Dr. Stefani Reinold
DRIPPING SPRINGS — The Hays County League of Women Voters hosted a candidate forum for the upcoming Dripping Springs ISD Board of Trustees election, where residents will choose three out of the five candidates vying for the at-large positions, on April 10 at the Sententia Vera Cultural Hub. Stefani Reinold is one of two incumbents and serves as the president of the board of trustees. She is a physician, business owner, military wife and mom of four children, two of whom are still at home and two who attend Sycamore Springs Elementary School. “As someone who’s a young family, which is a lot of our demographic of people coming to this community right now, I speak for a huge population of people in our community. I’m also very passionate about continuing leadership at the board level to continue really important projects for the growth that affects our district at this time,” Reinold said. Mary Jane Hetrick is currently a member of the board and a child of two public school teachers, making her passionate and protective of public education. When she moved back to Dripping Springs, she had three children in different grade levels and immediately got involved in parent-teacher associations and served roles in the Dripping Springs Education Foundation Board, such as vice president of strategic planning. She was also intimately involved with the decision to launch a mental health initiative. “I think I have a lot of experience. From hiring top administrations to strategic planning to crisis management to curriculum development, [I’ve experienced] just about everything as a trustee,” said Hetrick. Shanda DeLeon is a mom of three daughters in the district. In 2016, her family moved to the city for a better education for her children. She mentioned that she has experienced two of the most difficult jobs: teaching high school and being a stay-at-home mom. Now, she teaches infant swim survival. “I am running for the board because I believe in public education,” DeLeon explained. “I’m a product of public education, [am a] sixth generation Texan and I’m passionate about our public schools.” Terri Purdy also moved here for the school district, valuing the high status of the education provided, and has two children. After noticing the explosive growth in the district, she wanted to run for the board to make sure that the district can meet the challenges that come with it. “[I want to focus] on how we’re going to staff those classrooms and make sure that in this difficult time in education, when teachers are leaving education for other careers, that we make Dripping Springs ISD a place that teachers want to come and teach, so that our students have the best [possible] experience.” John Adams moved to Dripping Springs 28 years ago and has since had three children who have started and finished their education in the district. He previously served on the board for two terms from 2006-2012. Since then, he has taught computer science prior to his retirement in 2023. “I wanted to make sure all kids after my kids got that same kind of education,” said Adams. “I’d like to take that passion that I have for education, both for the board side and the classroom side, and put that on the board of trustees again.”
What do you believe to be the most important role as school board trustee? Shanda DeLeon
There are many important roles to be held when serving on the board, as the trustees employ the superintendent and decide the budget, but one of the most important is being the liaison between the district and the community, explained Reinold. She continued by stating that many forget this aspect, as they do so much, but this is critical. They need to convey the desires and wishes of those in the community to the district. Hetrick stated that partnering with the superintendent to implement the strategic plan and continuing to support and provide mutual respect with the community is a top priority. “I truly think that our most important role is to be the voice of the community. There’s a reason that the school board trustees are elected and not appointed,” said DeLeon. “We are your voice.” DeLeon stated that she believes she has a unique perspective since she’s been a public school teacher and that parent engagement and trust/transparency will be key in the steady growth. According to Purdy, in addition to communication with the community, the district needs to build collaborative relationships with each other since they are all representing different aspects of their community. Trustees should be setting the example of being a good person through respect and kindness, not just in the boardroom, but also in the community. Adams believes that selecting the superintendent is the most important because as long as the district has the right superintendent, it will have a good leader to ensure that all of the other aspects, such as budget, communication and more will be correct. On the contrary, he said the most important thing that trustees should not be doing is coming in with an agenda. This will allow them to listen to everything that happens at the board meeting and help communicate that back to the community.
What strategies are in place or should be in place to support special education students? Terri Purdy
Reinold explained that as a psychiatrist, she works with a lot of individuals dealing with mental health issues. Her experience allowed her to realize that there is a lot of overlap between mental health and special education. To combat this, there are three aspects: staffing, community support and budget support. A lot of specific strategies are dictated by the state and while the district is not in violation of it, they are not excelling. Characteristics like advancing pay scales and making their community more enticing to educators would strengthen the environment for those with special education needs, Reinold said. Hetrick stated that the board regularly gets updates of the status of the special education programs and as she became involved in the schools, she was very surprised at the number of children that need these programs. “I think that the key is having the staff in place,” said Hetrick. “We have some rockstar administrations right now that have a heart for these kids, so they let us know when something is needed.” What should be in place is identifying kids early, said DeLeon. Early intervention is super important because, according to the candidate, there is a time limit to put those interventions in place, but she recognizes that teachers do what they can for the child before they are “legally” in the system. For example, DeLeon explained that her friend has a child who struggles with reading, so she goes to a different classroom to get help. Despite not being in the system as special needs, the teachers utilize their resources that they have and that is a great characteristic. There are several regulatory requirements that the schools are required to have in place, explained Purdy, and she believes that that process is “pretty solid.” While other districts are struggling with those policies, DSISD is not, but staffing is a concern, so she believes that those teachers and paraprofessionals need to get the care that they need to continue doing a great job. “I think that looking at not just the special ed[ucation] perspective and just really focusing on the whole child and just remembering that they are a whole child and [they] deserve the same opportunities that our general population has [is important],” Purdy said. Adams’ daughter is a speech pathologist; therefore, he hears the stories from her, ranging from identification to support. He also has experience with special education students and believes the district does a good job of identifying them and putting a plan together, but they don’t exceed what is mandated by the state. “I don’t think what the state specifies is good enough for these populations, so I honestly think the strategy we should employ is to be lobbying the state legislature to adequately fund public education to support those special ed[ucation] populations because we’re not getting it done with the money that the state allocates to us and it breaks my heart,” said Adams.
Regarding books, how would you balance the need to protect students from potentially inappropriate content with the importance of fostering open mindedness? John Adams
Reinold stated that just like television shows and music, the decision on what is appropriate is a private decision to be made in the home and outside of required reading — a parent should be able to decide. When a parent does disagree with required reading, there are policies that the district would follow. Over the years, an aspect Hetrick was pleasantly surprised at was the ease that parents were able to opt out of their child reading certain material. At the end of the day, she believes that the district needs to leave the decision making to the professionals and if they want to hire new professionals, that’s a separate discussion for the superintendent. Because of the attention to library books in recent years, the administrators have done a top to bottom review of the process, but they should always be asking whether they are keeping in line with the policies that the state has created, Hetrick explained. “Our school district already has policies in place for parents to request the limitation for their child’s access to sensitive materials. Whether that is because it is deemed to be inappropriate by that parent for their child or for any other reasons,” Purdy said. “There might be something that was traumatic for that student or something that is not acceptable to their religion.” She continued by stating that there are well-defined processes for parents to request review by the board over materials, but that their librarians also have criteria in place at the state level and she believes that those policies are all appropriate. Adams was strong in his belief that they should hire professionals that are trained as subject matter experts and let them do the curation of the libraries. If there is a parent that disagrees, the parent can put their request in, but his concern is whether that parent will try to restrict that book from being accessed or read by other students. Ultimately, he stated that the professionals should be trusted and parents can opt out if they feel the need to. DeLeon expressed that parents have the right to control their child’s education. She said that this question is about not only age appropriate material, but also content appropriate material. She explained that when she taught pre-AP world geography, she wanted to show a video that had tribal nudity, so she sent permission slips home to get parents to sign it, but just because that video made sense in her classroom, does not mean it is appropriate in a math class. So, it’s important to recognize that age appropriate and content appropriate are one in the same.
If Texas Senate Bill 4 goes into effect, some families may be separated. What policies could be implemented to ensure the safety and uninterrupted education from students of undocumented families? Dr. Mary Jane Hetrick
Reinold believed that this is a topic that the board of trustees needs to ask where the boundaries lie. Its job is to provide free and accessible education for all. There is not a black and white answer to this, she explained, and there will be big decisions that need to be made from the state, but as a district, it needs to provide all the resources it can within the bounds of public education. “Any child that is in our system is our child. We have had unimaginable heartbreak over the years,” Hetrick recalled. “And each time, we rally to see what we can do [to help].” She has, in the past, called on individuals she knows in the community to help provide support for those children and she knows that the district will do all it can to care for the child to the best of its ability. “Undocumented individuals who have children here, those children have a right to an education. Their parents, regardless of how their parents got here, they do pay taxes. They pay taxes every time they buy groceries; they pay taxes every time they fill up their car … They pay taxes, [so] their children deserve an education. If they get separated, it’s going to be incumbent on the state to make sure that those kids are still in the position to get an education here,” said Adams. “I think that that question is way beyond our charge as school board trustees, but ultimately those babies didn’t choose to come here. They were brought here. We wrap them up. We love them. We teach them,” stressed DeLeon. “That’s the only answer here. I don’t know why there would be any other answer.” Purdy agreed with DeLeon, stating that every student and every child is deserving of public education and she has a lot of faith in the community because they always show up for each other. The district also has a lot of partnerships that it can lean on and do the best it can to care for the child.
Closing statements “[My family] came here for stability and we came here to grow roots in our community. When we came here, I hit the ground running to look for ways to get involved,” Reinold said. “I’ve had the honor of serving the past three years … I feel like my continued leadership is really needed in this really critical time of growth.” “I’ve been asked a few times why in the world I would sign up to serve one more time, but I feel like I’ve gained so much knowledge over the years, so much experience,” stressed Hetrick. “I am passionate about public service and I will just say that whether it is on the state level board or on local boards, I find myself adept for leadership and I have a servant's heart.” “I think that as a mom, as a public-school teacher … I’ve been in our school, boots on the ground. I volunteer [and] I do outdoor classrooms; I do art appreciation. I love being invested in these schools,” said DeLeon. “I have poured a lot of time into this school district. I have been volunteering, showing up to schools, like many of the people at this table, in different ways. I have been called to speak up and advocate for students, for teachers [and] for our district … I don’t shy away from hard work. I’m ready to roll up my sleeves. Being a trustee is not easy but I look forward to it,” concluded Purdy. “I think I have a pretty good feel for the community,” said Adams. “I’m concerned about the [teaching and leadership] experience we’ve lost from the board and I’d like to see some experience put back onto the board.” Early voting begins on April 22. For more information, visit
www.dsisdtx.us/elections . To watch the candidate forum, visit
bit.ly/4aQz4Lz .
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