Place 4: Samit Patel

Tell our readers a little about yourself.

I am a collaborative, long-range planner and creative problem solver grounded in well-informed, pragmatic decisions. Growing up in a large, extended family, I have spent a lifetime honoring, respecting and working with others around me.

• Landscape architect with award-winning projects including Andy Brown Park
• Husband and life partner of 25 years to Megha Patel, a high-energy successful business professional
• Father of CHS graduates Aditi Patel, class of 2020, and Aakash Patel, class of 2022, attending Purdue and Temple University with full academic scholarships
• Youth soccer sports coach for 15 years of four teams in Coppell and Carrollton-Farmers Branch
• Small business owner of Samit Patel Design Studio for 12 years and member of the Coppell Chamber of Commerce
• Community volunteer with CISD and Coppell Education Foundation

What inspired you to run for this office?

It’s pretty simple: I want to serve our entire Coppell ISD community. I have served our community since before moving here in 2014 as a youth sports coach with the Coppell Chamber of Commerce, with the Coppell Education Foundation and with CISD. I have continued to serve our community since then. I chose CISD because of the exceptional school district and wonderful community. I want to do my part to make sure that we maintain it and are able to pass it onto the next folks that will come for the same reasons. 

What experiences prepared you for this role?

Serving on a board means working together with others to enact change. I am very open minded and pragmatic. I try to listen to others’ views and opinions. I try to understand from as many sides as I can. I am not afraid to consider very different thoughts and ideas from my own. We have to be able to work together and discuss our thoughts and come up with a common solution that meets the needs for the entire district community. I cannot be focused on my own issues and we cannot just say “no” to others’ thoughts or ideas. Being a designer, I collaborate with my clients. I listen to their wants, needs and ideas to fuse that with my own ideas and collectively develop a design solution. That is exactly how I will approach being on the school Board. 

What do you think are the biggest issues currently facing CISD?  

The single biggest challenge is retaining our high quality teachers and attracting other high quality teachers. Our greatest need is the continued support for our teachers. We need to continue to support our teachers however we can. Teacher attraction and attention affects all school districts. We need to focus our attention so that we can continue to keep our teachers, staff and administration and we need to figure out what will attract new teachers. 

What are your plans to address these concerns?  

We need to listen to our teachers and understand what challenges they face. We need to understand why they came to CISD and why they stay. We need to hear from their peers in other districts and understand what they like about being there and what would get them to come to CISD. We need to continue to find more ways to celebrate and support our teachers. We need to continue to foster an environment that celebrates our teachers. We need to continue to foster and grow the relationships with our local community partners like the Coppell Chamber of Commerce. We need to navigate the complexities of education finance to compensate our teachers with pay, benefits, and support. If we take care of our teachers, we will all take care of our kids.

How would you describe Coppell ISD to a stranger?  

CISD is “Pleasantville.” It is the greatest community with a priority on education and opportunity. We are diverse and vibrant. We set a high bar and we achieve it every time. 

Is there anything else you would like to say?

 I applaud all the young voters who have chosen to be well-informed. It is exciting to think that many of you will be voting for the first time. I would love to hear about your experiences with CISD and your thoughts on how to make CISD better. Please feel free to reach out at [email protected]

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