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Jon Pendergrass
From Ballotpedia
This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.
Jon Pendergrass ran for election to the Northwest Independent School District to represent Place 6 in Texas. He lost in the general election on May 6, 2023.
Pendergrass completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2023. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Jon Pendergrass was born in Hurst, Texas. He earned a high school diploma from Richland High School. He earned a bachelor's degree from Texas Tech University in 2005 and a graduate degree from Dallas Baptist University in 2019. His career experience includes working as an education administration.[1]
Elections
2023
See also: Northwest Independent School District, Texas, elections (2023)
General election
General election for Northwest Independent School District, Place 6
Incumbent Lillian Rauch defeated Jon Pendergrass in the general election for Northwest Independent School District, Place 6 on May 6, 2023.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Lillian Rauch (Nonpartisan) | 63.5 | 8,142 |
 | Jon Pendergrass (Nonpartisan)  | 36.5 | 4,687 | |
| Total votes: 12,829 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Campaign themes
2023
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Jon Pendergrass completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2023. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Pendergrass' responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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I am a husband and a father who loves his family very much. My professional career has taken me through a lot of experiences that can be of great value to the Northwest ISD Board of Trustees. I was an account manager for a supply chain company for over six years. I left to lead ministries that mobilized churches and young people to engage in their communities. In my current role as the Director of Career and Professional Developments for Dallas Baptist University, I support students with mentorships, resources, and corporate partnerships so they have a strategic plan for success when they graduate from college.
While each role was different in nature and industry, they have all uniquely prepared me to be a great developer of relationships within the community. When you get down to it, building relationships for the purpose of aligning the community’s needs with the organization you’re in charge of, in this case the Northwest school district, is what drives an operationally excellent school board.
I am passionate about students, family, and educators, and I’m confident we all agree that the district’s primary duty is to provide an exceptional education to our students and children. As a trustee, I want to protect our students and teachers from any distracting curriculum or policies that serve to divide rather than educate. I will serve as an advocate for our parents, students, teachers, and citizens, encouraging others to get involved in the process.- No Social Experiments, Just Education. Schools should not be grounds to test social experiments on our children. Education should be the priority. Northwest students are the future leaders across various industries. Whether it is a student who seeks to become college-ready or one seeking a career in the trades, it is our job to guide and equip them with the quality education they deserve. This requires making education the central focus, providing premier facilities and excellent programs including the expansion of CTE programs, and attracting the best educators in the Nation to our district. What it does not require is a political agenda that will hinder intellectual growth.
- Honor Parents’ Authority. Parents should be allowed to parent their own children. That’s why handing the keys back to parents and letting them make decisions for their child’s education is one of my biggest priorities. As a Northwest ISD board member, I will be a representative of the community, a leader who listens. I will make time to meet with parents and teachers for the explicit purpose of hearing their concerns. I will ensure we are making local government a resource rather than a roadblock. Everyone in the community contributes to the funding our schools, which means everyone gets to be heard. I will set that example.
- Attract Top Educators. Within the last few years our Nation is experiencing the effects of the “Great Retirement.” Our district has scrambled to hire new teachers and has even lowered the standards of qualification to hire substitute teachers because of staff shortages. Our school district is projected to grow by 2,000 students per year for the next decade, which means our leaders are going to need a strategy more than just brick and mortar to build new schools. We’ve got to have passionate teachers to fill them. I want to make Northwest ISD the premier district where the best and brightest teachers from all over the nation want to be employed. We need innovative ideas to recruit these teachers and build a culture where teachers can teach w
I have always had a passion for public policy in general. Whether it is Federal, State, or Local Policy, I believe incredible policy that makes sense is key to a thriving society. I have always taken a great interest in Public Education. Each of us have been influenced or impacted by the public school system. I personally grew up attending public schools and I am grateful for the education I received. School is where I learned how to read and develop a passion for writing. It is the place that allowed me to socialize with my peers and develop friendships. It was the place where teachers challenged me lead and dream big dreams.
Show me a community that offers a premier public education and I will show you a healthy, thriving, and economically strong community. Our children require the best education we can provide because they are our future. They depend on us to prepare them to lead in whatever industry, profession, or trade they pursue. Whether you are a newly married couple who has just had a baby, parents with a teenager in High School, empty nester, or citizen, public education is important to each of us. The quality of our schools impact the value of our homes we work so hard to maintain and the policies or our school board impact all of us. This is why I am running for NISD School Board PL 6. As a problem solver, I look forward to throwing away the rubber stamp and building a district that can be successful in providing students with an excellent education.
Show me a community that offers a premier public education and I will show you a healthy, thriving, and economically strong community. Our children require the best education we can provide because they are our future. They depend on us to prepare them to lead in whatever industry, profession, or trade they pursue. Whether you are a newly married couple who has just had a baby, parents with a teenager in High School, empty nester, or citizen, public education is important to each of us. The quality of our schools impact the value of our homes we work so hard to maintain and the policies or our school board impact all of us. This is why I am running for NISD School Board PL 6. As a problem solver, I look forward to throwing away the rubber stamp and building a district that can be successful in providing students with an excellent education.
There are so many individuals that come to mind when I think about admiration. The first person that comes to mind is my father, Jerry. As I have grown older and understand the weightiness of being a husband, father, and provider, I realize how important fathers are to families. The family unit thrives when the father is present, providing, nurturing, loving, encouraging, and protecting his family. My father always provided for my mother and ensured we always felt loved and cared for. This is the example I strive to emulate in my own journey as a husband and father.
My principles are guided by this one question: Does this policy make sense?
A leader must drill down and ask difficult questions. Nodding your head and agreeing for the sake of being likeable has no place in leadership. We must do the right things and ensure we are providing the best policies to our students, teachers, and administrators.
A leader must drill down and ask difficult questions. Nodding your head and agreeing for the sake of being likeable has no place in leadership. We must do the right things and ensure we are providing the best policies to our students, teachers, and administrators.
I have always operated with the following principle. "People do not care what you expect, that care about what you inspect."
The first historical event in my lifetime I remember taking place was the fall of the berlin wall in 1989. I remember seeing the flashes of lights from the camera on T.V. as the wall fell. At the time I did not fully understand the gravity of what was actually taking place; however, I do remember this being an event forever etched in my memory.
My very first job was working for my parents bakery. My father was a baker and small business owner. We had a menu that included Donuts, Kolaches, Pastries, Baked goods, breakfast, lunch, and dinner menus. It is where I learned the value of hard work and earning a paycheck. I worked with my family for two years and developed a great love for small business owners.
To enact smart policies that will assist guide the District Superintendent in executing our Districts mission and purpose. To serve as an elected representative for the constituents who have an invested interest in our public schools. Serve as an overseer and advocate for educational excellence.
All citizens living within the assigned boundaries of the Northwest Independent school district. Not only does this include all tax payers, and citizens of voting age. A constituent is also the student, educators, administrators, and staff who work for the school district. A trustee must serve all members of our public education system.
Being a husband and a father, I am very familiar with the need for safety. Students, faculty, and staff require lots of safety. This is so important to me I have included it in my candidate platform.
Safety for our students is more than just locked doors and security cameras. We need to address transparency concerns and ethical standards as well. That includes determining what data is necessary and appropriate to collect from students as well as safeguarding our youngest students by implementing processes to eliminate explicit adult content from classrooms and libraries.
Safety for our students is more than just locked doors and security cameras. We need to address transparency concerns and ethical standards as well. That includes determining what data is necessary and appropriate to collect from students as well as safeguarding our youngest students by implementing processes to eliminate explicit adult content from classrooms and libraries.
I believe that a culture of awareness is important in any community including a public school. This is where the golden rule applies. Caring and looking our for our neighbors is not limited just to our neighborhoods, but our classrooms as well. With this being said, there are more teachers and students than licensed and trained councilors.
Teachers play a crucial role in the life of our students and I do not believe we should ask teachers to play the role that belongs to a trained and licensed professional. I do not believe we should incorporate daily surveys or collect data on students asking them how they feel daily. I believe this role is reserved for the family unit. We can ask teachers to alert the family and take note when a students seems off. The school can even recommend seeing a trained professional when appropriate or necessary. We can also ask teachers and administrators to look out for one another. When teachers are under a great deal of stress, we need to assist them by providing them with the appropriate amount of help they require. This all begins with relationships and having an awareness. Awareness starts with being a good neighbor.
Teachers play a crucial role in the life of our students and I do not believe we should ask teachers to play the role that belongs to a trained and licensed professional. I do not believe we should incorporate daily surveys or collect data on students asking them how they feel daily. I believe this role is reserved for the family unit. We can ask teachers to alert the family and take note when a students seems off. The school can even recommend seeing a trained professional when appropriate or necessary. We can also ask teachers and administrators to look out for one another. When teachers are under a great deal of stress, we need to assist them by providing them with the appropriate amount of help they require. This all begins with relationships and having an awareness. Awareness starts with being a good neighbor.
Safeguard Our Students.
Safety for our students is more than just locked doors and security cameras. We need to address transparency concerns and ethical standards as well. That includes determining what data is necessary and appropriate to collect from students as well as safeguarding our youngest students by implementing processes to eliminate explicit adult content from classrooms and libraries.
Safety for our students is more than just locked doors and security cameras. We need to address transparency concerns and ethical standards as well. That includes determining what data is necessary and appropriate to collect from students as well as safeguarding our youngest students by implementing processes to eliminate explicit adult content from classrooms and libraries.
I believe everyone approached Corona virus with great precaution due to uncertainty. I do believe that as we began to experience a low infection rate, the district should have mandated a no mask policy, sooner. Especially during the waning months of low infection rates. The district needed to listen to the majority of constituents who desired a no mask policy for their children. This is where governing bodies get in trouble. They begin to serve as hinderances rather than implementing the will of the people.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
See also
2023 Elections
External links
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Candidate Northwest Independent School District, Place 6 |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on February 10, 2023
