Two candidates have filed for one two-year unexpired term on the Salado Independent School District Board of Trustees, As a manner of introducing them to our readers, we asked the following questions. Their answers are below, in order of appearance on the Ballot for May 7 election.

As a manner of introducing them to our readers, we asked the following questions. Their answers are below, in order of appearance on the Ballot for May 7 election.

Question 1: What is the greatest single challenge facing Salado school district as a whole in the next decade? (200 words)

Question 2: How can the District address the looming growth issues in terms of preparing for facility expansion or addition? (200 words)

Question 3: Do you support construction of a new HS football stadium at the Williams Road complex? Why or why not? (100 words)

Question 4: Do you support construction of a Performing Arts Center at the Williams Road complex? Why or why not? (100 words)

Christi Carlson

Question 1: Growth definitely is. As well as maintaining high standards of education while growing. Education is the primary goal of our school and as a district we must be proactive in preparing for this. Being mindful of what environment is most conducive for our primary goal, quality education in our community. We need to make sure our focus stays on the basics: reading, writing, math, science, history. Parents are our children’s first teachers and then public school is for the core subjects.

Question 2: Make sure we have short and long range plans and that they make sense together. We have a community with generational depths of varied experience and knowledge, I would like to see us open up our planning committees to community members outside of the board or admin to welcome some of that expertise and viewpoint. We are a community rich in ideas and success, we should tap into that. We should also make sure that in our planning, we are being good stewards with our money and resources. This school district belongs to the people. When we plan for growth, we need to look at it logically and not be caught up in the extra fancy things, for example- the new middle school building has a grand 2 story foyer and library, perhaps that could have been a full second floor; shorter ceilings and more classrooms. We also need to see that with each build, there is a phase 2, 3, plan of how to practically add on in the future. Growth will continue for quite a while here in Salado.

We will need to address the layers of this: from classroom inclusion to bus overcrowding, to teacher burnout and employee compensation. Communication and understanding is key.

I would love to see our school website updated to communicate the short and long term growth plans. We could even have some town halls to communicate issues and concerns. We should also work with the village and county regarding growth planning.

Question 3: Yes. I am honestly surprised it was not part of the initial sport complex plan. Our stands alone at the current stadium do not accommodate our community; they fill up at a 7th grade football game, anything beyond that, are completely overcrowded. A new stadium is so much more than football alone, it is community unity, pride, sitting by your neighbors and friends, watching our children perform at halftime, in the band, dance, sidelines, in the games- football, track and field, summer camps, so much more. These extracurriculars are where our school can reinforce character development, it does not have to be a classroom curriculum.

Question 4: Not yet, we have other bigger rocks we need to get in first. We need more classrooms, more staff. Our Ag and FCCLA programs also need more room and attention as well.

Chris Diem

Question 1: I believe it is a combination of managing growth and providing students a diverse set of academic and non-academic opportunities. Salado ISD’s demographics have shifted over the last several years and, in that, so has what we need to offer as a district. That ranges from a need to work with a growing ELL population to providing a more diverse set of course offerings for the various career fields students can choose from. Amongst those diverse career options is an investment in our job certification programs, our agricultural and fine arts offerings, our college prep classes, and opportunities for students wanting to go into the military upon graduation. Our district should be applauded for the opportunities it currently provides, to include adding courses in health science and welding, but we also must be nimble and constantly assess if our offerings meet student needs. 

Question 2: The growth is here so that work needs to begin now. The district has gained over 900 students in the last decade which represents a 67% increase in that time span. We need to proactively work with Realtors, builders, and site developers to understand where additional construction will occur and the type of construction that will occur there. I appreciate that the district administration is actively getting updated growth projections so we can have updated data on when we expect current facilities to be at their max. 

Question 3: I support exploring that option; while the capacity of the stadium is smaller than districts of similar size, a new turf field was installed at our current stadium as part of the last bond package, as were extra bleachers. While having all athletic facilities at the same location would be advantageous and prevent our high school students from having to leave campus during the day, we need to utilize our district owned land wisely, keeping in mind all academic and extra-curricular needs while making future facility decisions. 

Question 4: Similar to the football stadium, I would support exploring that option. If constructed properly, a Fine Arts/ Performing Arts Facility could greatly increase what our Fine Arts department can offer and could be used for community events as well. Salado’s arts community is robust, and should a PAC be discussed, my inclination would be that it be built as a facility that could be used both for our school district and the greater Salado community.