FORT BEND COUNTY, TX (Covering Katy News) – Conservative candidates won seven out of nine school board seats in Katy ISD, Lamar Consolidated ISD, and Fort Bend ISD on Saturday, May 6, 2023.
Riding a national wave of concern from parents who feel their input is being suppressed and that policies and curriculum frequently conflict with local values, residents in Fort Bend County responded with overwhelming support for six women and one man who promised a conservative approach.
Frustration has been building since 2019, when districts had lengthy COVID lockdowns and mask mandates. During this time, debates about the role of federal law enforcement in monitoring parents who speak out caused the resentment to grow.
"Voters across Fort Bend County made a clear statement regarding the conservative policies they expect from school board members," said Fort Bend County Republican Party Chairman Bobby Eberle. "Voters overwhelmingly chose the candidates who will bring conservative values of fiscal responsibility, parental involvement, and educational basics over indoctrination."
Katy ISD conservative candidates Amy Thieme, Morgan Calhoun, and Mary Ellen Cuzela were victorious for school board positions 3, 4, and 5, respectively. All three promoted a back-to-basics philosophy and supported removing publications with graphic sexualized, or pornographic content.
Lamar Consolidated ISD saw its board president, Alex Hunt, defeated by newcomer Suzanne Box, a 35-year-old mother of five LCISD children who received 60 percent of the vote. Box defeated Hunt with a classic conservative platform promising to support parents as the primary decision-makers in their children's education, support teachers, be a responsible steward of taxpayer dollars and fight for a solid academic foundation.
Incumbent CISD school board member Jon Welch won in District 5 with 63 percent of the vote. Earlier this year, Welch voiced concerns with the Texas Association of School Boards' advice on transgender issues.
"Their stance accepts the premise that gender is actually fluid," Welch told The Texan. "Science tells us that gender is fixed."
He also opposes the teaching of Critical Race Theory being taught in Lamar schools.
"It has not been approved at the board level, and if it is being taught in our classrooms, I would like to know," Welch told the Fort Bend Herald in a February 2022 interview.
Jacci Hotzel, a mother of three, won the District 4 seat with 71 percent of the vote. She campaigned to promote parental involvement and listen to parents' concerns.
"Jacci believes that a board works best when anchored by the voices of those it represents," her campaign website says.
She also promised to be fiscally conservative, support school safety and discipline and protect students from outside influence.
"In a rapidly expanding district like LCISD, opportunities abound for programmatic influence, which dramatically shifts our children's education away from core competencies like reading, writing, and math," her website says. "As a trustee, Jacci will serve as a failsafe against outside influence to ensure that our teachers and administration are able to focus on the only thing that matters - educating our children to the very best of their ability and preparing them for the future."
Fort Bend ISD candidate Sonya Jones won by garnering nearly 40 percent of the vote in a five-person race for position 5. Disgraced incumbent Denetta Williams received only 9 percent of the vote in a five-person race.
In 2022, the board of trustees adopted a resolution denouncing Williams after an investigation revealed she practiced discriminatory and abusive behaviors against a former district employee. The board resolution also called on Williams to resign. The resolution passed 6 to 1. Only Williams voted against it.
Jones campaigned on supporting parental involvement.
"Parents, students, teachers, and community leaders should have a voice within the district. They need reassurance that their concerns are heard, and requests are acted upon," her campaign website says.
The Fort Bend County Republican Party Chairman says Saturday's election results send a message to local school districts.
"Woke policies and the divisive rhetoric of the left were firmly rejected."