Southlake Deserves Accountable and Transparent Leadership
In times of crisis, leaders show themselves. We need leaders who'll prioritize the goals of the community.
The disastrous events that unfolded during the Aug. 3, 2020, CISD school board meeting have threatened to pull this community apart at the seams. The selfish act of people entrusted to put the needs of the community first has needlessly created a divide that could take years to repair.
The genesis of the current acrimony in our community can be traced to precisely that moment. The resulting fallout is incalculable heartache for kids and families in the district and a stain on the reputation of a city we all love. Most important, the maneuver has delayed and distracted the district from taking the steps needed to ensure our kids feel safe and welcomed in the district.
This isn’t about a plan. This is about bad leadership.
We ALL want to make certain our kids are free from bullying, discrimination, or bigotry. And we will get there. But ramrodding a tragically flawed plan was not the path to reaching that goal. The community has lost trust in our school district. We must ensure that trust is repaired and never lost again going forward.
Why Hannah and Cam?
My decision-making calculus for selecting who to support in the 2021 races for the CISD school board was simple: Who do I trust to pound the table for accountability and transparency when the doors are closed and/or no one is watching? Make no mistake, this is personal.
One of the first people I talked to last summer, after the board meeting, was Hannah. Over a long phone call, we went through most of the plan. We agreed that the plan was fatally flawed. Most important, we shared a belief that it—even in draft form—would create more problems than it solved. In subsequent conversations, on topics unrelated to the plan, I spoke of wanting an administration that was held accountable by the board, how a lack of transparency and trust was hurting our kids and our community, and that I was ONLY interested in supporting future candidates who were strong leaders devoted to transparency and accountability.
When she announced her willingness to serve as a CISD Trustee several months later, I was hopeful that she would be the person I sensed she was in our first conversation, given her background and experience. In our numerous, lengthy conversations since announcing her candidacy for the CISD school board, I’ve been convinced that she will lead with empathy, integrity, transparency, and accountability.
She will be a powerful, booming voice for ALL kids and families in CISD.
Cam has been supporting our kids for years and is well-known and well-respected in Southlake. His stepping up to lead is a natural continuation of a process that’s naturally unfolded: He’s rising to meet a challenge when his community needs him. That’s laudable in my book.
In conversations with candidates, I look for people who want it, but who don’t see the outcome as a given, as if they’ve earned it. Cam, like Hannah, is busting his butt to earn votes. And I’m convinced he’ll do a great job. Why do I think that? He knows our kids and families. He listens (no small feat, believe me). What’s more, in our discussions of how best to move the community forward, he mentioned accountability and transparency as paramount and expressed an interest to invite everyone to the table.
Hanna and Cam represent the leadership we need.
Southlake Deserves Accountable and Transparent Leadership
I appreciate your constructive position on this, which says a lot about your character. Please continue to focus on healing the bitter wounds this has caused our hometown. I’m not sure I share all of your ideas about dealing with discrimination and bullying in our schools, but I have the feeling you would at least listen to my views and find consensus where it does exist. Good luck to you, sir.
Weren’t you on the DDC and on a subcommittee? Why is the plan so flawed since you were a part of it?