Princeton Independent School District voters are getting a chance Nov. 8 to elect two individuals to their board of trustees, and on Oct. 11 they heard from three of the four candidates running for the two seats as they took part in a candidate forum at the Lovelady High School cafeteria.
The event was co-sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Collin County and the Princeton-Lowry Crossing Chamber of Commerce. It was a tightly scripted event, with candidates answering pre-approved questions from those in attendance. They were given one minute to answer questions ranging from textbook regulation to school finance and budgeting.
The top two vote-getters will be elected to the board for a term of three years. The board’s longest-serving trustee, 33-year veteran Carol Bodwell, is not running for re-election.
Incumbent Starla Sharpe is seeking a new term and is running against Julia Schmoker, John Campbell and Tim Tidwell, who was unable to attend the candidate forum at Lovelady HS.
Candidates were given one minute for opening statements. Then came the questions delivered by moderator Elisabeth MacNamara, a Richardson resident and an official with the League of Women Voters.
Schmoker spoke of her desire to “assure that students have an outstanding education.” She also lamented what she described as a “big problem with discipline” in the schools. She cited bullying in middle school as a recurring issue, along with misbehavior “in the bathrooms at the high school.” Campbell talked about how the pandemic has contributed to students’ academic decline and pledged to work to bring that performance level back to where it needs to be. Sharpe declared that she has a “passion for youth of Princeton.”
For the full story, see the Oct. 20 issue of The Princeton Herald.
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