May 6 Election: Athens ISD School Board Q&A's

May 4—Bryan Barker and Kelley C. Lee are candidates for Athens Independent School District Board of Trustees, Place 2 and Incumbent Eugene Buford is running unopposed for Place 1. A Question and Answer form was sent to both Lee and Barker and their answers are printed as submitted below.

Voting for AISD School Board, City Council, and Mayor will occur Saturday, May 6 at several locations across Henderson County and more information can be found at www.votetexas.gov. A previous Q&A was printed for the city council and mayoral candidates in the April 20 edition of the Athens Daily Review.

Bryan Barker

1. What are the educational strengths in Athens ISD?

Athens ISD will Create an environment Where all students are given the opportunity to reach full potential and become productive successful citizens

2. What are the educational gaps or weaknesses in Athens ISD?

COVID-19 was the gap and weakness that AISD faced we will never go back to the normal things we were accustomed to but I'm so glad we managed to get things done safe and effectively

3. What do you see as the board's roles and responsibilities?

Expect and achieve academic excellence at every campus Attract, retain and develop exemplary employees for all jobs in the district Develop/expand programs and services that promote parent/community satisfaction Promote participation in school-sponsored extra/co-curricular activities Provide for all operations in the most cost-effective and efficient manner possible

4. How long have you lived in Athens?

50 years

5. Previous board/leadership experience in any venue?

I have served on the City of Athens Parks and Zoning Board

6. Current job?

Texas Department of Criminal Justice Lieutenant of Correctional Officers

Kelley C. Lee

1. What are the educational strengths in Athens ISD?

Athens ISD is blessed with many, many teachers, instructors, and administrators that

truly care about our children above and beyond just educating them. Two specific

programs that I believe stand out and that are having a significant impact on our children

and equipping them for life after AISD are CTE and Pinnacle. CTE is beneficial to

students that may not pursue a college degree and provides students with trade skills

that enable them to find good paying jobs after high school. The Pinnacle program

provides those students that chose to pursue a college education with an affordable

head start in completing their college degree.

2. What are the educational gaps or weaknesses in Athens ISD?

I believe that are several opportunities to close educational gaps that currently exist.

But the one area that I believe should be the top current priority for the district to address

is with regard to math and science. For whatever reason, the district has had some on-

going challenges in attracting and retaining qualified and experienced math and science

teachers.

We live in a time where math and science disciplines are extremely important to the

future success of students. Because we live in a digital world, the need for children to

have strong math and science foundations is critical if they want to be adequately

prepared to compete for good jobs and contribute to the economy.

Consequently, we need to provide more incentives and resources specifically focused on developing more robust STEM program offerings. However, building quality STEM programs is

dependent on attracting, hiring, and retaining qualified, experienced instructors for these

fields. For these reasons, I believe we need to make this a top priority for the district.

3. What do you see as the board's roles and responsibilities?

I believe that the board's role can be broken down into 5 primary responsibilities:

—Be intentional in encouraging and soliciting feedback from parents, students, and

teachers. Where are we succeeding and where can we improve? Trustees

should be the voices that represent all stakeholders.

—Determine strategic planning priorities for both fiscal and educational issues

—Set, measure, and hold the Superintendent accountable to performance

expectations based on the district's strategic plan. The Board should also

assess its overall effectiveness in meeting strategic goals and objectives at least

annually.

—Board Trustees have a fiduciary responsibility to ensure that tax dollars and other

sources of funding are spent in a prudent manner. Proper fiscal oversight and

management is one of the most important responsibilities for board members.

—Be good teammates. Encourage, motivate, and support district administrators

and staff.

4. How long have you lived in Athens?

18 years

5. Previous board/leadership experience in any venue?

Past Board Member of First National Bank of Athens

Past Board Member of Franklin Bank

Past Board Member of Texas Citizens Bank

Past Board member of SolomonEdwardsGroup, LLC

Past Chairman of Henderson County United Way

Board member of ETMC Athens

Past President of Athens Industrial Foundation

Past Board member of Athens Chamber of Commerce

Co-founder of Henderson County Junior Achievement

6. Current job?

Retired March 2022 following 37-year banking career. 30+ years served in senior

executive roles for publicly traded and privately held financial institutions.