Timothy Burke

Most importantly, I am a husband and father above all else. My wife is a teacher in WISD, my son started Pre-K in the district this year, and my daughter will soon follow. I'm the Manager of Network Engineering for a state university system. I run the teams and the infrastructure that thousands of students and faculty depend on - networks and systems that have to keep working when something goes wrong. Before that, I worked in private sector telecommunications and public safety IT....

1. I bring a skill set this board doesn't currently have. I manage network engineering for a state university system, and before that I worked in telecommunications and public safety IT. Willis ISD is going to spend serious money on facilities, technology, and safety infrastructure over the next several years. Most boards evaluate those proposals by trusting the vendor's slide deck. I can read the specification, ask what it actually costs over ten years instead of on day one, and tell the difference between a real solution and a repackaged one. I also do this work inside a public institution, so I know what it means to spend taxpayer money and answer for it. 2. I'm one of the new families, and that's a fast-growing share of this district. We moved here five years ago. Since then Willis ISD has added more than 600 students and opened three campuses. People don't move to a district they're worried about, so I'd call that what it is: a vote of confidence that deserves a board that plans for it. New families ask different questions than families who've been here thirty years, and I'd bring those to the table. My wife teaches here and my son is in pre-K, so I'll be a Willis ISD parent for the next fourteen years....

1. Growth outpacing planning. We're at about 9,579 students, up more than 600 in two years. The district has been responding well by adding new campuses and there's ongoing renovation work adding capacity at existing campuses. I know that last part firsthand because I served on the Long-Range Planning Committee this year. This is not a district asleep at the wheel. What I'd add is durability and transparency. Right now much of that planning lives inside committee work and staff analysis. I'd want the board to publish a multi-year enrollment projection tied to an infrastructure plan: capacity by campus, what triggers new construction versus renovation, what it costs, and what it means for staffing. It should be a standing public document updated on a schedule, so families can read it long before it becomes a bond ask. Planning that only surfaces when we need a vote looks like a sales pitch even when it isn't....

Yes, and I'd want it done right. Willis ISD already gets an annual independent financial audit. That's required by law and it isn't the same thing. What I'd push for is a performance and efficiency audit: an outside look at whether we're getting value for what we spend on contracts, technology, transportation, and administration. I'd also want the board to engage with the findings in public session rather than accept a presentation and move on.

Primary. Parents are the decision-makers for their own children, and the school works for them. Practically, that means being able to see what your child is taught, know who's teaching it, review the materials, and get a real answer when you ask a question instead of a runaround. Texas law now requires much of this, and the board's job is to make sure the district complies in substance rather than on paper. The part I'd add is this: a right you don't know you have isn't worth much. If we're going to give parents access, we have to actually tell them it exists, in language they can understand.

Common Core: Texas never adopted it, and state law prohibits districts from using it to satisfy TEKS. It isn't a live issue in Willis ISD and I wouldn't support importing it. Critical Race Theory: CRT is a graduate-level legal theory, not a K-12 curriculum, and state law already restricts how race and current events are taught. I don't support teaching children that they carry guilt or virtue based on their race, and I'd expect any specific complaint about classroom content to be investigated on the facts rather than assumed either way....

Yes. Sexually explicit material doesn't belong in a K through 12 school, and the board has both the authority and the responsibility to keep it out. SB 13 gives us a clear framework: adopt an acquisition policy, use the state challenge form, and give parents access to the catalog and their own child's checkout record. I'd make sure Willis ISD runs that process properly and that a parent who raises a concern gets a documented answer on a timeline rather than silence. One thing I'd hold to. The process has to be real. Decisions get made on the actual content of the actual book, in the open, with the standard applied the same way every time. That's what protects kids, and it's also what keeps the district from losing in court, which is what happens when districts skip the process.

On the first part, yes. Material that meets the harmful-to-minors standard has no place on a school campus, and I'd support enforcing that through the district's library and instructional materials policy. On the second part, I'd rather be accurate than tell you what you'd like to hear. What's in § 43.24 is an affirmative defense, and it sits in the Penal Code. A school board can't amend it. That's the Legislature's call, and I'm not going to promise you something the office can't deliver....

Yes. SB 12 is the law in Texas and Willis ISD is subject to it. A trustee's role in enforcement is specific: the board adopts policy consistent with state law and holds the superintendent accountable for administering it. I'd do both. I'd also make sure our staff has clear written guidance, because the practical failure I'd worry about isn't defiance, it's confusion. Parts of this law are currently enjoined in three other districts and the case is headed to the Fifth Circuit. Willis ISD isn't covered by that injunction, but the law is in motion, and a district that leaves teachers guessing ends up either out of compliance or in a lawsuit....

No. On athletics this is settled. The Supreme Court ruled in June 2026 that states may set eligibility for girls' teams by biological sex, and Texas law and UIL rules already do exactly that. On facilities, my view is the one I believe most parents in this district hold. Girls' locker rooms and showers should be for girls, and I'd support district policy that reflects that. Privacy in a space where a child is changing clothes isn't a political position, it's a basic expectation.

I support keeping sexually explicit and age-inappropriate material out of Willis ISD, and SB 13 gives us the process to do it. What I won't commit to is removing every book that touches on a subject by category. That's not how the law works, it's not how you win a challenge, and a blanket sweep is how districts end up in federal court losing on the First Amendment, which is exactly what happened to HB 900's vendor provisions last October. The approach that holds up is a clear standard, applied to the specific material, by a process that's the same every time and open to parents. That gets material out and keeps it out. Grand gestures get reversed.

No, a teacher should not be compelled to. And under SB 12, this is largely not a matter of local discretion right now. Where I'd focus as a trustee: no employee should be disciplined for declining, and no employee should be left guessing about what the policy is. Both are the board's responsibility and both are fixable with clear written policy and real training. What I don't want is a teacher in Willis ISD becoming somebody's example. That's how you end up in the news and short-staffed at the same time.

No, and I say that as someone who wants strong standards. The SBOE should set the TEKS, review and approve instructional materials at the state level, and hold the floor. That's a real and appropriate authority. But "total and final" would mean eliminating local control, and I don't think that's what most people in Montgomery County actually want. If every decision moves to Austin, a Willis parent with a concern has no one nearby to take it to. Their only recourse is fifteen board members elected statewide who will never meet them. The whole value of an elected local board is that we live here and you can find us....

Curriculum and materials: full access as a default, without having to fight for it. Willis ISD should post scope and sequence and instructional materials where a parent can find them, and SB 13 already requires catalog and checkout access. I'd make sure we're doing all of it in substance. Teacher: parents should be able to reach their child's teacher and get a response within a reasonable, published timeframe. That's a service standard and the board can set it....

The Court held in June that states may base girls' sports eligibility on biological sex, and Texas already does. Willis ISD's obligation is clear and I'd make sure we follow it without wobbling. I'd add that protecting female students is broader than the sports question. It also means locker rooms and restrooms where girls have actual privacy, campus supervision in the places incidents actually happen, and a district that responds seriously and quickly when a girl reports harassment or assault. I've spent my career involved in public safety systems, and the lesson from that work is that policies don't protect anyone unless someone tests whether they function. What's our response time? What's our reporting rate? When did we last audit it? That's the part boards usually skip.

Yes, and I'd do it in the way that actually works. If material meeting that standard is on a Willis ISD campus, I'd say so publicly, put it on a board agenda, and vote to remove it. I have no interest in handling that quietly. I'd also be straight with you. I'm not going to assert that such material is currently in our schools, because I haven't reviewed the collection and I don't make claims I can't back. If a parent brings me a specific title, I'll look at it myself and take it to the board. That's a commitment I can actually keep.

No. I have never had a business relationship, contract, or financial interest with Willis ISD or with any Willis ISD official, and I would not seek one. I'll volunteer the related fact rather than let it surface later. My wife teaches in Willis ISD. She's a salaried teacher, not a vendor. There's no contract, no bid, and nothing for me to gain. I've said publicly since the day I announced that I'd step aside from any vote specific to her employment, and I'd disclose the relationship any time it's relevant. I bring it up unprompted, because voters should hear it from me and not from someone else. I'd encourage you to ask every candidate in this race the same question.

Reading first, and not close. A child who can't read at grade level by third grade is fighting uphill in every other subject for the rest of their education. Then math fluency. Those two are the foundation and everything else sits on top. After that: writing and clear communication, which employers say graduates most lack. American history and civics taught with actual primary documents. And a serious, well-supported CTE and dual-credit program covering welding, HVAC, electrical, IT and networking, healthcare, and agriculture. Willis already funds a real slate of these programs and I'd protect and expand it rather than treat it as the first thing to trim....

I support it, and it's already happening, Willis ISD students actively say the Pledge. Texas law requires it: Education Code § 25.082 mandates the Pledge to the United States flag and the Texas flag each school day, along with a minute of silence, with an excusal available on written parental request. So there's nothing to return. If any campus ever let it slip, I'd want that corrected. It's a small daily thing and I think it matters.

The Bible is already available in Willis ISD school libraries, so there's nothing to return. And it should be there. It's the most influential book in Western history, and you can't teach literature, art, or American history coherently without it. A library that excluded it would be failing at its job. If a specific campus ever lacked one, that's a simple acquisition request and I'd support it....