Place 4: Mike Friedman
What are the top three reasons you want to serve as a Plano ISD School Board Trustee?
After serving on the Plano School Board for almost four years, I am running again for re-election to the
board for these three reasons. FIRST – Because of my love of education and I believe I have and will
continue to make a difference in the lives of our 53,000 plus learners. They are our future. The work I
have done over the past four years has increased my ability to serve these learners and their families.
The continuing education that I have completed during my first term is an investment the district has
made in me. I plan to continue the work I began in my first term and see that investment pay off in the
continued improvement of the educational opportunities for every student. SECOND – I love this job! I
have had the pleasure of sitting on many boards in my life and have given back to the community in
many ways. However, the Plano School Board is the most rewarding. I must say that I wake up each and
every day feeling proud of my service to Plano. THIRD – I want to be a part of the solution of one of our
biggest issues we’ll be facing in the future: that being how to help our growing socio-economically
challenged student population succeed and flourish. While addressing this challenge, our board will
continue to lead the vision of the district to provide an excellent education to every student.
What do you feel are the most important responsibilities of a trustee?
The most important responsibilities of a trustee serving on a seven-member body corporate are to
provide governance and oversight of the school district on behalf of all stakeholders in Plano ISD. The
board actually possesses all three capacities of governmental bodies: executive, legislative, and judicial.
One of the most important duties is our executive responsibility to hire and manage the superintendent.
I am most proud of our board’s March 2015 decision to hire Dr. Brian Binggeli as our new
superintendent, effective July 1, 2015. Our board spent considerable time conducting a national search
to bring to Plano ISD the most qualified candidate. Last year, our board redesigned the superintendent
evaluation tool to make certain it aligns with our strategic plan. Other executive duties include
reviewing and approving contracts, budgets, tax rates and audit reviews. Our legislative duties include
setting and revising district policies, and our judicial duties include hearing and deciding level four
grievances brought before our administration. My experience during the past four years in all of these
capacities makes me the most qualified candidate to continue to earnestly serve our district.
What do you see as the top opportunities and challenges in Plano ISD?
I am proud to say that after an exhaustive search and review of 103 applications, we as a board of
trustees, have hired THE best candidate for PISD, Dr. Brian Binggeli, which gives PISD opportunities for a
continued forward-focused vision, a new leader and new energy to take our wonderful school district to
new heights and world class successes. This is a very exciting time for the future of our district and kids.
In my opinion, our biggest challenge is closing the achievement gap. Our teachers and staff work very
hard to reach all different types of learners to close the gap. Most include items like after school
tutoring, Saturday tutoring, make-up exams and work, individualized instruction in the classroom,
transportation help and our terrific AVID program. We work each and every day to work on closing the
achievement gap. We look forward to Dr. Binggeli’s leadership in this area, as he has successfully
decreased the achievement gap in his current district.
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Place 4: Mike Friedman
Why are you qualified to hold the position of trustee?
I’m the most qualified Place 4 candidate because I possess the vast experience from serving the past
four years as trustee. I have been selected by my peers to hold the Office of Secretary for the past year
and am familiar with the day-to-day duties of being a school board trustee—there is no learning curve
for me. I have served on many boards and have gained an in-depth level of knowledge in
boardsmanship from working with fellow board members making informed decisions. During my years
of service, our board:
 Selected two Plano ISD superintendents, (plus, I served on UNT board that selected the
president of the university in 2014.)
 Supported the goal to provide effective security to keep our students/ staff safe
 Listened sincerely to our community when we experienced the growing pains of
redistricting,
 Advocated diligently on behalf of public education with our legislature,
 Supported delivering programs and that increased student performance,
 Deepened community partnerships to benefit our district,
 Revised operating procedures to reflect best practices and our commitment to our Code
of Ethics,
 Expressed our support for the excellent fine arts programs
 Adopted a new five-year strategic plan to carry out a forward-focused vision for the
district,
 Participated in numerous trainings to better serve or community
 Earned the distinction of Region 10 Honor Board of 2014.
Along with these experiences, I:
 Understand the board and work with and respect fellow trustees, knowing that
we may not always agree, but agree to disagree with diplomacy.
 Developed working relationships with the district leadership team, which gives
me insight to understand how the PISD organization functions.
 Come to meetings prepared so I am knowledgeable on every agenda topic
 Am actively involved in our meetings and frequently ask questions on agenda
topics
 Have NO learning curve for this job!
What is the most important thing you want to accomplish if elected?
The most important job of a school board trustee is to hire a superintendent that has the same vision
and goals that reflect those of the board and our community. That goal has now been accomplished
with the hiring of Dr. Brian Binggeli. My next goal to accomplish is to work with my fellow trustees to
help, guide, coach and support our new superintendent in how best to begin his journey as our leader
and our future in PISD. My goal is to support his efforts in meeting all his cabinet, make the rounds to
visit each and every school, and help Dr. Binggeli to become highly visible in the Plano community, by
meeting key business, community and local government leaders. I will work with my fellow trustees to
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Place 4: Mike Friedman
help him understand the history of Plano ISD and the vision of where the district is going. We will meet
together as a Team of 8 to develop our working relationship to best serve the district and the families
within it. There is a lot to do and as a sitting board member, I have reviewed Dr. Binggeli’s first 100 day
(plus or minus) Plan. It is aggressive, and reflects the quality superintendent that our board has
selected, but it highlights his energy to continue our great legacy of a top rated school district.
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