Arlington school board Place 3 candidates in May 1 election
Daphne Jackson
DaphneJacksonforAISDTrusteePlace3/ Facebook
Age: 50+
Occupation: Business Owner
Education: Associate Degree in Business
Have you run for elected office before?
No
Please list highlights of your civic involvement:
2020 Awarded the Continuum of Care from THN. Served on Arlington Commission Boards for Six Years.
Have you ever been arrested, charged with a crime or otherwise been part of a criminal proceeding?
NO
Have you been involved in a civil lawsuit or bankruptcy proceeding?
NO
Who are your top three campaign contributors?
James Weatherall, Ricky Simmons, David Jackson
Why are you seeking this office?
To be the Voice for the Poor, Disfavored and Under-Privileged Students
What are the biggest challenges facing your district?
School Climate, Educational Justice and Cultural Biases.
What would your top 3 policy priorities be?
Systemic Racism, Safety for Teachers and Students (Covid Virus), Staff Shortage
Why should voters choose you over your opponent(s)?
I represent the “Voice for the people that seem to have NO voice. It’s important for representation for the Black and Brown Students to see Leadership making educational decision on their behave.
What are the biggest challenges facing your school district overall and the specific schools you seek to represent?
Lack of Communication, Educational Justice, and Cultural Biases.
If you have children, do/did they attend school in the district? If not, why not?
N/A
What’s the best way to help students recover from learning lost to the pandemic?
Additional Resources available to ALL students. Add remote learning components.
As the pandemic wanes, how should Arlington schools use virtual instruction, if at all?
Communicate with students regularly. Work with students to set goals. Encourage a learning environment. Provide opportunities for students to collaborate with other students.
Should the district attempt to significantly raise teacher pay? If so, how much, and how would you pay for it?
Absolutely! At least 5% across the board. The money should come from the Federal Government (CDC Funds) for the next three years. Then from the taxes from the entertainment district here in Arlington, Texas.
School district taxes are the biggest driver of homeowners’ property taxes. Should the district try to reduce taxes and if so, what would you cut?
Yes! there should be a cap on how much school districts can raise property tax revenue. Maintenance and Operations Budget.
How would you rate the performance of the superintendent and his leadership team? What changes would you like to see him make?
Statements has been made that the Trustee Board is just a rubber stamp for the Superintendent. Their should be term limits to Board Members.
What problems do you see with the district’s communication with parents and the community, and/or with its transparency of operations? What would you do to improve that?
Promote and Encourage PTSA at ALL levels. Bring Back Families to the Schools.
Dr. Aaron D. Reich
Age: 53
Occupation: Pharmacist
Education: Doctor of Pharmacy, Creighton University
Have you run for elected office before?
Yes - school board - elected 2009-present
Please list highlights of your civic involvement:
Arlington Children’s Toys Board member (Arlington Margarita Society; Greater Arlington Chamber of Commerce Board ex-officio member; Theatre Arlington Board member, Immediate Past President; International Corridor Vision, Founding member; Positive Influence, Founding member
Have you ever been arrested, charged with a crime or otherwise been part of a criminal proceeding?
No
Have you been involved in a civil lawsuit or bankruptcy proceeding?
No
Who are your top three campaign contributors?
Tom Cravens, Steven Poole, Realtor pac
Why are you seeking this office?
To continue the work I have been doing in this elected office to serve as the conduit between the community and the district to ensure the needs and expectations of the community are being met. During this time of COVID, experience and leadership is needed which is one of the reasons why I have chosen to continue serving upon re-election. With my help, things like eliminating the STAAR test during the first COVID spring semester, eliminating the accountability system the following COVID spring semester, and numerous other state challenges have been avoided. There is much more to do and I plan to continue utilizing my vast experiennce and results relative to policy, communications, strategic alliances, collaborations, partnerships, fiscal stewardship, economic community prosperity and advocacy to provide the safest and best environment for all students, staff, and teachers.
What are the biggest challenges facing your district?
The effects of the pandemic - highlighting food, technology insecurities across the district and a strain on emotional health and well-being for everyone (parents, teachers, students, admins). Adjusting to the constant changes in direction from state officials/TEA through it all. This is not meant to be criticial, it just makes it that much harder to govern as an ‘independent’ elected official encumbered with impositions. Keeping everyone safe during the pandemic has been job one and making sure the teachers and staff are taken care of with resources, extra prep days, pay, and more while responding to all of the safety protocols has been paramount. AISD is 74% socio-economically disadvantaged which creates many challenges, but also opportunities to create policies and processes that benefit these at-risk youth. The over-arching challenge with this is making sure dollars are spent and prioritized as efficiently and effectively as possible which is always a delicate balancing act.
What would your top 3 policy priorities be?
Creating opportunities and the access to those opportunities for students, staff, and community; Ensuring there is no budget bloat; Safe and secure environment for all to thrive
Why should voters choose you over your opponent(s)?
Experience matters. Leadership matters. Too many accomplishments to list, but they have led to the district’s improvement of student achievement, becoming a ‘B’ rated district on the state’s accountability system and an increase in the graduation rate of all students with a higher performing level of lower socio-economic students and students of color than ever before in Arlington ISD. During this time of COVID, I have had to constantly advocate for the needs of students - at the local and state levels. I am trusted and have built relationships by leading. One more example of results: During our deep freeze week, I single-handedly pushed and succeeded to have the Governor and TEA allow districts to close without penalty to help public safety of all Texans and help reduce the strain on the power grid. This helped EVERY district, family and teacher in the state. I remain committed to do my part in something that is so much bigger than me.
What are the biggest challenges facing your school district overall and the specific schools you seek to represent?
I am elected at-large and serve ALL students and ALL schools across Arlington ISD. The biggest challenges part of this question have already been answered in the same question above.
If you have children, do/did they attend school in the district?
Yes. Two children, both graduates of Arlington ISD.
What’s the best way to help students recover from learning lost to the pandemic?
Showing them love and care by providing counseling in the form of mental health and social/emotional support first and foremost. If a child is not right in this regard and are still dealing, with say, food insecurities and other home issues, then all of the excellecnt academic remediation techniques will likely not do much for the child. The district is developing extended summer school and utilizing locally developed assessments to determine the amounts and type of loss so that there is a clear understanding of the approach of coursework that will be done in the fall to help them ‘catch up’. We must focus on their reality, which has been surviving in a pandemic vs. what specific academic lessons they’ve not grasped. What they have shown is they are resilient. I am confident they will come out of this very well.
As the pandemic wanes, how should Arlington schools use virtual instruction, if at all?
We plan on employing virtual classes where appropriate. Although it has certainly been challenging for many, there is definitely students who have soared in the virtual environment. If there is a way to employ elements of virtual education or classes to meet the needs of children that choose it and can benefit from it, then it should happen. The state and legislature are being asked by me and my colleagues right now to allow this flexibility and back it up where it matches the funding formula without extra hoops/barriers for implementation.
Should the district attempt to significantly raise teacher pay? If so, how much, and how would you pay for it?
We already have in Arlington ISD. Over the years, in a very fiscally responsible fashion, we gradually moved up the pay in all yrs of experience bands out of 42 comparison districts to be in the top half. HB3, designed in part, to help teacher pay, also caused us to loose all of our ground gained over 10yrs to where we were suddenly in the bottom half of all our comparison districts. This was due to the unequal distribution of dollars to districts where Arlington ISD did not fair as well as most in our region. The board committed that teachers would be in the top 10 for pay and also called for a VATRE to be on the November ballot with the increased dollars needed for teachers and all staff. The community agreed by voting for it. The teachers are in the top 10 now because the board provided a 4% raise that equated to at least $2,400 per teacher. We also adjusted for all staff to remain competitive and ahead of the competition. Our desire is to maintain this top 10 level.
School district taxes are the biggest driver of homeowners’ property taxes. Should the district try to reduce taxes and if so, what would you cut?
The district should always try to be as efficient with the public’s tax dollars. If there is opportunity to do so, we will and have taken it. Unfortunately, people see school taxes as 100% going to the district, when in fact, the reality is that the money goes to the state which then provides us back dollars (very dif than city taxes where 100% stays with the city). Over the yrs the state’s share kept decreasing;the burden was on local taxpayers. I advocate for the percents to be on property tax bills for transparency, but the legislature hasn’t passed those bills. The tax rate that has been approved by the board has always kept the rate the same or lower over the past 15+ years (until the VATRE in Nov).We have worked very hard to ensure that voter approved bonds either have a very small effect on property taxes and changed policy to ensure that debt is payed off w/in the lifecycle of a capital need from a bond (i.e. tech w/a 5 yr lifespan is paid off w/in 5yrs).
How would you rate the performance of the superintendent and his leadership team? What changes would you like to see him make?
He is doing a fantastic job. I was part of the Board (the 2014 and 2015 State of Texas Board of the year) that hired him. He has implemented our strategic plan and operationalized the vision with fidelity. He has put together a diverse and talented leadership team that are always striving to make serving students the number one priority of the district. The culture has become much more positive and focused on student outcomes while providing and developing leadership opportunities for students, staff, teachers and administrators. I have always focused on running the district like a large, enterprise business that it is by employing values and principles of business with education as the product. He has embraced that value system as the CEO of the district and engaging the community and other partners as a result.
What problems do you see with the district’s communication with parents and the community, and/or with its transparency of operations? What would you do to improve that?
Before I was Trustee, there were issues of transparency and communications. In recent years, there have been many changes where parents are communicated with better than ever and there is survey data to back that up. As a result of board strategic planning (which I instigated when I joined the board) a Parent and Community Engagement Department was created to be the single initial point of contact for all trying to engage the district. This has grown to numerous stateholder events which include Pastoral and faith-based networks, realtor networks, business networks, city and elected official networks, PTA networks, Parent University and all of these groups are continuously surveyed and informed on district initiatives and help guide direction. All board meetings are recorded and online for all to see. Board appointed Bond and financial oversight committees comprising community representatives from all over the district were developed to ensure transparency. ...and SO MUCH MORE!
Richard Weber
Age: 64
Occupation: Retired
Education: BBA (Accounting), 1978, Southern Methodist University
Have you run for elected office before?
yes, Arlington City Council.
Please list highlights of your civic involvement:
I served on the Financial Futures Committee several times. I write for the Arlington Spectator.
Have you ever been arrested, charged with a crime or otherwise been part of a criminal proceeding?
No.
Have you been involved in a civil lawsuit or bankruptcy proceeding?
No to bankruptcy. I was sued, but I cannot discuss the results.
Who are your top three campaign contributors?
Me, Myself, and I. My votes will be for the taxpayers and NOT other special interest groups.
Why are you seeking this office?
I am running because the current board has lost touch with the voters and people they represent. As Eddie Chiles said four-plus decades ago, I’M MAD! During the poor economy of a pandemic they raised the M&O rate 13 cents. AISD is tied for the highest M&O rate in Tarrant County.
They had an $11 million operational increase the year before. They gave gigantic raises and suddenly have a $31 million operational deficit. They raised the M&O rate, generating $56 million more in revenues, and instead or giving the taxpayers some kind of a break in the middle of a pandemic, they just rolled that additional $25 million into the general fund.
They could have transferred that $25 million increase to the debt service portion of the tax rate, reducing the rate taxpayers pay by approximately 7.5 cents. However, the current board has NO interest in the taxpayer. Their attitude is the taxpayer is only there to fund their spending addiction. They are already preparing to spend the new wealth.
What are the biggest challenges facing your district?
1. The school board that has lost touch and is not making sound/logical decisions.
They need to reduce the tax rate on the citizens they have abused this past year.
2. Low student test scores. Low school grades.
Apply proven techniques that have worked.
3. The city that has done the district NO favors by allowing far too many multi-family units (and has thousands more approved and thousands more in the pipeline). Arlington has a density greater than that of Dallas, and more than 1.5 times that of Fort Worth.
They need to be active in zoning cases.
What would your top 3 policy priorities be?
1. The tax rate. We need a more fair rate for the taxpayers.
2. The board needs to be more responsive to citizens and taxpayers vs. special interests.
3. Look at steps to improve the district including as being more proactive in zoning cases.
Why should voters choose you over your opponent(s)?
The incumbent is seeking his fifth 3-year term. Too Long, too comfortable, unresponsive.
What are the biggest challenges facing your school district overall and the specific schools you seek to represent?
1. The school board that has lost touch and is not making sound/logical decisions.
They need to reduce the tax rate on the citizens they have abused this past year.
2. Low student test scores. Low school grades.
Apply proven techniques that have worked.
3. The city that has done the district NO favors by allowing far too many multi-family units (and has thousands more approved and thousands more in the pipeline). Arlington has a density greater than that of Dallas, and more than 1.5 times that of Fort Worth.
They need to be active in zoning cases.
I would represent all the schools.
If you have children, do/did they attend school in the district? If not, why not?
My wife and I had four children. They all graduated from Young Junior High and Martin High School.
What’s the best way to help students recover from learning lost to the pandemic?
Return to full in-person teaching as soon as possible. This is what the AISD does well. This is where their experience is.
Prepare for heavy duty summer school.
Don’t be afraid to hold back students that did not do well the past year. It is extremely hard to build upon a foundation if it is missing major pieces.
This will probably not be popular, but needs to be done. The “tests” for showing knowledge obtained at different levels should NOT be weakened. If summer school and whatever other adjustments are not successful, the students, potentially many of them, should he held back. Again, it is extremely hard to build on a foundation if it is missing major pieces.
As the pandemic wanes, how should Arlington schools use virtual instruction, if at all?
We have learned that we should return to full in-person teaching as soon as possible. This is what the AISD does well. This is where their experience is.
It takes a certain type of student to exceed at virtual learning. Post-pandemic, only those type of students should be in any type of virtual learning setting. That student might be of an economically challenged family, needing to work during school hours. However, I see very limited utilization. This situation has taught us in-person teaching is superior.
Should the district attempt to significantly raise teacher pay? If so, how much, and how would you pay for it?
The district raised salaries a good 4% or more last year. The current board, with no change, is more than willing to spend their new found wealth on their spending addiction.
School district taxes are the biggest driver of homeowners’ property taxes. Should the district try to reduce taxes and if so, what would you cut?
The school district should most definitely cut the tax rate. They need to transfer operational increases to the debt service fund to lower the tax rate calculation on taxpayers. The current board, without an attitude adjustment, has this surplus (projected to be close to $25 million this year) burning a hole it their pockets and already planning on spending it.
Good, no suggested changes.
What problems do you see with the district’s communication with parents and the community, and/or with its transparency of operations? What would you do to improve that?
I have no suggested improvements. It has to come from within the people.
