In the Austin school district’s sole citywide race, Kendall Pace, a management and financial consultant, beat university educator Hillary Procknow for the District 9 seat on the board. Candidates Edmund “Ted” Gordon and Paul Saldaña also prevailed in their runoff elections for school board seats. “I’m appreciative, thankful and relieved,” Pace, a longtime district volunteer, said. She said she wants to see more cohesion and openness on the board and build upon Interim Superintendent Paul Cruz’s vision for the district to build trust within the community. +Kendall Pace, Ted Gordon, Paul Saldaña win Austin school board seats photo Paul Saldana won the Austin ISD District 6 board seat. Pace, who received 65 percent of the vote, served on the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce’s education and talent development council, the district advisory council and two campus advisory councils. Pace also is launching a local chapter of Parents for Public Schools, Inc., to combat the district’s declining enrollment by marketing the district’s strengths and training parents to be effective campus decision makers, among other measures. “I would also like us to take a proactive stance in promoting the assets of our district,” Pace said. “We need to get more aggressive and retain and attract students.” Procknow, who declined to seek campaign contributions or endorsements, brought in nearly 15,500 votes. If she had won, she wanted to push for the district to opt out of the state’s standardized STAAR exam, which is the basis for school accountability scores. +Kendall Pace, Ted Gordon, Paul Saldaña win Austin school board seats photo Kendall Pace won the sole citywide Austin district board seat with 65 percent of the vote. “This election has been a wonderful opportunity to talk about and bring to the forefront important issues in education, including the overuse and abuse of testing,” Procknow said. “For a $0 campaign, we did an amazing job.” In District 1, Gordon, a university professor, beat minister David “D” Thompson, a former teacher, 56 percent to 44 percent. The seat represents northeast and east Austin and includes the Liberal Arts and Science Academy, LBJ and Reagan high schools. It is an area where most of the students are Hispanic or black and has been represented by an African-American since the late-1960s. +Kendall Pace, Ted Gordon, Paul Saldaña win Austin school board seats photo Edmund “Ted” Gordon won the Austin ISD District 1 board seat. Gordon, 63, chairman of the University of Texas African and African Diaspora Studies Department, has lived in East Austin for 25 years and raised his children there. Gordon has said East Austin has not lived up to a quality education and wants the district to offer supplemental education services, including year-round, full-day prekindergarten, academic after-school programs, Saturday academies and other extracurricular activities that low-income students often miss out on, such as music. “Now that the election is over, the real work begins,” Gordon said. “There are many pressing issues facing the entire district, and District 1 in particular, that need to be addressed.” And in District 6, which represents south Austin, Saldaña, principal of a public relations firm, beat former teacher Kate Mason Murphy, 53 percent to 47 percent. “I’m excited to be part of the new legacy that we’re going to create for AISD,” Saldaña said, vowing more transparency and community engagement. Saldaña, 48, has been a longtime activist in local education and politics. He previously served as the tri-chair for the district’s community committee on neighborhoods and schools and for a task force on the district’s strategic plan review. Saldaña also is the co-founder and facilitator of the Hispanic business group HABLA. He said he also wants to work to bring back students and families the district has lost and will use his experience working with city officials and the business community to better support students and schools.
Posted on: Wed, 17 Dec 2014 20:52:24 +0000
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