The Chron kicks off endorsement season for this November with recommendations in the two open-seat HISD Trustee races:
Reginald Adams, District II — Adams is executive director of the Museum of Cultural Arts Houston and an artist who seeks to bring art to public spaces in order to spark “social awareness and community development.” He is also board president of the city’s Land Assemblage Redevelopment Authority.
If elected, Adams says he will work to ensure that District II parents do not have to drive across town to find good schools for their children. He says he will make school officials more accountable in their spending of public dollars, adding that he would have delayed approval of the bond proposal until more input had been received from the community. Other planks in Adams’ platform include expanding early childhood education, improving college preparatory and vocational education, and raising teacher pay.
Paula Harris, District IV — Harris is a graduate of Texas A&M University with a degree in petroleum engineering, a longtime corporate executive and a business owner. She supports the bond proposal, which she believes will bring much-needed capital improvements to the city’s north and south sides. Harris says HISD must develop programs to stem the dropout rate and improve job training for students who will not go to college.
But, Harris insists, the district must also ensure that the brightest students in District IV have academic programs that will put them on a college track. Harris says she is appalled that there is not a single open-enrollment school in District IV that is rated “exemplary” by the state of Texas.
As it happens, these are the two HISD Trustee candidates I’ve met this year. Adams is running against some better-known opponents, so his nod may come as a surprise to some, but not to me. He’s an impressive guy. I’ve got an interview with him scheduled for next week.
Nice to see the Chron start with the endorsements this early. Some years I’ve not been sure they’ll get to everyone in time. More to come soon, I’m sure.
Paula Harris is a product of Houston public schools and a Texas public university.
Harris is a recognized scientist, a successful small business owner, a long time civic, community and church volunteer and most important is with her husband and best friend, a US Army veteran that earned a Bronze Star as a company commander in the first Gulf War, is raising their daughter in our Houston public schools where she wants the best for all our children.
Harris had considered sending her child to private school but decided to make a pro-active, productive and positive priority: to run for the non-paying job of school board trustee to take her entrepreneurial and management experience from 20 years in local and global business and community volunteerism to the step of doing the right thing in working to improve our neighborhood schools.
Harris is a selfless citizen committed to having the highest integrity in our community and perhaps is the best prepared person ever in a HISD Board race.
From what I understand, Museum of Cultural Arts Houston is not what it sounds. It’s not a physical museum and is not certified as one. Mr. Adams’ organization seems to be a nonprofit front used to employ him and his wife to mainly do mural projects that can garner governmental funding.
He’s a very nice person, but seems to always be looking to find a way to line his pockets with taxpayer money.