The Princeton-Lowry Crossing Chamber of Commerce hosted a forum Saturday Oct. 4, for candidates seeking to become Princeton ISD trustees.  Courtesy photo

Four of the seven candidates vying for seats on the Princeton Independent School District Board of Trustees clashed over budget priorities, bilingual education and the district’s ties to outside education organizations during a community forum Saturday, Oct. 4.

The forum was held in the Board Room of the new PISD Administration Building and was hosted by the Princeton-Lowry Crossing Chamber of Commerce, sponsored by CWD and moderated by the League of Women Voters of Collin County.

Candidates Sam Nevarez, Melissa Ait Belaid and Patricia Kay McLaughlin did not participate in the program.

Trustees John Campbell and Julia Schmoker defended the district’s financial management and academic progress, while challengers Charlotte Wilson and Sonia Ledezma, both former Princeton teachers, said local schools suffer from inequities and inadequate support for teachers and bilingual learners.

Campbell said Princeton’s rapid growth has required disciplined spending. “We are always on time with our budget,” he said. “This district is growing at a rapid pace. We’re building schools on time and under budget, and we’ll continue to do that.”

Schmoker credited Superintendent Donald McIntyre and his team for maintaining fiscal control while addressing the needs of a fast-expanding district. “They have wish lists for each of us to approve, and it rotates by campus,” she said. “Funding is always going to be a problem, but being forward-thinking and using the programs we have to the best of our abilities is the option for success.”

Wilson countered that identical buildings across the district mask deep inequities inside classrooms. 

“Our biggest issues here are equity across campuses, lack of true bilingual education and special education services, and lack of accountability,” she said. “We can’t fund the schools we’re building, and we lack representation in Austin. When we affiliate with groups outside Princeton that take local dollars out of local classrooms, I have a problem with that.”

Ledezma, who taught in Plano and McKinney before joining Princeton ISD, said teachers need both respect and resources. 

“Every teacher wants a pay raise, absolutely,” she said. “But it’s just as simple as treating teachers with respect and valuing their time. Stop micromanaging them and provide what they need. Teachers shouldn’t have to buy everything for their classrooms.”

Wilson echoed that frustration, saying teachers often pay out of pocket for basic supplies. “There’s no reason I should be begging parents to bring in copy paper,” she said. “I was never even given a teacher laptop. Our health-insurance premiums rise every year. It’s not an easy feat being a teacher, and we’re taking advantage of the empathy that each one of us possesses.”

Campbell responded that the board has consistently raised teacher pay. “Each year teachers have received raises, some over thousands of dollars year after year,” he said. 

Schmoker added that the district strives to remain competitive despite limited funds. “We have increased teacher and paraprofessional pay every year I’ve been on the board,” she said. “We’re a little bit under other districts, but we do what we can.”

The forum also highlighted divergent views on how Princeton should teach its students who speak more than 50 languages and dialects.

Campbell said the district must prioritize English proficiency. “We should treat everybody the same,” he said. “We offer Spanish and English. English is the language of this nation. If we shift away from helping students learn English, we’ll find ourselves in an even greater problem.”

Wilson pushed back. “English is not the official language of America,” she said. “We are a diverse community with so many beautiful languages and cultures right here in Princeton. Bilingual learners outperform other students when given the right opportunities. We need to honor their first language to build upon it and learn English properly.”

Ledezma, a bilingual educator, called the district’s current model outdated. “We have five bilingual models, and the one we use isn’t the best,” she said. “It forces children to learn English as fast as possible, but they fall behind academically. The program we should have is dual language. Let’s adopt a program that makes sense and that the Texas Education Agency recommends.”

Schmoker said the board has reviewed such programs but found them too costly. “The cost effectiveness of dual language would basically double teacher salaries,” she said. “We don’t have the tax base for that. There are more than 56 spoken languages in Princeton, and at this juncture we all need to be learning English. It’s the language of business, the language of the world.”

On the question of transparency, candidates sparred over Princeton ISD’s dealings with three education organizations: the Texas Association of School Boards (TASB), Texans for Excellence in Education (TEE), and theTexas Foundation for Education Rights (TFER).

Wilson accused the district of hiding meeting records and pursuing outside affiliations without community input. “The minutes are not there for 2022, 2023 or 2024,” she said. “That was all done while we were trying to leave TASB and join groups like TEE and TFER, which promote charter expansion. To abandon TASB and hide records of lawyer switching and charter discussions — that’s wrong.”

Campbell declined to address the claim directly. Schmoker, however, defended the district’s actions, saying Princeton remains a TASB member but has subscribed to some TEE services. “It’s kind of like Coke and Pepsi,” she said. “Part of our services remain with TASB and part with TEE. You don’t have to be with TASB. They’re not the only game in town.”

Ledezma took a pragmatic stance, saying the best way to rebuild public trust is openness. “If records are missing, put them back so people can see what happened,” she said. “If the public has questions, come to board meetings and ask. If they’re not providing answers, don’t vote those people back in.”

Throughout the evening, all four candidates agreed Princeton’s continued growth poses challenges in staffing, funding and infrastructure. Schmoker said the district has maintained a 22-to-1 student-teacher ratio by adding staff as enrollment rises. 

Wilson urged an independent audit of technology, resources and special programs to ensure equitable access across campuses.

While their approaches differed, each candidate framed the election as pivotal for Princeton’s future. “We deserve transparency, safe schools and every local Princeton dollar staying in local Princeton schools,” Wilson said. “Not outside interest groups and agendas.”

Ledezma said she wants to “connect classroom realities to school board decisions.” 

Schmoker emphasized cooperation with all levels of government to improve safety and opportunity. And Campbell called for “getting back to the basics — English, social studies, science, math and technology.”

The Princeton ISD Board of Trustees election will be held Nov. 4, with early voting from Oct. 20 through Oct. 31.

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By Bob Wieland | [email protected]