Time in Katy: 5 years
Occupation: Business owner
Contact info: 281-858-3683, [email protected]
If elected, what would your top three priorities be? How would you implement them?
Should I have the opportunity to serve the residents of Katy, as school board trustee, I intend to:
- Honor the foresight and traditions of our rich history with an unswerving focus on high expectations for current and future student growth and improvement, and educator professional development
- Demand honor and integrity in all of our dealings with students, teachers, administrators, and parents
- Advocate in love and with heart for every child in the district, regardless of beliefs, race, creed, orientation, affiliation or learning ability.
And I will implement them by continuing to meet at that great local diner in Old Katy, the one that serves those pancakes that it is hard for me to turn down. Well, it is at places like this, and churches, and civic organizations where I will hear from the people unfiltered. So when a new scholastic, budgetary, or social decision comes before the board, I can make a decision that is not just seasoned with my own family’s experience, but also includes the expectations of my KISD neighbors.
What are the most important financial and budgetary issues KISD should address?
I am a fiscal conservative. I firmly believe that the school board is obligated to be a good steward of the hard-earned tax dollars entrusted by each contributing Katy citizen. With a budget of over $800 million, I am convinced we can assure the needs of our children, and teachers are met. As I meet my Katy ISD neighbors and friends, I have been quickly made aware that they are alarmed. “Carlos, I love sports, heck I even played for a local high school, but as a teacher, I should not have to buy reference books, while at the same time we are building $71 million stadiums,” one teacher said. Another concerned Katy citizen just said recently at the Education Summit held at Cinco Ranch High School, that her son is on the debate team and she has to pay for all of his trips, while sports trips are paid for by the district. This is what I mean by history, heart, and honor. We can do all three. We can honor the rich scholastic and athletic history of our city and love the scholars with our scholar athletes and honor our teachers, students and parents while doing so.
How does your experience qualify you to be a member of the Katy ISD board of trustees?
I am a loving husband, father of five sons, WatchDOG Dad, Katy business owner, Sunday school teacher, Katy Youth Basketball coach, and six-year resident of Katy. I believe our continued growth is more powerful when we endeavor to love all our young ones, assure continuity of respect from parents to teachers to students, and build upon our rich historic foundation toward an even more integrity-fortified tomorrow. Having earned an engineering degree from Tuskegee University and an master’s in business administration from The University of Michigan-Dearborn, and then practicing what I learned as an engineer and financier in various roles in corporate America, at Ford Motor Company, I was a design engineer and then later a lead finance analyst for a $3 billion operations expense budget on the F150 platform. Later at Cameron here in Houston, I lead a global team of lean operations experts toward annual savings of over $40 million. Now, I run a thriving coffee roasting business on $0 debt! So, because of my work, entrepreneurial and scholastic expertise, I will fulfill my duties of school board trustee with a keen appreciation for education, fiscal and moral integrity, and a conviction that we do what is in the best interest of our beloved children, so that we remain Young at Heart.
