FOR OUR CHILDREN, FOR OUR FUTURE

I recently retired after a long career as a CFO in the energy industry and as a commercial banker. Karen, my wife of 47 years, and I raised our three children in Katy ISD schools. We have eight grandchildren, four of which are in Katy. I have the time, the drive and the skills to make a difference for the future of our children. Listed below are my priorities should I become a Katy ISD school board member. I intend to listen to ideas and to be responsive to the concerns of parents and teachers. 

Emphasize academics.

Focus on the basics that our children need to succeed in today’s world - Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Math (STEAM), History and English. Also, let’s provide robust funding for Special Education.

Improve educational performance.

We support all our children. We should ensure we provide the resources necessary to help underperforming schools and students, as well as help with the mental and emotional health of students. We should strive to reduce class sizes.

Support our teachers.

We need a multipronged approach to attract and retain quality teachers. Our teachers are overloaded and frustrated. We need to free up our teachers and campus leaders to do their jobs. We should ensure Katy ISD is competitive in salaries and benefits. Teachers want to teach. Let’s support them.

Protect our children.

Let’s remove political ideology and social agendas from the classroom. Remove graphic, vulgar books and material from school libraries and internet sites. Resist efforts to sexualize our children at an early age. Parents have the preeminent role to teach their children about morals and values. Protect the impressionable, young minds of our children. 

Prioritize spending.

Ensuring that we use our tax dollars efficiently is a key role of the Board of Trustees. Our spending should be focused on the classroom. We should prioritize what will make a difference for our children within the “four walls” of the classroom.