My name is Mel Matthews. I would like to take this opportunity to introduce myself and explain my positions as a candidate for re-election to the Cisco ISD School Board, place 1.
My wife Vera and I are both graduates of Tarleton State University. We operated the local Boys Ranch here for 25 years, having literally several hundred boys enrolled at Cisco ISD. Our daughter Marla attended all 12 years at Cisco, and went onto receive a master’s degree from Texas Tech University. Our son Cy is a 6th grader at Cisco Junior High. To say the least, I have had and will continue to have a motivated interest in the policies of our schools. We are all members of First Baptist Church, where I serve as a deacon and Sunday school teacher.
As a licensed child care administrator, I receive continuous education hours and legislative updates, and have served on many children and education boards through the years.
I have served for 19 years as a school board member for Cisco ISD. During those years we built a new distance learning lab, band hall, Ag building, elementary library, softball field, and turfed the football field. We also implemented the Leap and dual credit program, distance learning, and blended learning programs. We just built a new track facility and a complete makeover for the high school will be implemented this summer. All of these projects, past and future, are paid for and not once was a bond election called for. Cisco ISD has no debt.
My stance on some positions are as follows:
- I believe in being financially responsible, never taking chances with taxpayer money. I believe in living within our means, and I do not support bond elections.
- I believe the greatest asset we can give our students is the staff we surround them with, and Cisco ISD staff should be compensated for excellence on the job.
- I am a great supporter of all extracurricular activities, but the best way to measure success for Cisco ISD is by the continued success rate in the classroom.
- I believe you cannot consistently depend on the Legislature to properly fund schools, but you can count on them to implement unfunded mandates. Therefore, a strong fund balance should be maintained at all times.
- I believe when laws are passed that challenge our moral values that we owe it to our students to speak up and stand up.
In conclusion, I would like to repeat that the greatest asset we can provide our children with is the staff we surround them with. Not only do we need to recruit great people, we need to compensate them properly for a job well done, and find creative ways to keep them at Cisco ISD. Our kids deserve that.
Thank you for your consideration, Mel Matthews
Political statement contributed by Mel Matthews
MicroplexNews.com offers each candidate running for a local political seat the opportunity to have their bio and photo published once free of charge. Send information or questions to news@microplexnews.com
