Well it’s March again and time to see who is running for
school boards in my area. In Fort Bend ISD we have two positions up for grabs,
two running for Position 3 and a whopping 4 candidates for Position 7. I really
don’t know if one or both of these will heat up or not, but I sincerely hope
so.
In Position 3 we have a new fresh face Vanesia R. Johnson
running against incumbent Jim Rice. Johnson is a social worker concentrating on
health, developmental disabilities, and disease prevention. She is presently
working on a PhD on Public Policy and Administration.
I don’t know about you, but this seems to be a good fit in a
school board that is devoid of anyone with any experience in special education.
And from what people tell me, there is a lot that can be improved in that
district’s special education program. While Jim Rice has been an astute board
member, I have never been very comfortable that he is in the construction
business.
Over in Position 7 we have a repeat, you could say, of the
last election in which Cynthia Lenton-Gary was ousted by Tea Partier Dave
Rosenthal and Rodrigo Carreon got his usual 500 votes. They are joined this
time around by Keciana Enaohwo. Enaohwo is also in the human services line of
work, and has degrees in Counseling and Health Education. She is also
completing her PhD in Urban Planning and Environmental Policy. Her specialty is
working with persons who have co-occurring mental health and substance abuse,
children with special needs, persons affected with HIV/AIDS, and patients with
diabetes and other health complications.
Again, this seems like a good match. She is more than
qualified to serve on a school board, and wouldn’t it be refreshing to have an
actual urban planner on the school board. Dave Rosenthal has regressive ideas
with regard to school finance. He appears to be clueless that you can save
money by aggressively cutting wasteful spending. Schools have cut their
spending to the bone but he still thinks he can squeeze more blood out of a
turnip. Rosenthal needs to go, and I don’t think that board appointee
Lenton-Gary is up to the task of taking him on. The problem is, the Tea Party
can field 4000 voters on any given school board election come rain or shine so
Rosenthal has an edge.
In Lamar CISD two of four positions are being challenged.
Karen Mendoza, the Board’s vice president has drawn two opponents, Michelle Pineda
and Kathryn Kaminski. Incumbent Frank Torres is being opposed by a relative
newcomer Gennaro D’Onofrio Jr. The other
two positions are being vacated by their current seat holders so the board will
have some fresh faces to deal with no matter what. These races are interesting
in that only residents of the districts may vote for the candidates of these
offices, which makes it far more personal and homey.
And local.
Sometimes I wish Fort Bend ISD would shift to the Lamar
model. Local representation is far more democratic than the approach Fort Bend
takes. And while I am sure there is the occasional loose cannon on the Lamar
school board, as I hear there is these days, this system of politics would seem
to keep the crazies to a minimum.
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