I spent the majority of my career helping write contract bids for integrators on a state and federal level. While focusing on cyber security and healthcare, I developed a real passion in assisting former military men and women obtaining/retaining jobs while transitioning into civilian life. Understanding policy, job retention, fiscal responsibility and recruiting is a huge part of what I would like to bring to HISD. Additionally, I have sat in
classrooms across the hill country for years. I have developed relationships with kids and teachers, and I truly have seen perspectives that many current board members haven't.
1: Accountability. Frequently, community members have questions and concerns about academics,finances & personnel. They deserve answers. 2: Transparency. The best means of communicating when upcoming board meeting are, shouldn't only be through taped notes on the admin office door or buried on the school website. Also, agendas should be more informative regarding what is going to be discussed and/or voted upon. This way, the public can decide to give their input via public commentary or through general attendance. 3: Community
connection. There is a lapse in teacher-student-parent relationships. We have to bridge the gap & unify.
Community comments have ranged vastly in specific issues, but the overall problem seems to reside in the opinion that people don’t receive answers, aren’t heard in the first place or feel like there are rules for some but not all. Lastly, citizens have repetitively said they wish to have some new “out of district” hires in some of our leadership positions.
I have served for the past four years as a board member and recently became the board secretary. Both of my children attend or attended HISD therefore I have a vested interest for the school and its success. I am the owner of Garrett Realty & Auction and have just relocated the business to Harper where I am also a resident. I bring a common sense and conservative mind set to the board that reflects the way I operate my business.
Teacher pay is always at the forefront of improvement. The board along with the leadership of our Superintendent strive to do as much as we can to improve teacher pay and benefits. School safety is another issue these days and I am proud to say that Harper ISD is one of the leading schools in our area when it comes to school safety and everything involved.
First of all we are so blessed to live in the Harper community. There isn't a lot that comes to mind. Looking back to the past year one major issue was whether or not to transition to a 4 day school week. This was an effort to incentivize teachers to come to work in Harper. There was a lot of different opinions on this decision and we ended up finding middle ground and settled on a modified calendar that gave teachers more time off yet wasn't a straight up 4 day school week.
I am the President of an HOA Board. I have a leadership position at work.
Appropriating funds, child safety, Utilizing the school facilities to attract more business for our town and showcase our small business owners, listening to the Residents, Staff, Teachers, Parents and Students, implementing policies, procedures and practices that reflect Harpers wishes while reasonably adhering to bylaws!
Ongoing feuds getting in the way of progress, teacher retention, disciplinary reprimands for petty violations, allowing individuality (clear backpacks), Constant Friday teacher in-service days training parents to find daycare or house sitters for their children, allowing home school children to participate in public school
extracurricular activities, such as Ag, sports, etc. The lack of attention attracting more traffic to the town to support
our small businesses.
I care deeply about the staff and students at Harper ISD and have served on the Harper ISD Board of Trustees since 2016. As a parent of two students, I am acutely aware of the opportunities available in our district. As the daughter of an educator, I have seen the value of parent-community-school relationships on positive outcomes for students. I have applied my professional experiences in collaboration, communication and management to work with a diverse set of board members and will continue to work closely with school administrators to prepare our students for success.
Budget and safety continue to be at the forefront of discussions for our board. School finance in Texas is broken and our district must do more with less every year. It is important to work through these challenges to provide the best environment possible for our students and staff to excel. Creating a school police department and arming our staff were tough decisions for our district but were necessary resources for the safety of our students
and staff. The long-term fiscal soundness and safety in our district is a priority so our staff can focus on educating
our students.
I continuously hear that safety and preserving the small-school environment are important to our families. Likewise, fiscal responsibility is important to our community as we face inflation and a legislature that has not increased our basic allotment to support rising costs or pay increases. If re-elected I'll continue to work with our administrators to ensure a safe environment for our students, preserve the values that reflect our community and
address budget shortfalls to account for the long-term fiscal viability of our district.
