Core Values
The purpose of our schools is to provide a safe environment for our children to learn the fundamentals from well-qualified teachers. I am a Catholic, husband, father, and business-owner. I strive to preserve the excellence in our institutions while also supporting necessary change…when the change is for the better and in alignment with my moral compass. I am committed to active vigilance regarding developmentally-appropriate curriculum in our schools. I believe safety and stability can be afforded to all SBISD students without subjecting them to the crossfire and collateral damage of politically-fueled agendas.
Improve Performance
It is not hard to find the data demonstrating our district’s under-performance regarding academics. Yes, COVID has presented dynamic and turbulent times for our students and teachers since 2020; however, we are blessed to live in one of the strongest communities in Houston with a mindset that thriving, not surviving, is the goal. We simply need to be better for the sake of our students. We need to serve our District’s administrators, teachers, and students with transparency by (1) providing leadership and professional development opportunities, (2) rationalizing our teachers’ task loads to ensure they are free to focus on teaching, and (3) implementing the right supplemental education programs for each school. We must be a district that chooses to do hard things in the face of unpopular social sentiment. I look forward to collaborating with our Superintendent to identify how best to support the improvement in academic performance of our district.
Fiscal Responsibility
As a business owner, I am responsible for managing revenue and expenses to ensure growth, client satisfaction, and employee development. One phenomenon I am always looking out for is “scope creep.” Sometimes after a project starts, the client or we might identify additional project deliverables that would be nice to have…but are not essential. Amid the fast and furious pace of projects, budgets can be exceeded due to rushed decision-making and ultimately jeopardize the overall viability of the project. Scope creep also tends to glide in under the radar of quality governance because of its very nature of being added on-the-fly. Before you know it, there is a deficit and elements end up in our schools that we do not need or want. I am committed to strict fiscal governance of our District’s money to ensure funds are spent effectively.
Bridge Cultural Divides
I am tired of the divisiveness that pervades our society. I am tired of hearing and seeing one side shout against the other on prominent issues that merit more listening, more conversation, more collaboration, and more compassion. We can respect and tolerate each other with kindness while we work together to serve our students. I acknowledge that I am not everyone’s candidate; however, if elected to the SBISD Board of Trustees, I will serve every constituent. I expect some of my expressed views will worry some members of my community that I am not committed to their child’s academic success and positive social experience. Nothing is farther from the truth. I am committed to engaging and sustaining open dialogues with all walks of life in our neighborhood to ensure our Board maintains a healthy pulse of the genuine needs of our district and addresses those needs as effectively as possible.
At-Large District
I do not support efforts to change SBISD from an at-large district to a single-member or hybrid district. I welcome as diverse a Board as possible with ALL Board members approaching their duties with the mindset that they serve each student. Adopting a single-member district or even a hybrid structure makes our district, our students, and our families vulnerable to policy and infrastructure stagnation due to an inability to reach consensus and push through bonds and governance changes. Excellence has no geographic, racial or gender limits.