To get teachers more involved in the school board elections, MaryAnn Knight and Allison Foster-Haliburton & Knight formed the Mansfield Organization of Voting Educators. They hosted a forum last Thursday at to allow all candidates a chance to speak to the community.

Below are bullet points of each candidate’s stances and goals. Early voting began yesterday through April 27; official voting day is May 1 for three seats on the Mansfield ISD Board of Trustees.

Kenneth J. Chalk (Place 1)

• “Chalk belongs on the board”
• Mansfield resident for 14 years, 2 sons graduated from MISD
• Passionate about family and students
• “One child at a time”
• All students treated fairly with diversity and inclusion… “I’m proud to be an MISD graduate”
• Fair and equitable for everyone
• Learning gap has slid since virus, wants to fix that
• Advocate for parents, students, teachers, schools

Desiree Thomas (Place 2)

• Involved parent, maybe too involved according to kids
• Substitute teacher
• 2 daughters in MISD: one graduated, one current senior
• Mansfield resident for 24 years
• Volunteering with MISD for past 20 years, even before girls were in school
• Believed in helping kids always
• PTA council for 14 years
• Decisions must be made based on all campuses, not just one campus
• Wants to be recognizable face
• She may have her own opinion, but wants to hear students, educators, parents, etc. because they live that life
• Zoning, bond, student health, advocacy, leadership committees
• Mansfield needs a voice; doesn’t believe MISD has that voice currently
• Wants to speak for teachers when state makes mandates that aren’t necessary

Yolanda McPherson (Place 2)

• Retired educator, 32 years
• Married, 2 graduates from LRHS
• Many committees under belt where she made “life-changing” decisions for families
• Diverse group of students in career
• Passionate about education and opportunities

Philip DeGroat (Place 2)

• Cleburne public schooling, SFA, UTA; information tech background
• Looked all over metroplex for school district, MISD outranked all others
• Involved in district, PTA and starting STEM schools
• Wants to contribute more in district
• Bring skills that aren’t currently present – numbers, anomalies

Theresa Okoro (Place 2)

• 16 years in Mansfield
• Son in middle, 3 nephews in hs/ms, grandson in pre-k, family working in district; 6 kids through MISD, all GT, one SPED
• Nurse since 1979
• Has ability to lead and work as a team
• Finishing doctorate currently
• “If it was up to me, I’d pay teachers double, triple…”
• Parents and teachers must work together
• Member of school board in New Mexico previously, started closed campuses for lunch there because students didn’t come back; they said “food in school not good,” she tried it, made new menu and cafe
• Came from outside, looking in to see what needs to be done
• Wants to bring different ideas to district
• Represents African community, born in Nigeria, bridge culture gap

Corinne Fiagome (Place 4)

• Family in TX for generations
• Mom had poor school experience, moved for children
• Went through Arlington ISD, then started family in MISD
• Students said school didn’t prepare them for life after graduation – unfair, public education wasn’t good enough everywhere
• Former teacher, understands the hard work and support needed
• Need to do more for students on the edges; many students are thriving, many are not – give more attention and resources to them at board level

Christine Beason (Place 4)

• Mom of 2 in MISD, married to MISD teacher, former teacher and college professor for education
• Always wanted to be on board, passionate about education
• Has student, teacher, state and corporate/career perspective
• Reduce emphasis on standardized testing – trust teachers to tell more about child’s learning than 4-hour test, stressful for students, poor assessments, should be to provide feedback to students and parents… STAAR/EOC results come too late to make a difference, student should be proud of learning
• Support teachers – they are the experts, society doesn’t treat teachers as professionals, but as glorified babysitters, teachers should not be limited by state standards, they lose their voice

Kevin Robedee (Place 4)

• Teacher for 21 years, 3 different districts
• Brings employee perspective to board
• Understands how hard it is to take a day off, more work than just staying that day
• Teacher, principal and superintendent certificate
• “Man of a thousand questions”
• Houston has great teacher organizations, advocated for them and wants to do it for MISD

Keziah Valdes Farrar (Place 4)

• Mansfield whole life, 3 kids in MISD
• Voice for students and teachers
• Invested in community, business owners – real estate, lawn care, commercial development
• Utilize business relationships to fund programs and internships

The following candidates opted not to speak at the forum:

Michelle Newsom (Place 1)

Brad Crane (Place 4)

Meagan Sutton (Place 4)

Denise Lunski (Place 4)