There are two contested races for Round Rock School Board this year, Place 1 and Place 3. The Place 1 incumbent is Brian Sellers, a Republican voter who supported Larry Gonzales for the Texas House of Representatives last year. His opponent is newcomer Matt Stillwell, who proclaims to be a political Independent, but has only voted in the Democrat Primary in Williamson County.
I am endorsing Brian Sellers for Place 1, and David Dziadziola for Place 3.
David Dziadziola is challenging incumbent Diane Cox for Place 3. I have met Mr. Dziadziola on several occasions, and found him to be quite knowledgeable about the district and its challenges. A life insurance agent, he has also been involved with the financial organization of several successful start-up companies, and has extensive knowledge and experience with financial management. (On a side note, Dziadziola has been granted numerous U.S. Government patents for computer protection programs.) Comforting to those who fear a 'numbers cruncher,' his two children are students at Round Rock schools, so he has a vested interest in making sure the district offers a quality education. Mr. Dziadziola is not content to look only at short-term fixes, but anxious to make sure RRISD has plans for long-term fiscal solvency. Intelligent, knowledgeable, and conservative, he's also just one of those down-to-earth-non-politicians one can't help but like.
Diane Cox is pretty familiar to voters since she was the only person from Williamson County willing to appear in liberal-Democrat Diana Maldonado's television commercials in 2010. (Maldonado was soundly defeated by Republican Larry Gonzales.) Ms. Cox is also the President of Central Texas School Board Association. Round Rock Independent School District and other area districts pay annual dues to the Central Texas School Board Association. The association engages in lobbying efforts, and according to CTSBA literature, supports allowing school districts to raise property taxes without voter approval. (I have not yet discovered the amounts RRISD pays to the association.) Allegedly, Ms. Cox initiated the illegal bonus paid to the RRISD Superintendent last year, as well as the Superintendent's contract extension with salary and benefits totaling more than $300,000.
There are several upcoming opportunities to meet the school board candidates; here are the candidate forums of which I am aware:
Tuesday, April 19, at 7pm, at Grace Lutheran Church
Wednesday, April 20, at 7 pm at Round Rock High School Lecture Hall
Tuesday, April 26, at 7 pm at Westwood High School Library
There is a great deal of momentum behind David Dziadziola, but with the dismal turnout typical of school board elections, every bit of help and every vote will make a difference. Two Round Rock women, Donna Parker and Maria Garza Brown are holding a fundraising reception for Mr. Dziadziola on Thursday April 21. For more information and to RSVP, please visit http://williamsoncountyrepublicanwomen.com/2011/04/reception-for-david-dziadziola/
Early Voting is May 2-May 10, and Election Day is Saturday May 14.
Showing posts with label David Dziadziola. Show all posts
Showing posts with label David Dziadziola. Show all posts
Monday, April 18, 2011
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Aaron Johnson For Leander ISD Board Place 6: Updated
Yesterday I had a chance to visit with Aaron Johnson, one of the five candidates for Leander Independent School District Board. My fellow Conservatives in West Wilco had recommended him, and after our meeting, I can see why.
A businessman (in sales and marketing) and father of four, Johnson is very familiar with the significant challenges the district faces. In fact, this isn't his first rodeo; he ran for a seat on the board previously. It's too bad he wasn't successful in 2006, since I think his input would have helped prevent LISD from digging the financial hole in which it currently sits.
As a parent, Johnson is very concerned about academic standards. His own children are enrolled in LISD schools, and he is interested in making sure they and their peers receive a quality education. Not satisfied with the term 'college ready,' Johnson wants to ensure graduating seniors are not just prepared, but encouraged to attend college, and does not think it the purview of the administration to decide which students are college bound. He recognizes that to some extent school board control is limited by State and Federal requirements, but has a very good working knowledge of what can be done at the local level.
Although adamant about high academic standards, Johnson is fiscally conservative and recognizes that merely throwing money at our education problems is not the answer. He is concerned about spending and borrowing levels as well as resident tax burdens, and wants to focus more spending on the classroom. The ISD will need much wisdom and financial guidance going forward; with $1.2 billion in district bond debt and two brand new school buildings that must stand empty next year, Johnson's background in economics and law should come in handy.
Originally, six candidates had filed for Leander ISD Place 6, but Clarence Ramsey Brown dropped out and endorsed Aaron Johnson. Both Brown and Johnson are known Republicans. The current Place 6 Board member, Jim Sneeringer, has also endorsed Johnson.
The other candidates include Nacole Thompson, whom I met the last time she ran for the LISD board; very nice lady, but definitely a Democrat. Gene Fruge lives in Austin, and in a previous run for LISD Board mystified voters with his campaign platform that seemed to consist entirely of a plan to build a theater in his area of the district. Kyle Ward is the Texas PTA representative who wrote an op-ed claiming education is on life support, and seems to agree with left-leaning school associations asserting there is no waste anywhere in school districts and therefore if budgets are reduced, they can do none other than fire teachers. (Please pay no attention to those new football stadiums and empty buildings). There has also been some noise about Ward's wife having been hired by the district just this year, which would violate rules for candidate eligibility. James Spires' platform is vague on budget issues, and he does not have any children in LISD schools. Spires' website indicates that he is among the 'spare-no-expense-for-the-children' mantra.
I found Aaron Johnson to be a very knowledgeable Republican, with both a vested interest in the success of the school district and concern for keeping residents' tax burden low. Interestingly, Round Rock ISD Board candidate David Dziadziola also has a background in economics, children in the district, and very similar stances on the issues. Happily for David, he has only one opponent, known liberal-Democrat Diane Cox. Both men are ideal additions to these respective boards, and I heartily endorse them.
Update: I have received numerous emails and comments regarding James Spires, one of which defends him and states he does oppose tax increases. To be fair, school board candidates are notoriously vague with campaign language, and this race doesn't look much different. Therefore we have to dig deeper to find out where these candidates stand. While one person has been willing to defend Spires, all other emails have been very critical of Mr. Spires. According to attendees of an area Young Republicans meeting last month, Mr. Spires stated that the district was doing a great job and he "would not change a thing." When asked for clarification, he repeated that there was "nothing" he would change. Other Republican activists reported to me that on questioning, Mr. Spires would only say he wants to "Make Education a Priority," and was unwilling to state his position on tax increases.
Also of note: A document distributed at an LISD Budget workshop on January 26, 2011, (pages 9 & 10) indicated that the district has been floating a tax rate increase trial balloon. According to this document, the original thought was to hold a tax-increase election in June. The document predicts revenue collections based on 1 cent, 6 cent, and 13 cent increases. Educrats love to refer to these as "Copper Pennies" or "Golden Pennies," depending on how they approve them (sounds really cute, doesn't it?) but these are tax increases on Leander ISD families.
Pages From LISD Jan 2011 Budget Workshop 0001
A businessman (in sales and marketing) and father of four, Johnson is very familiar with the significant challenges the district faces. In fact, this isn't his first rodeo; he ran for a seat on the board previously. It's too bad he wasn't successful in 2006, since I think his input would have helped prevent LISD from digging the financial hole in which it currently sits.
As a parent, Johnson is very concerned about academic standards. His own children are enrolled in LISD schools, and he is interested in making sure they and their peers receive a quality education. Not satisfied with the term 'college ready,' Johnson wants to ensure graduating seniors are not just prepared, but encouraged to attend college, and does not think it the purview of the administration to decide which students are college bound. He recognizes that to some extent school board control is limited by State and Federal requirements, but has a very good working knowledge of what can be done at the local level.
Although adamant about high academic standards, Johnson is fiscally conservative and recognizes that merely throwing money at our education problems is not the answer. He is concerned about spending and borrowing levels as well as resident tax burdens, and wants to focus more spending on the classroom. The ISD will need much wisdom and financial guidance going forward; with $1.2 billion in district bond debt and two brand new school buildings that must stand empty next year, Johnson's background in economics and law should come in handy.
Originally, six candidates had filed for Leander ISD Place 6, but Clarence Ramsey Brown dropped out and endorsed Aaron Johnson. Both Brown and Johnson are known Republicans. The current Place 6 Board member, Jim Sneeringer, has also endorsed Johnson.
The other candidates include Nacole Thompson, whom I met the last time she ran for the LISD board; very nice lady, but definitely a Democrat. Gene Fruge lives in Austin, and in a previous run for LISD Board mystified voters with his campaign platform that seemed to consist entirely of a plan to build a theater in his area of the district. Kyle Ward is the Texas PTA representative who wrote an op-ed claiming education is on life support, and seems to agree with left-leaning school associations asserting there is no waste anywhere in school districts and therefore if budgets are reduced, they can do none other than fire teachers. (Please pay no attention to those new football stadiums and empty buildings). There has also been some noise about Ward's wife having been hired by the district just this year, which would violate rules for candidate eligibility. James Spires' platform is vague on budget issues, and he does not have any children in LISD schools. Spires' website indicates that he is among the 'spare-no-expense-for-the-children' mantra.
I found Aaron Johnson to be a very knowledgeable Republican, with both a vested interest in the success of the school district and concern for keeping residents' tax burden low. Interestingly, Round Rock ISD Board candidate David Dziadziola also has a background in economics, children in the district, and very similar stances on the issues. Happily for David, he has only one opponent, known liberal-Democrat Diane Cox. Both men are ideal additions to these respective boards, and I heartily endorse them.
Update: I have received numerous emails and comments regarding James Spires, one of which defends him and states he does oppose tax increases. To be fair, school board candidates are notoriously vague with campaign language, and this race doesn't look much different. Therefore we have to dig deeper to find out where these candidates stand. While one person has been willing to defend Spires, all other emails have been very critical of Mr. Spires. According to attendees of an area Young Republicans meeting last month, Mr. Spires stated that the district was doing a great job and he "would not change a thing." When asked for clarification, he repeated that there was "nothing" he would change. Other Republican activists reported to me that on questioning, Mr. Spires would only say he wants to "Make Education a Priority," and was unwilling to state his position on tax increases.
Also of note: A document distributed at an LISD Budget workshop on January 26, 2011, (pages 9 & 10) indicated that the district has been floating a tax rate increase trial balloon. According to this document, the original thought was to hold a tax-increase election in June. The document predicts revenue collections based on 1 cent, 6 cent, and 13 cent increases. Educrats love to refer to these as "Copper Pennies" or "Golden Pennies," depending on how they approve them (sounds really cute, doesn't it?) but these are tax increases on Leander ISD families.
Pages From LISD Jan 2011 Budget Workshop 0001
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
For All The Wrong Reasons
While it is always good to see more people get involved in the political process, I am sometimes floored by the lack of focus, purpose, and even basic knowledge of some of those who file for office. Apparently yesterday a gentlemen by the name of Matt Stillwell filed for Round Rock Independent School District Board of Trustees, Place 1. In trying to find out more about Mr. Stillwell, I stumbled across his statement on his Facebook page:
Umm, do you have a plan? A vision for the district? Do you know who the incumbent is? You're not sure how much campaigning you'll need to do? I'm wondering how much Mr. Stillwell has thought about this.
Someone should probably introduce Mr. Stillwell to the incumbent, Brian Sellers. Sellers and I have not always agreed on every issue, but he's a pretty good guy, and could do a lot more to make our district more efficient and more classroom focused if he had more help on the elected board.
As it is, the RRISD board is dominated by Diane Cox, a known Democrat. Happily, Ms. Cox has drawn an opponent too; David Dziadziola. We'll be hearing more about Mr. Dziadziola in the coming weeks, but here's a snapshot: While Diane Cox was the only person from Round Rock willing to appear in lib-Dem Diana Maldonado's television commercials, David Dziadziola was volunteering with the Larry Gonzales campaign. Pretty good indicator of where these folks stand politically.
Update: Primary Voting History indicates Mr. Stillwell prefers the Democrat Party.
I've got two kids in the RR school system, got my teaching certification, pay taxes, I'm invested in this school system, plan on living in it for a long time, want to do my part to make it as good as it can be. Fig...ure I'm more informed than most, and I'm not to far left or right to get in my own way. RRISD has actually done a fairly good job from what I can tell, so it's not like I'm trying to fix it, just contribute. Got a lot to learn though and quickly, not sure how much campaigning I'll need to do. I think it's just me vs. the incumbant for Place 1.
Umm, do you have a plan? A vision for the district? Do you know who the incumbent is? You're not sure how much campaigning you'll need to do? I'm wondering how much Mr. Stillwell has thought about this.
Someone should probably introduce Mr. Stillwell to the incumbent, Brian Sellers. Sellers and I have not always agreed on every issue, but he's a pretty good guy, and could do a lot more to make our district more efficient and more classroom focused if he had more help on the elected board.
As it is, the RRISD board is dominated by Diane Cox, a known Democrat. Happily, Ms. Cox has drawn an opponent too; David Dziadziola. We'll be hearing more about Mr. Dziadziola in the coming weeks, but here's a snapshot: While Diane Cox was the only person from Round Rock willing to appear in lib-Dem Diana Maldonado's television commercials, David Dziadziola was volunteering with the Larry Gonzales campaign. Pretty good indicator of where these folks stand politically.
Update: Primary Voting History indicates Mr. Stillwell prefers the Democrat Party.
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