Trustees face the crowded boardroom at Vonita White Administration Building, bracing for the difficult conversations ahead. Seats are filled with parents, teachers and community members, each with their own stake in the district’s future. 

It is one of the many recent, intense Monday nights at the Coppell ISD boardroom. 

The past few years have been a relentless cycle of budget meetings, discussing school closures and navigating political pressures that threaten public education. With funding concerns, possible voucher programs and state mandates adding pressure, the CISD Board of Trustees is making important decisions impacting students and families. 

“We never really turn it off, to be honest with you, because I feel this very deeply, just like you would parenting,” Place 1 trustee Leigh Walker said. “I just feel all the kids in CISD, those are my students, those are my kids.”

With declining enrollment and inadequate state funding, the district faces a mountain of financial challenges. This financial strain stands in contrast to Coppell’s reputation, known for its strong public schools and long attracting families seeking high-quality education. 

“I have a son who graduated in 2022 and I have a daughter who’s a junior, so as a parent it’s really important to me that my school district is transparent and supportive,” Place 4 trustee Ranna Raval said. “When it comes to how the money is being managed and what they are doing to keep the quality of education, it’s really excellent. That’s why people move to Coppell, right?”

According to Place 6 trustee Nichole Bentley, 82% of the district’s budget goes to staff salaries, meaning cuts often impact teachers and students directly. The budget concerns led to the challenging decision to close Pinkerton Elementary School in October. 

“The decision to close Pinkerton was one of the most difficult choices the board has had to make in recent years,” Bentley said. “I voted this year to close Pinkerton. It was really hard. All three of my kids went there. I am still emotional about it, but it was the right thing for the district.” 

For Place 2 trustee Manish Sethi, who is nearing the end of his seventh year in office, difficult decisions have become a prevalent part of the role.

His term included navigating the chaos of COVID-19 policies, overseeing the district’s largest rezoning in a decade, state-wide bribery concerns with Dallas County’s bus services, refining GPA policies and facing continuing challenges as the state introduces unfunded and partially funded mandates. 

“Whenever I have had to make these kinds of decisions, I stick with, ‘Is it for the greater good?” Sethi said. “Sometimes, whatever is the best may not be best for us because we may not have the resources to do it.”

The stress of these decisions weighs heavily on board members, all of whom are unpaid volunteers juggling their time with careers and families. 

“Receiving hundreds of emails can be hard on some days,” Bentley said. “We are a place where people vent. People say hard things that they don’t mean, but people also say hard things to us because we are the only place to say it.”

Many of these community inputs come during times of heightened stress such as budget discussions, major policy shifts or controversial votes. Board members must find ways to absorb feedback without letting it overwhelm them. To protect their mental well-being, members have had to learn to set boundaries. 

“If a lot’s going on, I’ll decide that if we’ve eaten three times this week, two of those times in Coppell I might bump into people and have dinner interrupted a lot,” said Bentley. “But then we might have one night where we go someplace that’s not close to Coppell, just so we can just have regular conversation and have a family dinner.”

In Coppell, where schools are central to family life, many parents have high expectations and strong opinions on district decisions. While this passion reflects deep community investment, it can clash with the financial realities of running a school system.

“It’s not easy because the community doesn’t understand everything about education so they are deciding ‘oh, these people just don’t like this school so they’re shutting the school,” Coppell High School Principal Laura Springer said. “It’s a responsible fiscal decision that they have to make to be able to keep this whole district running and alive.”

Despite the political division over public education in Texas, CISD’s board members stress their decision-making process remains focused on the district’s core values.

“I’m very happy that we have those core values in our mission to drive us because that’s what we always go back to,” Place 7 trustee Jobby Mathews said. “Looking someone in the face and telling them ‘hey, you matter,’ it goes a long way to say you belong here, you matter here, and that means that your hopes, your dreams, what you want to accomplish in life matters.”

School boards are designed to be nonpartisan, ensuring decisions are made in the best interest of students rather than political agendas. In many districts, increasing polarization has led to conflicts between board members, administrators and staff, often overshadowing the core mission of education.

CISD has largely avoided this issue by maintaining a focus on student outcomes and district values, fostering collaboration among board members despite differing personal beliefs.

“We really check our politics at the door,” Place 5 trustee David Caviness said. “I see a lot of districts now where it’s become a political venue, and because of that, it’s created a lot of internal strife on the board between board and administration, board and staff. We’ve got to ignore the politics and do what’s right for our kids.”

Despite this commitment to keeping politics out of local decision-making, the reality is more complex. School board members are faced with navigating state policies, funding battles and legislative decisions that directly affect their districts.

“We are elected officials, and while people like to say school boards aren’t political, the reality is that they are,” Sethi said. “We go and advocate, we work with legislators, we fight for funding and we push for policies that impact our schools. It’s not just about sitting in meetings, it’s about making sure our voices are heard at the state level.”

Coppell’s small-town feel fosters a strong connection between the school board and the community, with parents, teachers and board members all invested in the district’s success. While this creates a collaborative atmosphere, it also means every decision – especially difficult ones – feels deeply personal.

Board members must prioritize the greater good over individual interests, making choices that benefit most students, even when those decisions are unpopular.

“Our job is to make the best decisions we can for most students,” Bentley said. “We know every decision we make isn’t going to be perfect for all 13,000 students, but the reality is sometimes that means what’s best for most students may not be best for my own kids at home. But if you can sleep at night knowing you did the greatest good for the greatest number, then you did your job.”

As education faces increasing political and financial pressures, some question whether people will continue to serve. While the demands of the role are significant, many trustees think there will always be those willing to advocate for students.

“I always believe that there will be people that will step up and serve,” Place 3 trustee Anthony Hill said. “People realize that the value of public education and education is essential for a thriving culture in a country, and so they will step up gradually and get on board for whatever the reasons that may motivate them to participate.”

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