At the invitation of the Indian American Political Action Committee, five candidates seeking positions on Katy ISD’s board of trustees met with constituents for “Conversations Over Coffee” on March 29 at Hot Bits, 25320 FM 1093 in Fulshear.

Attending the informal gathering were hopefuls seeking Position 3 – Cicely Taylor and Haider Razvi – along with Tiffany Auzenne Asonye who is running for Position 4 and Position 5 candidates Caleb Silverio and Jesus Nieto. Not attending were Position 3 candidate Sean Hesterly, Position 4 candidates David Greene and Jim Davidsonand Position 5 candidate Nathan Shipley .

Following networking with the capacity crowd of more than 50 attendees, the candidates introduced themselves and answered questions from the forum moderator, then fielded questions from the audience.

Much of the discussion centered around concerns about the district’s budget, the rising cost of health insurance for KISD staff, teacher retention, the impact of school vouchers on the district, and curriculum.

Candidates were asked to name one thing that they would like to see as their legacy after leaving the board, if elected. Taylor said that she wanted to make a difference and suggested that the board use an easy-to-understand “scorecard” at each meeting, tracking key indicators such as teacher retention, academic achievement, and budget issues, with more development of alternative revenue sources. She also stressed the importance of “civil discourse” by board members. Razvi said that he would like to see the board agendas planned out a year in advance so that the public would know what would be discussed at each board meeting. Silerio said that he wanted to focus on student success and ensure that students were ready for the future. Nieto said that he wanted to be known for being “accessible” to the community. Auzenne Asonye said that she wanted to create a “parent advocacy” service at the district, similar to “patient advocacy” services offered by hospitals.

Future school board candidate forums will be hosted by the Katy Area Alumnae Chapter of the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc. on April 11 and by the Katy Area Chamber of Commerce on April 14.