Plano ISD Board of Trustees Candidate Questionnaire Place 1: Tammy Richards
What are the top three reasons you want to serve as a Plano ISD School Board Trustee? Throughout my 30 year business career and my extensive volunteer service, I have worked in support of education. I have worked with school districts across the nation and educators across the globe. First, I am excited to continue to use my business experience and education knowledge as a partner with our school district leaders, and I will continue to serve as an advocate for the children and parents of Plano. Second, I have a vision of how we can continue to make our school district a model for other communities. I understand what our students must do to be competitive, both as they graduate from Plano schools and apply to colleges and as they enter the global workforce and compete with students from other nations. And third, I will seek to provide an exemplary education and an exemplary experience for all Plano ISD students. Together we will strive for all Plano ISD schools to be equally great and to be acknowledged as such by our community. What do you feel are the most important responsibilities of a trustee? Specifically, Plano ISD school board members are tasked with governing and overseeing the management of the district’s schools, monitoring progress towards the district’s comprehensive goals, establishing academic and performance goals, adopting a tax rate, establishing a budget, and managing and evaluating the district’s superintendent. More broadly, trustees serve as advocates for the children and families of the district ensuring that their voices and concerns are heard. Our community must feel that we respect them and that we value their input. At the beginning of my board service three years ago, introducing public comment on non‐agenda items was an important step forward for the board in our partnership with the community. Trustees also work closely with our city and state elected officials to represent the interests of the children, families, and district. Throughout this current legislative session, I have provided insight to our elected officials on the impact legislation would have on our district. Finally, trustees must continually seek information on innovative education trends to serve as effective partners with the district’s administration. My 30 year career in organizations serving children and education has enabled me to work firsthand with leading education researchers. What do you see as the top opportunities and challenges in Plano ISD? Plano ISD continues to be a high‐performing school district. One hundred twenty‐eight Plano ISD students were selected as National Merit Semi‐finalists, more than the combined total of the five districts surrounding Plano ISD. Plano ISD has an Advanced Placement program that is the envy of the nation. Plano ISD has superb teachers and a strong curriculum. As a district, we must continue to support and celebrate this success and provide an excellent education for each student. The continued financial pressure due to the $59 million reduction in state aid to Plano ISD, however, is our most pressing issue. Plano ISD has essentially become self‐
funded from our own property tax dollars. At this point, our state aid and our state required “Robin Hood” recapture are about equal. The Texas legislature is seeking to restore about half of the state‐wide reductions, but Plano ISD will receive back only about 10% of what we lost. We will continue to have pressure on our classrooms with higher student‐teacher ratios and higher student loads in our high schools. We will be hard‐
pressed to provide appropriate cost of living raises to our teachers. As we updated our district strategic plan this spring, we reached out to our educator community. Many teachers expressed that they are increasingly drained by having to do more with less. Only a dozen years ago, 10% of our students were low socio‐
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economic; now almost one in three are. The district must recognize that the needs of our students are changing, resolve that we will provide the educational support needed, and then resource each school appropriately. Students come to us with greater academic and social needs, and we must respond to guarantee their success. Finally, we must ensure that our curriculum and our teaching methods remain relevant to modern students. We must combine the best of time‐tested teaching methodologies with engaging, technology‐enabled learning. Why are you qualified to hold the position of trustee? I have served on the Plano ISD Board of Trustees for the last three years, the last two as board president. I have a unique combination of business experience and education knowledge. In my professional life as CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters Lone Star, I lead a non‐profit with 200 staff members who support 10,000 young people and their families. I have served as Associate Dean and chief operating officer of the Southern Methodist University Lyle School of Engineering. I have served as a Vice President for the $500 million Educational Technology division of Texas Instruments. I have worked with school districts across the nation and the world. I have worked with educational organizations such as the Texas Education Agency, the Texas State Board of Education, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, and the Texas Business Education Coalition. In my volunteer service, I have led organizations like the board of Head Start of Greater Dallas, a $40 million agency serving 4,000 children. I have served on the Huffman Elementary School Based Improvement Committee, the Plano ISD Graduation Plan Advisory Committee, the Plano West Royales Booster Club, the Shepton Band Booster Club, the First Baptist Church of Plano School Committee and Personnel Committee. I have an MBA from Harvard University and a BS in Industrial Engineering, summa cum laude, from Texas A&M University. I am a first generation college graduate. I have been selected for Leadership Plano, Leadership Dallas, and Leadership Texas. Finally, I have lived in Plano for 25 years, and I have had children in Plano schools for 14 years. I have experienced elementary, middle, and high schools in the Plano system and understand the opportunities and challenges that our community faces. What is the most important thing you want to accomplish if elected? I want to provide an education for our young people that will give them the preparation that they need to have a successful, fulfilling life. I want to provide an educational experience both inside and outside the classroom that will develop the “whole student.” I want students to “learn how to learn” so that they can embrace new challenges throughout their long careers. I want parents to feel that they are heard and respected by Plano ISD and that their voice matters. I want our teachers to feel that Plano ISD appreciates their creativity and expertise and allows them to fulfill their personal calling as educators. We are partners in this great mission of helping children become who they are meant to be. It is an honor and a privilege. P a g e | 2 of 2