I consider it a real honor and privilege to have been elected to the Katy ISD Board of Trustees on May 7. The school board is the ultimate authority of the school district and therefore has the final say and final responsibility. 

This is a great responsibility which I take very seriously. With this responsibility comes the duty to govern well, be good stewards of our financial resources, conduct oneself with high ethical standards, promote transparency and treat everyone with respect. 

I am very grateful for the trust the Katy ISD voters have placed in me. I am also very grateful to the many friends and supporters who spent countless hours block walking, delivering yard signs, greeting voters at the polls, and making calls, as well as the many generous campaign donors. 

As I campaigned across the district, I was often moved and humbled by countless encounters with Katy residents who shared experiences with me, thanked me for running, expressed confidence in me and said they were praying for me. Meeting many people and making new friends has been very gratifying. 

I am grateful to my family, and especially my wife Karen, for sacrifices they have made and will make in the future. They share with me the spirit of service to the community and for the children.

I can only conclude the voters embraced my message. My priorities for the district include supporting our front-line teachers and front-line support staff. We need to retain our teachers, be more competitive on pay and improve their morale. We need to focus our resources in the classroom where they will make the most difference to the education of our children. We also need to protect our children from early sexualization and from identity politics in the school.

Provide a quality education free of political agenda or bias. In a nutshell, we need a laser focus on education – back to basics. This includes ensuring we have a strong reading, writing and phonics curriculum in the elementary schools and robust Special Ed capability. We need to take a hard look at how we improve the underperforming segments of our student population and underperforming schools. 

I look forward to working collaboratively with the rest of the board members and the superintendent. I also recognize the inherent role the parents have in the education of their children. Parents are passionate about the education of their children. We need to make sure we respect the voices of parents. Parents and educators can jointly focus the energy and passion toward actionable items for the benefit of the education of the children. 

Finally, I want to thank Duke Keller for his service to Katy ISD and the Katy community.

I look forward to serving the people of Katy. While we may not always agree with each other on everything, I commit to treating everyone with courtesy, honesty, and respect. Once again, thank you for the trust you have placed in me.