BY DANICA LLOYD CONTRIBUTIONS BY ATIRIKTA KUMAR
How we got here
What they’re saying
About 55,000 voters cast ballots in 2023 for the highest turnout for a CFISD board election in recent history—16.81%, according to the Harris County Clerk’s Oce. At the same time, 83.19% of registered voters in CFISD did not cast ballots. Witt said she believes despite their importance, many don’t pay attention to local school board elections. Harris County GOP Chair Cindy Siegel said she believes more conservative candidates
being elected is a result of conservative parents feeling their perspective isn’t being considered. The Harris County GOP has endorsed all current CFISD board members except Hinaman. “The concern—[for] a lack of better words, it’s overused—but [the] more woke agenda,” Siegel said. “That their children are being exposed to things that they haven’t wanted them to be exposed to; that ... their viewpoints should be heavily weighted in how their kid is educated.”
“[Parents] felt like their school boards weren’t listening to them. … We would hear concerns about
curriculum and how the dollars were being spent and what was in the library for their kids.” CINDY SIEGEL, HARRIS COUNTY GOP CHAIR
Voter turnout trends Cy-Fair ISD conducts board elections in o-cycle election years when midterm and presidential elections aren't taking place.
Cy-Fair ISD board elections Federal and state elections in Harris County
“[Trustees] say you want transparency. You talk about parent rights, but yet you take actions that show just the opposite
100% 75%
68.14%
61.33%
of what you say.” DEBBIE BLACKSHEAR, FORMER CYFAIR ISD TRUSTEE, AT THE JUNE 17 BOARD MEETING
52.86%
43.54%
25% 50% 0%
16.81%
16.41%
13.46%
11.04%
4.44%
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022 2023
SOURCE: HARRIS COUNTY CLERK’S OFFICECOMMUNITY IMPACT
Why it matters
“Today I stand before you as a former teacher of this district that I grew up in and dedicated 21 of my 26 years of teaching to. I left because of you. You let me down, and you let down our students,” she told the board June 17. “Your lack of transparency and obvious lack of content knowledge showed that you had already made up your minds in order to further your own agendas.” Also on June 17, the board approved budget cuts for scal year 2024-25, but CFISD is still expected to have a $77.5 million shortfall. Public schools did not receive an increase in state funding last legislative session as Republican leaders, including Gov. Greg Abbott, pushed for a voucher bill that would allow taxpayer dollars to cover private school tuition, eectively taking funds away from public schools, o©cials said. “My job is to make sure we get across the nish line a piece of legislation that will return mom and dad to being in charge of their child’s education,” Abbott said during a March 2023 visit to Cypress Christian School.
This spring, Blasingame led the eort to omit “controversial” chapters from science textbooks for the 2024-25 school year. “When we teach our children ideas like uncontrolled human population growth can deplete resources, ... it’s important that we make sure that we look at what do we know and what is the evidence before us,” Blasingame said June 17. The board heard from dozens of parents, educators and students during the meetings in which these eorts were discussed. None vocalized support for this motion, but the board voted 6-1 with Hinaman opposed. Megan Costello, a former Cypress Lakes High School teacher, served on the curriculum writing and instructional material committees that approved the textbooks. She said she felt the board did not value her expertise and resigned from the district just weeks after the board awarded her a “Bringing out the Best” award—a monthly recognition a handful of employees received this year.
Dates to know Nov. 5: Election determines who will represent Cy-Fair at the state level Jan. 14, 2025: 89th Texas Legislature convenes in Austin July 19-Aug. 18, 2025: Candidates can le to run for a seat on the CFISD board Nov. 4, 2025: Three CFISD board seats are on the ballot; winners serve four-year terms
SOURCES: TEXAS SECRETARY OF STATE’S OFFICE, CYFAIR ISD COMMUNITY IMPACT
CFISD Superintendent Doug Killian said he encourages parents to be involved in their children’s education by establishing relationships with their teachers and campus administrators. “It’s really important to understand where the challenges are in the school district so you can get involved and help or be an advocate one way or the other,” he said in an interview with Community Impact .
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CY FAIR EDITION
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