According to candidate filing information from HISD, incumbent trustee Robert Sitton and candidates Edgar Clayton, William A. Epperson and Rebecca Tribo filed applications for Position 1.
Candidates Wilbert C. Baker, James C. Banks, Liz Diaz, Jesse Givens, Clint Horn, Chris Parker, David O. Popoola and Donté Washington applied for Position 3.
Candidates Janie Branham, Marques A. Holmes, Lonnie Jackson, Ken Kirchhofer and Chase Stevens applied for Position 4.
Incumbent trustee Martina Lemond Dixon and candidate Andrea Glazebrook filed for Position 5.
Positions 3 and 4 are currently held by trustees Brent Engelage and Keith Lapeze, respectively, who did not seek re-election. Lapeze and Engelage, both former trustees, were appointed to their seats by the board in September 2019 and April 2020, respectively, after two elected board members retired during their terms.
When they were appointed, trustees said Lapeze and Engelage had expressed that they were committed to completing the remainder of the terms but did not intend to run for the seats in May 2021.
School board members are volunteers who serve the community without pay for four-year terms. HISD Chief Communications Officer Jamie Mount said via email that board members must "study issues facing the district, evaluate needs and resources, and take action at legally called public meetings by voting as a board." They also work with the superintendent, adopt annual budgets and monitor legislative developments, to name a few responsibilities.
