woman considering sending her children to private school. She had no idea that LISD offered so many choices and programs and asked how she could find more information on LISD and if we could provide more information through the town newsletter, which underscores that we have a great story that needs to be told. As a side note, while there was a booth for a charter school at this event, LISD had no booth. These community events targeting children are one great way to promote our story. For all of this, proactive communication not just through town newsletter but using other forms such as text and Twitter, is critical.
We also need to partner with the town councils and developers to understand plans to create affordable housing to attract young families. Our communities depend on young families to grow and stay vital, but new, high-priced housing is driving up property values so high it is becoming unaffordable for a young family to live here.
5. What are your thoughts about Lewisville ISD becoming a "Robin Hood" district?
I don’t think the question should be about becoming a "Robin Hood" district, but more about what is the state doing to financially support our public school education. The Robin Hood act is supposed to redistribute money from wealthy school districts to poorer ones and originally only impacted a small number of districts. The state has subverted the Robin Hood act, though, by decreasing state funding for public education to an alarmingly low amount and relying on mainstream districts to fund education throughout Texas. The result is that no school district is getting the level of state funding they need. This is creating a financial crisis, and now our district is facing such a crisis as well. A free, well-funded, high-quality public education is necessary to prepare our children for adulthood and to be able to compete for the jobs our economy is creating as well continuing to provide for the needs of the community. The quality of public education is the first criteria for selecting a community when new families move; it is what helps propel children to become productive adults and contributors to the economy and community. Texas needs to take public education seriously.
