About Me

I am the parent of three children in San Marcos CISD, the youngest of whom has twelve years remaining in this district. I serve as the pastor of Living Word Lutheran Church in Buda.

I hold a B.A. in theology with a minor in Spanish from Texas Lutheran University and a Masters of Divinity from the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia. I am also the proud product of a stellar public school system and would love to see every child have that kind of experience in their own local public schools.

My goals/Mis objectivos

Safety/Seguridad

Equity/Integridad

Sustainability/Valores

School safety is of paramount concern for all parents, students, faculty, and staff. School safety matters physically and mentally for all people in our schools. Students, faculty, and staff find themselves in danger due to gun violence in our school systems. We all experienced the terror and aftermath of the shooting in Uvalde. No one wants such an event to happen in their community. If elected, I would work to develop and implement the best strategies for keeping people safe in our schools. These protocols evolve as we learn and develop new technologies, but include keeping all entrances locked, using security cameras to keep watch on the outside of the building, employing student resource officers, and training students and staff to protect the property.

Physically, our students are at risk because of the prevalence of fentanyl and other drugs in the community. To this point, we have not had any student deaths in the San Marcos CISD, but our neighboring districts have, and this is devastating for families and communities. The safety of our students is paramount; currently, the district has good policies around fentanyl, including having Narcan available at secondary campuses. As a child of the DARE era, I know that simply telling students not to use drugs is not an effective strategy for preventing drug abuse and overdoses. If elected, I would encourage programs that help students recognize drug-related problems with their peers, Narcan administration, and more mental health services. Mental health is always a concern for children and teens, but is especially important in these post-pandemic years. Many of our students have had traumatic experiences and struggle in both life and school as a result. If elected, I would work to ensure more mental health services in our schools. This could include contracting with Branches, San Marcos, the new mental health clinic in town.

San Marcos is a city where 30% of residents live at or below the poverty line. This has a profound affect on the students who attend school here. Children cannot learn on empty stomachs. Children cannot learn without access to the right resources. San Marcos CISD has a great history of providing for the needs of students in the district; my priority in this area would be to make sure that the district continues to provide such support to every student.

LGBTQIA+ students and staff have the right to be supported in the same ways as anyone else. As a board member, I would work to ensure students of all genders, sexual orientation, abilities, and needs receive the support that they need.

Hays County, and San Marcos along with it, continues to be one of the fastest growing counties in the nation. The number of children in the school district is only going to increase in the years to come, and a priority must be ensuring that we continue to provide a quality education to all students. I have done quite a bit of future and long-range planning work, and my priority would be making sure that when the school board makes decisions, we would think about both the short- and long-term impacts of such choices. This includes the vital issue of teacher retention. San Marcos CISD has worked hard to hire, care for, and support teachers throughout the campuses. Currently, San Marcos has a starting pay for teachers that is higher than any of the surrounding districts but does not follow up with long-term higher pay. My priority and that of the board in this area should be increasing salary and benefits where possible and ensuring that teachers and staff have all the support that they need to do this deeply important work.