3 seats available on school board
All three seats on the Mckinney ISD Board of Trustees up for election on May 6 will be contested.
Incumbent and board president Amy Dankel is running for Place 4 against Brittany Hendrickson. Incumbent Lynn Sperry is running for Place 5 against Rachel Elliott. Three candidates are running for Place 6 including incumbent and secretary Stephanie O’dell.
Seven members make up the board of trustees, and they serve for overlapping four-year terms.
Candidates run for specific places on the board, but they represent Mckinney ISD as a whole. After elections, the board elects a president, vice president and secretary for one-year terms.
Vice president Philip Hassler, along with board members Larry Jagours,chadgreenandharvey Oaxaca, were elected in 2021 to Place 2, Place 1, Place 3 and Place 7, respectively. They will complete their terms in 2025.
Voters must be registered in Collin County by April 6. April 25 is the last day to apply for a ballot by mail. Early voting is April 24 through May 2.
Place 4
Amy Dankel: Dankel worked as a public school educator for 22 years, 10 of which were spent in MISD serving at Finch Elementary School and Eddins Elementary School. She has lived in the city for 25 years.
Brittany Hendrickson: Hendrickson has lived in the city since 2010, and her daughter attends Mckinney public schools. Hendrickson “wants all parents to be heard and represented.”
Place 5
Lynn Sperry: Sperry has served on the board for 38 years and served 12 years as a director of the Texas Association of School Boards. Sperry and her husband, Neil Sperry, own Neil Sperry’s GARDENS.
Rachel Elliott: Elliott and her husband, Paul Elliott, are active in the community, according to her website. She is a small business owner and swim instructor and has lived in the city for about eight years.
Place 6
Serena Ashcroft: Ashcroft is a parent of three MISD students, an educator and a community volunteer, according to her website. She has lived in the city for 10 years.
Stephanie O’dell: O’dell serves on the Mckinney Education Foundation Board and the Baylor Hospital Board and is a mentor in the REACH program. She has been involved in Mckinney schools for 14 years.
Jim Westerheid: Westerheidworkedasafortune500engineer manager and has been a public school advocate for years, according to his website. He has lived in the city for about 25 years.