Re-elect Deigaard
District V incumbent has deep knowledge.
For all of HISD’s recent problems, the district appears more stable and more focused on student achievement than it was even in July, when new Superintendent Millard House II began his tenure. With a permanent superintendent for the first time since 2018, Texas’ largest school district is counting on voters to elect a collaborative and trustworthy board to help House tackle lingering issues.
In District V, we recommend voters keep incumbent Sue Deigaard, 52, in the seat representing southwest Houston that she’s held since 2017.
Deigaard, a longtime public education advocate, contends House needs an experienced board to continue addressing massive challenges: according to state accountability ratings, 48 of HISD’s 276 campuses are categorized by state accountability ratings as D or F schools, and more than 95 percent of the students at those schools are children of color.
We believe Deigaard’s deep knowledge of finance and education governance will help implement the district’s forthcoming strategic plan to help schools improve. She wants a second term to continue improving HISD’s education of students with special needs, and better fund not only the district’s worst-performing schools but also schools that are performing “fine” yet are still under-resourced.
Deigaard, who served a one-year stint in 2020 as board president, supported a performance audit to assess district spending and counts among her accomplishments an expansion of high-quality pre-K and helping the board increase teacher salaries this summer.
Unlike some other trustees seeking re-election, Deigaard didn’t take part in a sloppy spectacle in 2018 in which state regulators contend several trustees violated the Texas Open Meetings Act by surreptitiously meeting with a former HISD superintendent and then days later, voting without public debate to install him as superintendent and oust the interim leader.
In supporting Deigaard, we’re recommending voters pass on two impressive challengers: Maria Benzon and Caroline Walter.
We were most impressed with Benzon, 47, and her two decades of experience in education as a teacher and administrator. She also understands the inequities facing many HISD students, and wants to increase teacher and staff pay and de-emphasize testing.
Walter, 39, has a passion for helping students, and her wide-ranging community engagement would bring a fresh perspective to the board, but her opponents evince a deeper understanding of HISD’s challenges.
Deigaard has the knowledge, dedication to students and commitment to transparency that HISD needs. We urge District V voters to support her re-election.