Candidate Comparison: Amarillo ISD Board of Trustees
We have asked candidates running for various local offices to answer questions for our Voter Guide. While full responses are available at AmarilloVotes.com, we are offering you shortened versions in “Candidate Comparisons” ahead of the May 4th election. Each response below came directly from the candidate’s questionnaire and are unedited.
Kimberly Anderson (Challenger)
Occupation: Educator
What was your motivation to run for the board of trustees?
“As an educator, I am passionate about advocating for children and public schools. I have served on PTA boards, on the 2017 Citizens Facilities Bond Committee, on the College Success Initiative team, and I have spent countless hours educating myself on issues affecting children and public education.
I believe Amarillo deserves a Board of Trustees which acts in the best interest of our children, not in the best interest of test scores or appearances.
I believe Amarillo deserves a Board of Trustees which advocates for EVERY child, regardless of race, income, ability, or zip code and considers the impact that board decisions will have on EVERY child, EVERY time.
I believe Amarillo deserves a Board of Trustees which is accessible, approachable, and accountable because acting in the best interest of EVERY child requires open, honest communication and collaboration between the board, community stakeholders, educators, and the administration.
Amarillo ISD is at a crossroads, and as a lifelong Amarilloan and a product of AISD, I would be honored to have a part in steering our district in a positive direction.
I look forward to leading AISD and the Board of Trustees towards more transparency, greater equity, and greater respect and esteem for our educators who are the foundation of our district. I hope to see our district move closer to fulfilling our mission of graduating EVERY student prepared for success after high school.”
Do you believe the board has been supportive of the staff and coaches of the district?
“It is obvious there is at the very least the perception of a lack of respect and support for the teachers and coaches in AISD. Excellent teachers and coaches are the foundation of our district. They are the people who are in the classroom each day, the people who actually know our kids. Our teachers are what make this district succeed or fail, so retaining the very best teachers should be priority number one, and a culture in which teachers are not respected or included in the decision making process is not one which will accomplish this.
The Board of Trustees MUST join with the administration to foster a culture of transparency and support for our teachers, consult and respect the expertise of teachers, and restore the trust between the teachers, administration, board, and community if we hope to have a successful district in which our children can thrive.”
What should the district’s role be in overall quality of life in Amarillo?
“Having an excellent school district can be a catalyst of economic growth and development for a community. An excellent school district provides an educated workforce for the existing businesses in our community, and this workforce can also attract new businesses to our city, and an excellent school district is not only attractive to businesses, it is also attractive to people considering moving to Amarillo. A more educated populace also tends to be more economically productive.
The school district is not only an economic advantage for our city, but it is also the tie that binds so many of us. We rally behind our sports teams. We celebrate the successes of our arts and academic teams. We feel an instant kinship with others who have walked the same school halls and sat in the same classrooms as we have. The school district is the heart of our city, and the district should foster that sense of community by partnering and collaborating with community members and businesses to provide excellent education to our students and uphold our mission statement of graduating every student prepared for success after high school.”
Alonzo Everhart (Challenger) – Did not respond
Aaron Ladd (Challenger)
Occupation: Businessman
What was your motivation to run for the board of trustees?
“Teacher morale seems to be declining. I feel that teachers that feel supported and appreciated do a better job educating our children. Recent events in Amarillo ISD have only reinforced the perception that teachers and coaches may not have the respect they deserve. I'm running to help our teachers and in-turn, help our kids!”
Do you believe the board has been supportive of the staff and coaches of the district?
“I think anyone who's followed the events with the Amarillo High volleyball coach would have a hard time saying this board is resolutely supportive of our professional educators. Once that issue became public, the board's response options were already limited by law. However, I do think there were some things that could have been done by the board and administration prior to the issue being made public that could have shown support for the teacher and avoided this entire episode. Unfortunately, the right thing to do lost to politics.”
What should the district’s role be in overall quality of life in Amarillo?
“If the district commits itself to pursuing excellence on behalf of our students, teachers and employees, I think the district would be doing its part to support quality of life in Amarillo.”
Hobert Brown, Jr. (Challenger)
Occupation: Retired Marine
What was your motivation to run for the board of trustees?
“1. Our youth have moved away from looking up to everyday people; instead they look up to individual such as the Kardashian’s family why is a puzzle to me? Even though it’s been thirty-five years since I was a student in a public school as a student and the issue that impact me as a student compared to today student such as.
a. Violence in school.
b. Materialism
c. Poverty
d. Drugs and alcohol abuse.
e. Single Parents.
f. Poor Parental Support
g. Shift in Instructional Focus.
Rather than sitting on the bench and complaining about what’s not being done in our education system, I prefer to get out and motivate people to get involved and become a trustee that people know will listen and address their concerns.”
Do you believe the board has been supportive of the staff and coaches of the district?
“Definitely not! The events surrounding Coach Clements, resignation was handle wrongly, in an effort not to protect the dignity of a coach for doing the right thing but more in an effort to protect the dignity of a board member.”
What should the district’s role be in overall quality of life in Amarillo?
“Each and everyday someone is looking at the possibility of moving to Amarillo, and the school system they enroll their children in will play a heavy role in their decision of whether they should or shouldn’t move to Amarillo. As a member of the AISD I will do everything in my power to ensure that AISD is viewed as one of the best school districts in the state of Texas and the United States.”
Jim Austin (Incumbent) - Did Not Respond
Dick Ford (Challenger) - Did Not Respond
Rob Parker (Challenger)
Occupation: Banker
What was your motivation to run for the board of trustees?
“Opportunity for growth and improvement within our district.”
Do you believe the board has been supportive of the staff and coaches of the district?
“Yes and no...it is what I call selective support which divides the District.”
What should the district’s role be in overall quality of life in Amarillo?
“I hate to say this, but AISD needs to catch up with CISD. AISD leadership needs to develop the comradery for our teachers to succeed as educators which in turn will help our students succeed in education and life in general. With that and what I previously stated about expanding the vocations within AISD will only assist in improving the job pool for the attraction of business's to Amarillo.”
John Betancourt (Incumbent)
Occupation: Business Consultant
What was your motivation to run for the board of trustees?
“In my first campaign, my motivation was the disparities within the district such as ensuring equal opportunities for all students, bringing focus to the high school drop out rate for at-risk schools, emphasize advancements in technology across all schools equally. From the beginning, I have had a stance that "Minority children cannot be what they cannot see." This is something that I whole heartily believe in. However, times have definitely changed since I last was elected and I want to make certain that we increase our focus in reducing the teen suicide rate in our city. My motivation to run for reelection is bringing awareness, prevention, and community partnerships to combat suicide and bullying.”
Do you believe the board has been supportive of the staff and coaches of the district?
“I absolutely believe that the current board is supportive of the staff and coaches of the district. We demonstrate our support in every board meeting when we discuss and take action on policy and procedures that affect the entire staff. Recently I personally recommended a change in motion when we were discussing compensation, my recommendation was to increases the annual merit of all professional and auxiliary staff within the district. That change led to an approval.
I am fully committed to not only the staff of the district but also to the students.”
What should the district’s role be in overall quality of life in Amarillo?
“The district's role should be to graduate every student prepared for success and life beyond high school. In addition, the district should have an educational plan for students to assist them with a path for College, Military, and Certificate Programs. The key to combating poverty is education. I believe that is why it is very important that we have community partnerships with the City and other organizations to assist the school district. It takes a village to raise children and we as a community are all stakeholders.”
Amarillo ISD Candidates
From Top Left: Kimberly Anderson (Campaign), Alonzo Everhart (Campaign), Aaron Ladd (Campaign), Hobert Brown (Provided)
From Bottom Left: Jim Austin (Panhandle PBS), Dick Ford (Campaign), Rob Parker (Campaign), John Betancourt (Campaign)