RISD’s recently adopted district map
Today is the filing deadline for Richardson’s school board election, and three candidates are running to replace Karen Clardy in District 5 surrounding Lake Highlands High School – Kile Brown, Rachel McGowan and Jan Stell. All have long histories in the neighborhood and have raised outstanding children in LH-area schools.
In District 2 surrounding Berkner, incumbent Eron Linn will face challengers Sherry Clemens, Guillermo Colon, Vanessa Pacheco and Walter Turner. In District 4, which includes Hamilton Park, current board president Regina Harris is unopposed.
Less than 5 months after the departure of board president Karen Clardy and superintendent Dr. Jeannie Stone, the traditionally non-partisan race is expected to draw attention – and money – from outside RISD.
Brown is a West Point graduate and honorably discharged Army officer deployed to the Middle East two days after the birth of his first child. Chelsea is now in law school in New York City after cheering for the Wildcats and Baylor University. Alison works in NYC following her days as a Highlandette and tennis player. Blake, a veteran of LHHS musicals, baseball, tennis and Espree, will begin a doctorate in physical therapy when he graduates from Villanova. Wife Leigh Ann has been active in LH-area schools and the community.
Brown serves as a deacon at Wilshire Baptist Church, where he’s taught youth Sunday school for 17 years. He’s coached youth soccer, basketball and baseball and works as a business executive and technology consultant.
“Our schools, just like any organization – public or private – yield better results when they can keep the main thing the main thing. In this case, that is educating, preparing and equipping our children with the skills and abilities to succeed in a dynamic and changing world,” says Brown. “We have to ensure RISD is a constructive and professional environment for teachers and that it provides a path for a rewarding and fulfilling career for those who view their profession as a calling and who have demonstrated the dedication and love for kids it takes to be the best at what they do.”
Brown says he can’t stand by and watch public schools and hard-working teachers “continue to get lambasted by the noise that is generated by the national and state-wide political ‘crisis de jour’ mentality.”
“There is a lot coming at public schools today: superintendent resignations, book banning, mask mandates, vaccination mandates, teachers leaving the profession corporate America scooping them up, critical race theory, EDI, SEL, vouchers and tomorrow may bring something else. We need to reset and refocus on what is most important: preparing our kids for the world in which they will graduate in a few months or several years.”
McGowan graduated from LHHS, where she high-kicked as a Highlandette. Daughter Micah Stiggers is now a scholarship volleyball and track student athlete at Southeastern Oklahoma University after competing as a Wildcat. Son Khali Thornton is a musician and basketball player at Forest Meadow. Daughter Pierce is 3-year-old ballerina. Husband Lukwon McClellan is also a graduate of LHHS.
McGowan has served on various PTA boards and on RISD’s Student Health Advisory Committee. She’s active with the Stults Road Advisory Council, and she has advocated for safer sidewalks with the Dallas Sidewalk Committee and Dallas’ Permit License Appeal Board. As current VP of the Northwood Neighborhood Association, she is passionate about bringing vitality to the community.
“My family has lived in this district since I was 5 years old. I am a product of this community, and our children need to know the assets that are produced right here in LH,” says McGowan. “I believe RISD is excellent, and we should expect and accept nothing less from our students and faculty. We are as strong as our weakest link.”
McGowan says students need to leave RISD high schools ready and capable to succeed in their next venture. Having nephews who attended St. Marks, she wants families to know they’ll get a St. Marks-quality education in RISD.
“I want to help bridge the gaps – the gaps we have academically, the gaps we have culturally, and the communication gap we’ve experienced districtwide. The bridge between our families with children who have special needs and/or gifted students who feel like there’s just nothing here for them. The families who feel like the district hasn’t been transparent enough in any plans, whether that’s dealing with financial stewardship or changes in our curriculum. I want to help those who may feel like they’ve been overlooked or ignored here in our schools and communities. We are all to be held accountable, and we should all have an active role to play in our children’s education.”
Stell has “sold Lake Highlands” as an award-winning realtor for more than 30 years. Before she began planting “for sale” signs, she worked with children as a classroom teacher in Spring ISD, Plano ISD and Richardson ISD, including Skyview Elementary in Lake Highlands.
Son Sam attended Lake Highlands schools from kindergarten until his 2006 graduation from LHHS. He was a member of the Wranglers, the marching band and the varsity wrestling team, and he earned the rank of Eagle Scout with Troop 890. Sam is now married with two young sons. Stell is married to Robert McAfee.
Stell served on the board of the Lake Highlands Family YMCA, working on the committee which hired the architect, created the building concept and raised the funds for today’s Y on Greenville Avenue. She’s a member of Leadership Dallas, and she’s traveled to Guatemala to build a family’s home for Habitat for Humanity. She traveled weekly to Seagoville Federal Prison as part of Prison Fellowship, which recruits and trains volunteers to spread hope to incarcerated men and women.
“I’m running to empower teachers to implement the ‘loss of learning funds,’” says Stell. “Let’s give teachers the tools and support needed for all students to have a strong educational foundation in which to build upon.”
Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Funds, sometimes called loss of learning funds, were set aside by Congress in 2020 through Coronavirus Aid Relief and the CARES Act. The Department of Education awards grants to state educational agencies, which provide them to local school districts to address the continuing impact of Covid-19 on schools and schoolchildren.
Stell says she’ll work to ensure candid communication between district officials and stakeholders throughout RISD.
“The school district should have fiscal transparency and open communication with the taxpayers. Dallas is a world class city and will need an educated and talented work force for well-paying jobs. Let’s work together to have our RISD students to be a part of that success.”
In 2019, the board adopted a 5-2 system, with five members elected from single member districts and two elected at large from all of RISD. The hybrid system resulted from former trustee David Tyson’s 2018 Voting Rights Act lawsuit, alleging RISD’s system of electing all trustees at large resulted in an all-white board and an “egregious achievement gap” for immigrants and students of color. Upon implementation of the 5-2 system, Regina Harris was elected in District 4 and Debbie Renteria was elected in District 3.
When Clardy first ran for school board in 2017, she won without a runoff despite facing 3 other candidates in a district-wide race. In 2019, she was unopposed in the newly created District 5. Race watchers say it’s too early to tell whether there’ll be a runoff in D5’s three-candidate race in 2022.
RISD Election Day is May 7. Early voting begins April 25.
Kile Brown
Rachel McGowan
Jan Stell
