Why are you running for this position?  What are the three main attributes that make you the most qualified for this position?

I appreciate MCTP reaching out to gather this information. I as a registered voter here in Montgomery county for the past 5 years have found the MCTP website and youtube interviews a valuable companion to making a more informed decision at the polls. 

I have followed the CISD school board for some time now and I do not think the board has represented our community in the right direction. There is clearly a majority of left leaning policies being issued by the board.

To begin I have a vested interest in the future of my own 5 children in the CISD school system. My wife is a 4th grade teacher in CISD. It goes without saying, I as well, as we are most all here taxpayers.  Bottom line here is I as well as you want to see CISD stay a place of excellence.

I have a decade plus in management experience in my work life. From experience as a retail store manager to small business owner, I am familiar with organizational management: budgets and fiscal reports; goal setting and hitting targets; coaching and teambuilding. Simply put I see this will help with the learning curve for the responsibilities of a board member. 

Finally volunteering in the community is an ongoing part of my life. For years I have been an AWANNAS and Olympians children’s clubs leader/ teacher here in Conroe.  And feeling personally led to action by my faith to offer my time to volunteer to serve our larger CISD  community. While there were multiple options to serve; I selected Conroe ISD board of trustees position 4.

Conroe ISD projects a $17.72M shortfall for 2024-25 fiscal year. How do you propose to fix it?

There are a multitude of options to address this issue:

First as my most recent knowledge the budget shortfall has been addressed and placed on a follow up awaiting updates to some funding from the state.  The current option is what they called “penny taxing” where the district apparently has the option of adding a penny increase to the tax rate to fill the gap.  In the most recent Budget update in August 2024 the CISD was going to be able to lower the tax rate below the voter approved rate to meet the needs of the district.  So this may be a mute point.

So overall strategy:

1. The board can reduce the largest budget expense which is payroll. 

2. The board can as stated before add 1 cent tax.

3. The board could expedite the 2025 increase to the rental fees for use of CISD campus and equipment.

4. There are curriculum expenses that are what could be called extra as far as additional resources.

5. Finally CISD as well as everyone else needs to live within their means.

Did you vote FOR the 2023 $2 Billion CISD School Bond? Why or why not?

Yes. I had a lengthy discussion with my wife over this measure. I initially thought the scope of building so many campuses at once was over doing it.  Then I had some discussion with a certain booster club and a few campus administrators as well as my wife about the overcrowding issue at many campuses. In addition to the quantity of new residential developments in planning and construction then the large number began to add up. In the end I voted on all the measures that passed and voted against the one measure that failed.

In your opinion, what are the three most important roles of the school board and if elected, how would you contribute to those important roles??

Top 3:

1. Policy for the district. - I would hold to a conservative view and keep CRT and DEI  agendas out of our community.

2. Budget development/ oversight - I believe governments like all of us families need to live within our means and keep our spending to the agreed voter approved levels or below when possible.

3. Program evaluation. - There seems to be some light in the tunnel of curriculum and test scores, however this may be an area of great opportunity to really make a difference for the children in our district. This district has some of the best devoted employees, and I imagine there is still a lot of untapped wisdom and experience in this team around what is working, what isn't working, what worked in the past, what is available that we might be looking into.

What are the three biggest challenges facing the board and how would you address these challenges if you are elected to the Board??

Again Top 3:

1. There is misalignment with the present board and the community at large. The left leaning policies are fundamentally at odds with the historically conservative community of Montgomery county.  Montgomery county has traditions that stem from conservative family values and with our population explosion over the past few years I hope to help keep the values of our forefathers in place.

2. Digging deeper into the curriculum is contentious with the current board. Some members are intent on getting to the bottom of TEA approved contents and applicable changes to texts and information that is in line with that which is Texas. I am in line with this way of thinking about what will be best in the hands of our children.

3. School safety is an issue that everyone in today's world is aware of, and is on the minds of parents. There may be closed session discussions about this issue,but I think that there should be more information for the parents. As to how safe the campuses are, I would like to see a testing of safety procedures and equipment performed on the individual schools; Then graded on a scale to see where and which campuses perform well or might need some improvement.

How much access do you believe parents should have to their children's curriculum? classroom? teacher? online?

I think all parents should take an interest in what their children are learning and partner with teachers to help accomplish that. Teachers are working with a class full of children and that means access to a teacher may be limited, but there are meetings that can be arranged, phone calls, volunteering in classrooms are a great way to be involved in that process.  Administrators are usually very much aware of all curriculum that is approved for the classroom by phone or email. I have experienced most of these as normal practice in CISD. And I would encourage parent engagement in all these areas. The more support a child has the more likely they will succeed.

Do you support allowing all students to use bathrooms, showers and locker rooms, as well as participate in sports, based on the gender with which they identify, not the sex they are assigned to at birth?

I know there is a lot of discussion around this topic. My understanding is there are only male and female children, and my expectation as a parent with children in CISD is that CISD employees hold male and female children accountable to only be in their appropriate designated male and female areas.

Would you, individually, take public, overt steps to have pornography removed from LSC classrooms. libraries and campuses?

My understanding of LSC would be Lone Star College? My understanding is there is a separate board of trustees to oversee LSC. I would discourage anyone from the harmful nature of pornography on any person at any age.

Do you believe a teacher should be required to use a student’s preferred pronoun?

When I was in school the teacher would call you by your legal name; your parents registered you for school. There were some exceptions for students who abbreviated their name, used a middle name, or a “nickname” that the teacher approved. I think anything beyond that is asking too much of the teachers and administrators.

Would you actively pursuit an annual third party financial audit of the ISD?

Yes and no. My thoughts on this would follow this sort of path, first an assessment would need to be made of the additional cost for an annual audit and also collect any and all reports of suspected financial error internal or external within some set time period.  Then an evaluation needs to be made by the board if the cost and weight of this information is validated to spend extra tax payer dollars or resources cut back from the district to fund the annual audit.

On May 14th, 2024, the CISD Board adopted new bylaws for the School Health Advisory Council(SHAC), consisting of 21 members(2 by each board member & 7 by the superindent) while removing public comment at their meetings. What are your thoughts about this?

It appears like a move to make the SHAC into a more select committee. At this point I am unclear the reason for the changes in exclusivity. However, when the SHAC makes recommendations to the Board that will be available for public comment so there is still a platform for parents to express their concerns.

What is your position on implementing a gender fluidity policy to remove all gender subject matter books & materials from CISD?

In CISD I find that a very unlikely scenario and as such against.

Should CISD have LGBTQ+ books in their libraries and classroom libraries? If so, why? If not, why not?

I see no reason to have any books of a sexual nature available to children, with the exception of a course with specific approved curriculum that parents are aware of and have given consent.

What's your opinion of programs such as Common Core curriculum? Critical Race Theory? Social Emotional Learning? International Bacculaureate?

While, the overall Idea of CCC, all states agreeing on what is appropriate for all us citizens, I see the outcome as lackluster where everyone gets a watered down version of the high standards each state hoped for.

Better to let Texans decide what is best for Texas’ children. And let local school districts decide what is best for their own children.

CRT is banned in Texas. Enough said.

SEL appears on the surface to replace biblical teaching and insert its own worldview, philosophy, and agenda. Does not sound suitable for CISD children.

 IB is an alternative very similar in ways to the Academy and AP, but I have heard no discussion of a need or desire for it, but that could be a future evaluation.

Will you work to remove harmful materials as defined in Texas penal code 43.24 from all school property? Additionally, do you support removing the “educational exemption” from this law?

Texas law must be upheld. I hope we can get Texas legal code to a place where children can be protected from perversion and sexualizing material. While this is a good deterrent and creates consequences for an offender, the front line will be prevention.  Prevention requires an active vigilant community, a responsive administration, and a uniform goal to protect our children.

Do you believe that parents should be allowed to monitor classrooms in person or cameras?

This is a double edged sword. On one hand there are parents' concern for their child and a desire to oversee the learning process. As a parent I could see the desire to have a "hands on" approach, the sense of control would be personally gratifying.  

However all at the expense of the teacher trying to conduct business as usual with parents auditing the class. Not to mention the disruptions and distractions from students.  I think the current practice of joining PTO and volunteering for teacher helpers and joining the watchdogs program are great ways a parent can access the learning process at work.

Would you pledge to vote against any attempt to authorize any CISD employee salary that would be more than 50% above that of the Texas Governors salary?

I could not say that I know how much the Governor makes, but I would not necessarily see that as equatable.  I think many jobs' salaries in this state and country are variable and oftentimes to get the right person you have to pay the right price. And if you are willing to pay only so much you will also only get so much. I am a capitalist with practical experience that the market will set the price for goods as much as an individual's salary. When I last pulled the numbers for the highest paid Montgomery county employees I was "blown out of the water" by who was the top paid employee was not what I expected, but I could see why some employees cost more because of their rarity.

What role does the Superintendent play at Board meeting?

According to what I have read from the TASB the superintendent is the “CEO” and runs the organization based on the policy set up by the board. In meetings the “CEO” can make recommendations and suggestions and offer information, but ultimately all is decided and voted on by “the board”. Then It is the “CEO” who must take those decisions back to the organization and make it a reality in practice.

Do you support HB1605? If so, why? If not, why not?

This bill covers a multitude of items so I will just touch a few standout points.

I support children not being exposed to inappropriate or ideological content in k-12 schools.

While I have not seen any issues that have arised out of its passage as of yet only concerns some of the latitude it gives teachers. So in a way the discussion might be: do we have the right teachers? I think CISD has some of the best devoted educators and administrators. I have to have faith that they will not abuse their freedom here.

It is not fair to overburden our educators with more requirements and responsibilities without proper compensation.  It looks like the district can negotiate new contracts but is not required to according to the TASB website.

I may be getting into the weeds a bit here, But HB1605 looks to be good.

How do you think HB1605 screen time policy of 4 hrs/day affects children?

I know there are many opinions about their children and screen time. (Don't ask me how much I spent answering this questionnaire). I think it's also important to filter out the uses: work, educational games, reading, testing.( Not: watching TV, streaming, shorts, playing video games, movies, entertainment, etc.)  Using technology and devices is a requirement of most any part of our workforce in Texas from agriculture to manufacturing to business professionals. Training our children to be proficient in technology should be included in the curriculum to give them an advantage in the workplace.

Would you support a motion to inventory the books contained in classroom libraries & post on website?

So as well intentioned as this would be for every teacher to have a categorical list of every book in their classroom. While I would love to know every single book in a classroom library everywhere, this is a logistics can of worms. 

 First I see it as an unnecessary burden to place on an educator, therefore it would fall as an extra expense to have completed or a robust system of volunteers to complete. And this will be ever changing as educators are often updating their collections. Costing more time and money that may not be available in the budget.

 Finally, if a policy forced teachers to do so I believe the classroom atmosphere of reading language arts teachers would take a loss as teachers would try to fill the gap trading off something else, or reluctantly remove their available reading materials for fear of non compliance.

“Meet the teacher”, “open house” , and “volunteering” are great ways to peruse your child's classroom library.  Also, In discussion with my child I have found materials I didn't approve of  my child reading, and were resolved with the teacher and campus administrator.  Some healthy discussion could produce a happy middle ground.

What is your understanding of the Pico case?

I have read about it, summarily states, that Texas school districts have a responsibility to identify and remove materials from the school library collection that are sexually explicit and pervasively vulgar. I know we have a vigilant community that keeps a good watch for these types of materials and I hope that the CISD employees and board are strong in the future to protect the children of our community from these materials.

Would you vote to implement Biden's Title IX changes?

I would need more information on this, including: legal ramifications, TBOE, TEA, TASB and Texas government recommendations before I could postulate a plan of action. I know it is currently in a legal battle. The meddling of the current administration and DOE agendas into state and local authorities is unsettling to say the least.

Has this board done its job in providing a platform of educating students with critical thinking skills instead of critical race theory? Please explain.

I am not aware of any CRT curriculum in CISD. I agree with Texas' ban of CRT. It would be my understanding that critical thinking and problem solving is in the CISD TEKS. 

Do you believe the Bible should be returned to the public school library? How would you implement that?

I know the Bible to be an inexhaustible source of knowledge and wisdom.

The discussion needs to happen.

Though hope remains.