Conroe ISD board candidates address growth, upcoming bond

Before Conroe ISD residents vote in the upcoming Nov. 4 election, candidates for the CISD board of trustees emphasized growth, community representation and student safety at a candidate forum Oct. 9.

Positions 1, 2 and 3 are up for reelection Nov. 4. Four CISD board candidates were present at the forum Oct. 9 at Spring Creek Nature Center in Spring, including Position 2 incumbent Ray Sanders, Position 1 candidates Melanie Bush and Kim LeJeune and Position 3 candidate Skeeter Hubert.

Sanders, the board president, and Hubert are running unopposed. Position 3 candidates Jason Millsaps and Carol Hamilton did not attend. Former trustee C.J. Haynes resigned from Position 3 earlier this year.

Hubert said he is running for the board of trustees because he would like to keep the community like it is while handling the influx of people coming moving to the area.

"We need to manage the growth," Hubert said.

One audience member asked the forum participants if any lived in the area east of I-45, in order to find out if her geographical area would be well represented.

LeJeune, who lives east of I-45, addressed concerns about representation of residents east of the highway. Although, she stressed that the board members act as a collective and represent all of the members of CISD, not just those with similar addresses.

"The board will act as a whole," LeJeune said.

Bush addressed questions regarding campus safety and the need for armed campus authority to protect against violence.

"I am against guns in the classroom," Bush said.

With the possibility of a bond election looming in November 2015, Sanders said demographer information gathered every five to six years reflects the necessity of the bond. He said the data show future growth in the Oak Ridge feeder zone and this growth necessitates the need for the bond.

"What is Oak Ridge feeder zone going to look like?" Sanders said. "We need another high school."

For more information, visit www.conroeisd.net .