Kristi Hassett

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Kristi Hassett

Prior offices

Lewisville Independent School District, Place 6

Successor: Michelle Alkhatib

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Education

High school

Marcus High School

Bachelor's

University of North Texas

Personal

Profession

Community volunteer

Kristi Hassett was a member of the Lewisville Independent School District in Texas, representing Place 6. Hassett assumed office in 2014. Hassett left office on May 15, 2023.

Hassett won re-election to the Lewisville Independent School District to represent Place 6 in Texas outright after the general election on May 2, 2020, was canceled.

Hassett participated in a candidate forum on March 21, 2017. Click here to view a video of the forum.

Biography

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Hassett has lived in the Lewisville Independent School District for over 30 years. She went to Timbercreek Elementary and Milliken Middle School and graduated in the charter class of Marcus High School. Hassett earned a bachelor's degree from the University of North Texas with a concentration in strategic management. She worked for BancTec and FedEx before deciding to stay home and raise her family. Hassett and her husband have three sons.

Elections

2020

See also: Lewisville Independent School District, Texas, elections (2020)

General election

The general election was canceled. Kristi Hassett (Nonpartisan) won without appearing on the ballot.

2017

See also: Lewisville Independent School District elections (2017)

Two of the seven seats on the Lewisville Independent School District board of trustees in Texas were up for general election on May 6, 2017. In her bid for re-election to Place 6, incumbent Kristi Hassett defeated challengers Jon Hanna, Eric Parker, and Peter Rabner. Place 7 incumbent Tracy Scott Miller defeated challengers Shari Chambers and Sandra Weinstein. A third challenger, Colleen Shaw, originally filed in the Place 7 race, but she formally withdrew her candidacy on April 19, 2017, citing personal reasons. While she no longer campaigned for the position, Shaw's name still appeared on the ballot.

Results

Lewisville Independent School District, Place 6 General Election, 3-year term, 2017
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Kristi Hassett Incumbent	67.69%	8,027
Eric Parker	13.53%	1,604
Peter Rabner	10.36%	1,229
Jon Hanna	8.42%	999
Total Votes		11,859
Source: Denton County Elections, "Cumulative Report–Official: Denton County–2017 May General and Special Elections," accessed June 6, 2017

Funding

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

Hassett reported $2,878.00 in contributions and $3,496.07 in expenditures to the Lewisville Independent School District, which left her campaign with a deficit of $618.07 as of April 27, 2017.

Endorsements

Hassett was endorsed by the Greater Lewisville Association of Realtors (GLAR).

2014

See also: Lewisville Independent School District elections (2014)

Kristi Hassett ran against fellow challengers Mary Smith and Krista Stone on May 10, 2014, for the Place 6 seat. Incumbent Mike McDaniel did not re-file for his seat.

Results

Lewisville Independent School District,
Place 6 General Election, 3-year term, 2014

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Nonpartisan	Kristi Hassett	48.4%	1,974
	Nonpartisan	Krista Stone	33.6%	1,369
	Nonpartisan	Mary Smith	18%	735
Total Votes				4,078
Source: Denton County Board of Elections, "Official Election Results," accessed May 12, 2014

Funding

Hassett did not file a campaign finance report with the Texas Ethics Commission.

Endorsements

Hassett did not receive an endorsement in this election.

Campaign themes

2020

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Kristi Hassett did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.

2017

Hassett participated in the following survey conducted by The Dallas Morning News. The questions provided by The Dallas Morning News appear bolded, and Hassett's responses follow below.

Why are you running for this office, and why should voters choose you over your opponent(s)?

“	I am running for another term as trustee because I want to continue to advocate for all of our LISD students and teachers. We are a diverse community with very different educational needs. I am the strongest candidate due to my experience and knowledge, which allow me to understand the education issues facing our school district, state and nation. They also allow me to differentiate between those three levels of education policy so I can quickly target where to improve.	”
—Kristi Hassett (2017)

If elected, what two issues would you give the most attention and resources?

“	Knowing one board member has no power outside the board as a whole, I would like to develop board goals that correlate to the district goals and also drive board agendas, especially as they relate to authentic student achievement. I would also like to find more effective ways to increase the board’s availability and collaboration with teachers, parents and the community.	”
—Kristi Hassett (2017)

For incumbent trustees: What have you learned from your board service that you believe makes you more effective?

“	Education is a complex system. Learning the role of a trustee to be able to help in that system takes time. I took two years to research and learn before I ran for the board, and my three years as a trustee will allow me to continue to focus on how to help students rather than learn my role as a trustee. Additionally, daily I read education articles to learn more about current events and education trends from a wide-variety of sources.	”
—Kristi Hassett (2017)

As you look around the country, what innovative ideas would you recommend for improving classroom performance?

“	I believe innovative ideas still begin with three groups: students, teachers and community. The more we can bring these three groups together, the more we can demonstrate to our children the need for and love of learning. The more we can connect what students are learning in class to the real world, the more the students learn from the curriculum and their community. We have teachers in LISD daily doing amazing and innovative things for our students.	”
—Kristi Hassett (2017)

Given the current funding structure, how does your district meet the academic needs of its low-income students? Are you willing to ask voters to approve a tax increase to create or expand these programs?

“	The current state funding structure does not provide enough funding since the state continues to reduce its share of public education funding. I believe low-income students need what we all need, and that is support. We need to continue to provide tutoring outside of school hours, summer tutoring sessions as well as parent support.	”
—Kristi Hassett (2017)

Many districts are exploring creative ways to save money or shift costs to parents and students. What creative measures would you favor or oppose and why?

“	I am not aware of ways districts are shifting costs to parents. Parents have always had costs associated with education, but these are and should remain minimal. These costs include things like school supplies, high school booster clubs or extracurricular activities.	”
—Kristi Hassett (2017)

The state has adopted an A through F accountability system for district and campuses. Do you favor or oppose this system and why?

“	I oppose the new A-F accountability ranking system on three fronts. First, the legislature falsely touted this plan as something parents understand. The letter grades given to schools are nothing like the grades given to their students. A student’s grade is made up of many papers, tests and projects throughout the whole school year. Second, the new A-F system is mainly based on the STAAR tests given on one day, and the reliability and validity of the STAAR tests are in question. The A-F system does not truly show how a school performs, and it does not provide any feedback on how to enhance the learning for our students. Third, I strongly disagree with the Texas Education Agency’s calculations within each of the first three 'domains.' The calculations they created are skewed and inappropriate if the true design of the new system is intended to illustrate a school’s performance. The new system is merely a sorting and ranking tool for the state, and I believe accountability should not be based on a 'bell curve.'	”
—Kristi Hassett (2017)

How would you assess the district’s efforts to improve graduation rates and increase the number of students prepared for college? What further improvements would you advocate?

“	LISD’s graduation rates are at an all-time high. However, the district continues to strive for better. The district has multifaceted approach to preparing students for college. AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) classes in middle and high school help bridge that gap, especially for students who are the first in their family to go to college. Connecting learning to real life situations also engages students on a deeper level, which leads to higher graduation rates. Advanced Placement (AP) and Dual Credit college courses also prepare students for life after high school. Lastly, the district has a wide variety of Career and Technical Education courses (CTE) that provide students with a variety of choices to not only find an interest they could pursue in college but also begin learning in that field. I would advocate for more choices for our students to keep them in school and to keep them interested in learning.	”
—Kristi Hassett (2017)

What schools in your district have been particularly effective in getting every child up to grade level in reading and math?

“	I think all of our schools are doing a great job, I only have room to list a few examples. BB Owen Elementary has a wonderful reading program that all of the students at the school have embraced. Degan Elementary teachers meet to discuss the upcoming learning standards and how to best serve their students in those lessons. College Street Elementary has The Leader in Me program, which reinforces to each student their responsibility in their own learning. LISD’s AVID classes provide an innovative connection between high school and college. LISD has tremendous teachers and staff that nurture our students in every course/subject.	”
—Kristi Hassett (2017)

How would you assess your district’s current school choice efforts, and what changes are needed?

“	Students have choice within each of our schools, such as course selection and advanced courses for gifted students. High school students have choice of multiple possible courses to prepare them for career and technical future, such as audio-visual production and architecture. High school students also have multiple college level courses to choose from to advance their college career. LISD is also in the beginning stages of implementing a High School Collegiate Academy and an elementary STEM academy. The district needs to continue to evaluate additional choice options for our students regularly.	”
—Kristi Hassett (2017)

How would you assess your superintendent’s performance?

“	The board reviews the superintendent’s performance twice a year based on multiple, clearly defined goals. The superintendent should be evaluated on each goal in regard to how well that goal was met. I believe our current superintendent is a great leader and advocate for our students, teachers, parents and community.	”
—Kristi Hassett (2017)

Where do you stand on the importance of early-childhood education? Would you support increasing class-size ratios at other grade levels in order to introduce or expand pre-K?

“	Early childhood education is very helpful in preparing our children for the academic rigor of K-12 education. I am disappointed that the Texas House of Representatives’ current budget cuts the funding of the current Pre-K grants. I would not support an increase in class size at other grade levels to expand pre-K, even if the state didn’t have the statutory class size requirement.	”
—Kristi Hassett (2017)

What resources are lacking in schools in your district? How could the district deliver services in the most cost-effective manner?

“	State funding is a diminishing resource. The state of Texas continues to reduce its share of public education funding as our local property tax values rise. Since more than 80% of the LISD budget is salaries, the rest of the budget must remain tight. We must ensure we have the resources in our metropolitan area to be competitive in order to attract and retain skilled, qualified teachers.	”
—Kristi Hassett (2017)

In what ways can your district’s communications with parents be improved? Likewise, how can parental involvement in your district improve?

“	The best way to communicate with parents is through the teacher. Being honest, the stacks of papers parents often get from their elementary children are sometimes put to the side to read later. In middle and high school, students have multiple teachers, and often the emails parents receive are left in the inbox. Both types of communications have their down side of the “later” pile. Parental involvement could improve in our district by short bulleted-type updates of general classroom activities, with the parents and teacher communicating on a more regular basis on the child’s strengths and weaknesses.	”
—Kristi Hassett (2017)

2014

Hassett answered the following about her campaign in a Q&A with the Dallas Morning News:

“	Why are you running for this office? I have been actively involved with education by most recently by testifying in front of the Texas Senate Education Committee and House of Representative Public Education Committee many times last session. I want to advocate for all of the students within LISD. Why should voters choose you over your opponent? I have a firm grasp on the current issues facing education. I am a strong advocate for all children as proven by my testimony last legislative session. If elected, what two issues should be given the most attention and resources during your term in office? I want to make sure the district evaluates the effectiveness of our educational initiatives. I want to ensure new policies have an effective way to measure their success and ensure effective implementation of those policies. Develop a multi-year plan aimed at achieving the boards’ goals. Also, I want to increase parental and community engagement. I believe we need to create a synergy between the Board of Trustees and its stakeholders to promote community involvement. What resources are lacking in schools in your trustee district? Teachers are always a needed resource. Many schools ask for exceptions to the student cap in grades K-4. Having a low teacher to student ratio is key to keeping our district high achieving. We also need to make sure we have the financial resources to hire and keep the most qualified teachers.	”
—Kristi Hassett (2014)

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