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Irving ISD trustee candidates emphasize safety, teacher retention and remote-learning tools
Summary
Trustees and candidates discussed COVID protocols, teacher retention, parent involvement and expanding useful online-learning tools; incumbents pointed to daily COVID dashboards and the district's device distribution.
In the second half of the League of Women Voters forum, Irving ISD school board candidates from Districts 1 and 2 discussed pandemic response, teacher retention, online learning and transparency in district operations.
Jose (District 2 candidate) framed his candidacy around 32 years in public education and said his top priorities would be student and staff safety and retaining effective educators. Michael Kelly (District 2 candidate) emphasized business–school partnerships and sustaining parent involvement after COVID, saying district engagement with parents has increased during remote learning.
Trustee Rosemary, an incumbent, said the district is following CDC and state guidance and posts a daily dashboard with case counts by school. “We have tried to put everything in place that we possibly can,” she said, noting low case numbers on the district dashboard as evidence of protective measures working.
On funding, candidates were cautious about new tax asks during the pandemic. Jose said any tax or bond proposal should be studied carefully and produce demonstrable results; Michael Kelly said he would not support a tax increase amid the ongoing economic hardship. Rosemary pointed out the district lowered its school tax rate earlier in the year and highlighted reliance on the local business base.
Candidates suggested ways to keep teachers, including competitive pay, improved work culture and professional development. On parent involvement, multiple candidates urged continued use of remote communication tools such as Zoom and targeted outreach (parent liaisons and flexible scheduling) to reduce barriers to participation.
Several candidates said online learning is an imperfect substitute for face-to-face instruction but that the district’s rapid deployment of devices and platforms provides tools that can be repurposed after the pandemic. An audience question about high-value separation agreements prompted candidates to stress transparency—televised board meetings and public dashboards were cited as tools that allow scrutiny.
The ISD session closed with candidates emphasizing readiness to serve, fiscal prudence and support for teachers and students. The League reminded viewers of early voting dates and directed people to vote411.org for election information.
