Dennis Redd

Dennis Redd

Education

Bachelor's

University of Texas, El Paso

Personal

Profession

Firefighter, paramedic, and health coordinator

Contact

Personal website

Dennis Redd was a candidate for District 4 representative on the Socorro Independent School District school board in Texas. Redd was defeated in the by-district general election on May 6, 2017.

The 2017 election was Redd's first time running for office.

Biography

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Redd's work experience includes serving as a firefighter and paramedic with the El Paso City Fire Department and as a health coordinator for El Paso Community College. He earned a bachelor's degree in healthcare management from the University of Texas at El Paso in 2011. Redd earned certified paramedic, TCFP Fire Officer I & II, and TCFP Fire Instructor I & II credentials and was a member of the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) Local 51.

Elections

2017

See also: Socorro Independent School District elections (2017)

Four of the seven seats on the Socorro Independent School District board of trustees in Texas were up for general election on May 6, 2017. In their bids for re-election to the board, District 2 incumbent Cynthia Najera, District 3 incumbent Angelica Rodriguez, and District 5 incumbent Gary Gandara were unopposed. Because of this, the races for those seats were canceled, and the three incumbents were re-elected to their seats by default. In the one contested race, District 4 incumbent Paul Guerra defeated challengers David Morales and Dennis Redd.

Results

Socorro Independent School District, District 4 General Election, 4-year term, 2017
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Paul Guerra Incumbent	50.15%	330
Dennis Redd	25.38%	167
David Morales	24.47%	161
Total Votes		658
Source: El Paso County Elections, "May 6, 2017 - Official Final Election Results," accessed June 6, 2017

Funding

See also: Campaign finance in the Socorro Independent School District elections

Redd reported $1,250.00 in contributions and $1,710.93 in expenditures to the Socorro Independent School District, which left his campaign with a deficit of $460.93 as of April 28, 2017.

Endorsements

Redd was endorsed by the Local 51 Fire Fighter Union, CLEAT, and the ​El Paso County Sheriff's Officers Association.

Campaign themes

2017

Candidate website

Redd highlighted the following issues on his campaign website:

“	The current political environment, challenges to funding for public schools and a concern for our children's education and their subsequent future have motivated me to run for the school board. I believe that my common-sense leadership style would complement the SISD school board. While I have no previous political experience, I thought that it was time for me to get involved. As a board member my top priorities for the district would be: recruitment and retention of experienced staff including teachers and administration, managing growth with a strong fiduciary responsibility to the taxpayers and development and improvement in the policies and procedures of the district. Other areas of concern include: Keep students first while complying with the Texas Education Agency Maintain a strong, strategic management plan for future growth and expansion - With challenges on the horizon that will impact funding from the state and federal government, it is necessary to be fiscally responsible and as efficient as possible. Work on processes for increased parent involvement - Studies show that results improve when parents are involved in the students education. Strengthen the ability of administrators to support teachers and staff with improved plans, policies and/or procedures. Ensure diligent and consistent maintenance and review of existing district assets. By maintaining the assets on a regular basis, unforeseen expenses can be kept at a minimum. Work to improve the existing policies concerning bullying of teachers and students.	”
—Dennis Redd (2017)

Political philosophy

Redd described the following as his political philosophy.

“	I I feel that we need to better represent the needs of our children in education and get back to providing the learning environment that will help them thrive not only in their immediate education but in their further vocational and/or educational goals. There are are many challenges facing the future of education and it is my goal to fight for the needs of our children and their education.	”
—Dennis Redd (March 31, 2017)

El Paso Times survey

Redd participated in the following survey conducted by the El Paso Times. The questions provided by the El Paso Times are bolded, and Redd's responses appear below.

What experiences in leadership do you have that qualify you to serve as a school trustee?

“	In my current position with the El Paso Fire Department I hold the rank of Captain/Paramedic. My work assignment involves supervisory/administrative responsibilities including the daily management of emergency medical operations throughout the city. As a paramedic for the last 17 years, my job entails compassion and caring for the citizens of El Paso in their times of need. My rank has allowed me to work as an incident commander on different types of emergency scenes, which entails mitigation of emergencies through responsible use of resources and personnel in a dynamic and hazardous environment. In my interest of improving my leadership capabilities, I have completed courses which deal with leadership, team building, budgeting and emergency management. In recent years, I have provided leadership training to employees in the fire department. I believe this experience and training will be an asset as a SISD school board trustee.	”
—Dennis Redd (April 21, 2017)

What is motivating you to run for a school board trustee seat?

“	The current political environment which threatens to take funding away from public education and the shifting of subsidized tax dollars to private vouchers. Funding for public education has always been a challenge and this will increase the difficulty in educating our children. I have a vested interest in Socorro ISD, as my wife is a long-term teacher for the district and both of my children attend Socorro schools. I believe that if we can set a strong foundation of education for a child early on, we can send them on a path to success as an adult. This would include more emphasis on critical thinking, problem-solving and team building skills that are essential for success later on in life. As a parent and adult, I feel that we are not only responsible for our own children, but every child’s well being and education. Our most important resource is our children and they deserve nothing but the best when it comes to education.	”
—Dennis Redd (April 21, 2017)

Describe the impact you expect to make on the strategic direction of the school district and how does your specific personal experience support that expectation?

“	My common-sense leadership style will help in the decision-making process when it comes to maintaining a strong, strategic management plan for future growth and development. Working as a firefighter and paramedic, I have always set high expectations for myself and those that I work with when dealing with the public in their times of need. I plan to use and set the same high expectations for the SISD board, administration, staff and teachers. I believe that our children deserve nothing less than the best education that we can provide.	”
—Dennis Redd (April 21, 2017)

Trustees, as elected by specific district, must act and govern for the entire school district, not just advocate for the schools within their particular geography. Describe a time when you had to balance potentially conflicting priorities with multiple stakeholders, and how did you determine how to allocate resources and investment to meet the needs of all?

“	As a firefighter/paramedic and officer, even the smallest emergency situations require dealing with multiple stakeholders, and finding resolutions that are satisfactory to all. This is performed on a daily basis. On larger scale incidents, the situation becomes even more complex. The mitigation of an emergency situation that satisfies the patient/property owner, provides for the safety of the emergency workers on the scene, assistance to or from other agencies such as PD, street department, public works, etc., while dedicating an appropriate amount of resources to mitigate the emergency and still providing an effective response for other emergencies throughout the city involves a lot of stakeholders. Being empathetic to everyone’s needs helps tremendously in these situations.	”
—Dennis Redd (April 21, 2017)

The role and responsibility of a trustee is governance, oversight, and setting policy. Tell us about your experience in honoring the scope of responsibility in a past role. How did you make sure you did not cross over into the tactical execution of another person’s responsibility in the organization?

“	Leadership is about providing the necessary tools and resources to the people you work with so they can succeed. Micromanaging undermines an individual’s self-worth and is destructive in any type of organization. In order for an organization to succeed, each individual has to feel empowered to participate, provide input and have buy-in to the vision that has been set by the management. In my work history, I have had multiple opportunities to assign duties and create work schedules, including maintenance schedules for stations and the days they were to be performed. I empowered the employees to decide how they wanted to complete the duties and ensured that the objectives were met in a timely manner.	”
—Dennis Redd (April 21, 2017)

Attracting and retaining talented educators is critical to the success of a healthy school district. Describe your past experience as a leader supporting the broad strategy of identifying, selecting, and retaining top talent.

“	Working as a paramedic, my job entailed training and mentoring new paramedics. We use a strong recruitment process to select the most qualified candidates who would be allowed to attend the paramedic class. After completion of the class, the paramedics were mentored and evaluated on their ability to deliver patient care, maintain the ambulance, provide proper documentation along with any other duties that were assigned to them by their officer. Training and continuing education is necessary for employees to maintain the high standards of the organization. Retention can be made through providing a positive work environment, competitive pay and building team cohesion. In addition, I am directly involved in evaluating job performance, which gives me a perspective on providing employee feedback on the positive aspect of their work as well as areas of improvement needed for growth within the organization.	”
—Dennis Redd (April 21, 2017)

Describe your experience in managing large, complex budgets.

“	In my education and training, I have had multiple courses in dealing with budgeting and allocation of resources. I also have a Bachelors of Science in Health Management which included courses in accounting, finance and business statistics. I have little to no experience in managing large, complex budgets, however I work in a large city department and have a good understanding of the budgeting process and allocation of resources.	”
—Dennis Redd (April 21, 2017)

Have you ever been arrested or charged with a crime? Have you ever had a civil judgment against you? Have you ever been in arrears on local, state or federal taxes? If so, please provide an explanation.

“	None noted.	”
—Dennis Redd (April 21, 2017)

If elected, would you have any potential conflicts of interest that you are aware of that would impair your ability to serve as a school board trustee? Please explain.

“	None noted.	”
—Dennis Redd (April 21, 2017)

What education innovations would you advocate as a trustee?

“	I would like to see an initiative that uses technology to teach to the level of understanding of the student, while incorporating critical thinking and problem solving skills. Students should not only be assessed on core competencies, but also on creative thought, conceptual thinking, problem-solving and team building. Technology is a tool that can help to push the barriers on a child’s ability to learn. Using concepts, visual aids, manipulatives and intelligent adaptive learning have proven to increase learning potential. If a student seems to have difficulty learning, remedial lessons with the use of technology can be used to increase comprehension and keep them on track. I would also encourage innovate curriculum and materials that would assist the teacher within the classroom environment to improve student learning. The use of collaborative teaching can also be a benefit to a child’s education.	”
—Dennis Redd (April 21, 2017)

Please describe your education. Where did you get your high school diploma? What higher education degrees and certificates have you earned?

“	I graduated from Irvin High School in 1991. I received my Bachelors of Science in Healthcare Management from DeVry University in 2011. I have taken courses through the Texas Commission on Fire Protection to include Fire Officer I, Fire Officer II, Fire Instructor I and Fire Instructor II. I am an instructor through the National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians and American Heart Association. I have taken the L380 Leadership course through Mission Centered Solutions with emphasis on team building, conflict resolution and leadership. I have also taken multiple FEMA courses to include incident management and resource allocation.	”
—Dennis Redd (April 21, 2017)

Do you have other remarks you would like to share about your candidacy?

“	I would like to bring a new perspective to the SISD school board of trustees. I am strongly committed to the education of our children. I believe my experience and training would be an asset as a SISD school board trustee. I would like to take my experiences with team building and contribute the same atmosphere within the staff, administrators and teachers of Team SISD.	”
—Dennis Redd (April 21, 2017)

See also

• Socorro Independent School District, Texas
• Socorro Independent School District elections (2017)

External links

Suggest a link

• Socorro Independent School District
• Campaign website
• LinkedIn profile