Local · Trusted · Free
The Morning Impact — your neighborhood's most important stories, delivered every morning.
Three candidates are running for Clear Creek ISD's At-Large Position B in the upcoming May election.
The candidates are incumbent Scott Bowen, Kyrsten Garcia and Carl Nunn. Candidate responses may have been edited for length and clarity.
*Indicates incumbent
If elected, what will be your top three priorities?
I will meet our budget challenges with a fiscally responsible approach: dedicate funds toward increasing teacher salaries and high quality programs, especially special needs programs, and away from waste and administrative overhead. Keep politics out of classrooms, and instead focus on improving our academic standards. End remaining COVID[-19] restrictions and fully return to normalcy.
What do you think the school district needs to improve on?
Our district mission and strategy is vague. We need to revisit it and set specific and achievable goals to keep improving and set a high bar for student achievement. We have also seen an increase in behavior issues in schools. We need to support our teachers when it comes to controlling discipline in their own classrooms and prevent administrators from tying their hands.
How do you plan on making the district successful?
A strong school board will actively push administrators and staff at all levels to be accountable for student outcomes. I have never been afraid to ask tough questions and stand for what is right. My role is to accept nothing less than excellent performance from the people our community trusts to steward the education of its children, and the more we are willing to do that, the more the district will improve.
If elected, what will be your top three priorities?
Advocating for the direct interests of every individual student and staff member in CCISD to ensure our families are continuing to receive high-quality education as well as keeping the community informed and involved through clear and concise two-way communication. I'll accomplish this by voting and holding the superintendent accountable for solutions to improve staff retention, special education processes and parent input/communication, as well as keeping the tax rate as low as possible. ...
What do you think the school district needs to improve on?
Candidate did not submit response as of press time
How do you plan on making the district successful?
Candidate did not submit response as of press time
If elected, what will be your top three priorities?
First, securing a safe environment for students and staff. We have opportunities to improve security and should be actively seeking them. Secondly, we need to do better at working with our parents/staff in a collaborative way to ensure student success. Finally, we need to retain and recruit the best teachers. The last few years have been hard on our staff, and we need to recognize that they have gone above and beyond their normal expectations.
What do you think the district needs to improve on?
One of our largest areas of opportunity for improvement is with communication. Getting timely, useful information to parents, students and staff is essential. Whether the communication is about graduation requirements, opportunities for specialized programs or special education testing, our community should not have to hunt that information down themselves.
How do you plan on making the district successful?
Hard work, listening and learning. I bring my experience as a police chief, coach and parent, but nothing substitutes for being willing to roll up your sleeves and getting down to work. I commit to listening to every stakeholder and [finding] the best way for our district to constantly improve. Finally, learning: no one is an expert at everything. I consider myself a lifelong learner, and I apply that to everything I do.
