Richardson Edition | January 2022

CONTINUED FROM 1

This area near North Junior High was moved from Single-Member District 2 to Single-Member District 1.

school year. However, RISD has not begun accepting applicants for the job. Harris said she expects the board to begin planning for its superinten- dent search at upcoming meetings. Teamof eight The superintendent and the sev- en-member board of trustees are col- lectively known as a district’s team of eight, former RISD trustee KimCaston said. After her 14-year tenure with the RISD board ended in June, the Texas EducationAgency authorized Caston to provide “team of eight” training for districts statewide. “The team of eight is really most eective when the board and superintendent lead and manage the district within their respective roles,” Caston said. She explained the board is respon- sible for setting the vision, the mis- sion and the goals for the district. And the superintendent is responsible for managing the district day to day and attaining those goals. Collectively, the team of eight works to review and evaluate the progress and success of the district’s initiatives and goals, Caston said. “That working relationship is grounded in good communication, information, data and trust,” she said. RISD Interim Superintendent Tabitha Branum, who was appointed to that position in December, said she speaks with trustees on a daily basis. Harris said communication is key and noted it is also important for the trust- ees to listen to each other. “We all come with very dierent backgrounds,” Harris said. “What we have to make sure that we do as a board of trustees is [that] we make the … right decisions for all of our stu- dents and sta in RISD.” District changes Over the last four months, the dis- trict has seen the resignation of for- mer Superintendent Jeannie Stone and former board President Karen Clardy, who represented District 5. Clardy resigned Sept. 24 in a letter to Stone and the other trustees, while a separation agreement for Stone was accepted by the board Dec. 13. Stone, who was reassigned to serve as a tran- sition liaison until Aug. 31, did not respond to an interview request. Clardy said she was not surprised by Stone’s resignation. And seeing that as a possibility was the reason she resigned

ARAPAHO RD.

This area was moved to Single-Member District 3 from Single-Member District 1.

BUCKINGHAM RD.

Two areas near Forest Ridge Elementary were moved from Single- Member District 4 to Single-Member District 3.

FOREST LN.

Five seats on the Richardson ISD board of trustees are chosen by registered voters of specic districts, while two seats are elected at-large. Data released from the 2020 census shows RISD’s total population increased by nearly 25,000 residents since 2010. The board approved four revisions to trustee districts in December to meet requirements of the state education code. GET TO KNOW THE DISTRICTS

635

ROYAL LN.

This area was moved to Single-Member District 4 from Single- Member District 5.

WALNUT HILL LN.

MAP NOT TO SCALE

SOURCE: RICHARDSON ISD COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER

1 Megan Timme

Chris Poteet 7

Eron Linn Debbie Rentería Regina Harris

Vacant

Eric Eager

her position on the board, she said. “I loved working on the board, and I did not want to [resign],” Clardy said. “But I also didn’t want to be on the board that got rid of [Stone].” Inaddition toHarris andLinn, Clardy was the only other trustee who had been on the board before the COVID-19 pandemic began in March 2020. “[The new board members] were trying to x everything that they thought went wrong or the commu- nity thought went wrong when we’re still trying to deal with the pandemic,” Clardy said.

With more than 37,000 students and 6,000 employees in RISD, Clardy said Stone could not devote a “tre- mendous amount of time” to requests from individual board members. “Superintendents can only handle so much,” she said. The Texas Association of School Administrators oers learning oppor- tunities and advocacy eorts for state superintendents and other school administrators. The association’s Executive Director Kevin Brown said superintendents throughout the state are nding it dicult to satisfy

everyone with just about any decision. “The divisive nature of politics today makes it very dicult to really focus on the children,” Brown said. “Once you’re deprived of being able to focus on your students [and] focus on serving your community, then you don’t feel like you’re fullling your mission. Our state is losing some extraordinary leaders.” Serving the district For the last several months, Harris said preparation for board meetings has been a daily task for trustees.

COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER • COMMUNITYIMPACT.COM