There are four competitive races for the Friendswood ISD board of trustees, which are positions 1, 2, 3 and 4.
Early voting starts Oct. 21. Election Day will be held Nov. 5.
Position 1
For this race, incumbent Laura Seifert will face former high school coach Bradley Clapp.
Seifert said she is running for re-election to advocate for state funding and support FISD students and staff.
During the debate, Seifert emphasized the importance of community engagement.
“We love input from citizens and community, parents, ... and we have lots of avenues to receive that feedback,” Seifert said. “It matters to us. At the same time, our charge is to do what is very best for students.”
Clapp said he is running to shape the future of FISD.
He said at the debate transparency is crucial for facility improvements and financial contributions made by the district. Clapp also said a future bond shouldn’t be considered until the 2020 bond has been fully completed.
“We should start thinking of our next bond once we've completed and been transparent about our current bond that we're dealing with ..., and then I think we take a hard look at what we need to sustain our future growth,” Clapp said.
Click here to read the Q&A for this race.
Position 2
For this race, incumbent Niki Rhodes will face retired surgeon Donald “Doc” Stran.
Stran said he is running for election to instill change within the district.
Stran said at the debate facilities at Bales Intermediate, Westwood and Windsong Elementary schools are underfunded, and Friendswood High School’s tennis building was overfunded.
“We spent over $1 million for a tennis building, not tennis courts—a tennis building,” Stran said. “They took that money from somewhere else and put it there. It could have been used for facility improvement for Westwood, Bales and Windsong to correct some of the problems they have now with their structural facilities.”
Rhodes said she is running for re-election to ensure students receive high-quality education in a safe environment, and teachers and staff feel valued.
During the debate, Rhodes said the district’s cellphone policy is the top policy that needs to be addressed within the district.
Currently, cellphones must remain turned off during the instructional day, including during testing, unless they are approved for instructional purposes, according to the 2024-25 handbook.
However, the current board has discussed solutions for stricter enforcement of the policy, or a potential new policy in which students will not be able to access cellphones from the time the first bell rings to the time the last bell rings.
“We have asked our administrators to come back to us with feedback on how the current policy is going and where it should go ... if it needs to go bell-to-bell,” Rhodes said. “They're going to come back to us with some ideas or some input from [teachers] in the classroom all the time ... and that is really going to help us know if our current policy is enough or if we need to go bell-to-bell.”
Click here to read the Q&A for this race.
Position 3
For this race, incumbent Rebecca Hillenburg will face Realtor Debbie Spurr.
Hillenburg said she is running for re-election to use her experience in the classroom and as a principal to make decisions for the district.
Hillenburg said she believes standard-based learning is crucial to build a pathway for individual students to succeed.
Standards-based learning is used to set clear and measurable goals for individual students by identifying what students should learn and be able to do.
“I see standards-based learning as a step toward developing an individual education plan for every student, and I think every student has the right to see what their plan is to grow and learn,” Hillenburg said.
Spurr said she is running for election to also use her experience as a teacher to advocate for students and teachers.
Spurr said she does not agree with standards-based learning, as she did not find it to be beneficial during her time in the classroom.
“I'm afraid [standards-based learning] is going to leave huge learning gaps and frustrations with testing and the teachers and students.”
Click here to read the Q&A for this race.
Position 4
For this race, incumbent Tony Hopkins will face John Scott, a vice president of sales for an industrial tire company.
Scott said he is running for election to give back to the Friendswood community and believes teachers are currently not supported within the district.
“Currently in our district, teacher morale is as bad as it's ever been, and I recognize that that's a nationwide phenomenon, but that's not something that usually happens in Friendswood,” Scott said. “That's happening because there's no respect, there's no trust, there's no accountability. The teachers don't feel supported. So I think we need to get back to that, and I think that we'll be able to hold on to our teachers.”
Hopkins said he is running for re-election to give students the same experience he had as an FISD student.
Hopkins said he believes out of all the current unfunded state mandates, safety should be fully funded by the state Legislature for the district.
“We have an obligation that was put on [safety] in 2023 to have an armed guard on every campus,” Hopkins said. “ [Districts] can't afford to do it because the basic allotment hasn't been increased. ... It has to happen right at the beginning of the next legislative session.”
Click here to read the Q&A for this race.
More details
The full debate can be viewed on Clear Life Media’s Facebook page.
