Everything you need to know about ranked-choice voting in one spot. Click to learn more!

Natalie Blasingame

From Ballotpedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Natalie Blasingame
Image of Natalie Blasingame

Candidate, Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District, Position 6

Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District, Position 5
Tenure

2021 - Present

Term ends

2025

Years in position

3

Predecessor
Elections and appointments
Last elected

November 2, 2021

Next election

November 4, 2025

Education

High school

Alief-Elsik High School

Bachelor's

University of Texas at Austin, 1992

Graduate

University of Houston, 2019

Personal
Religion
Christian
Profession
Educator
Contact

Natalie Blasingame is a member of the Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District in Texas, representing Position 5. She assumed office on November 9, 2021. Her current term ends on November 11, 2025.

Blasingame is running for re-election to the Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District to represent Position 6 in Texas. She is on the ballot in the general election on November 4, 2025.[source]

Blasingame completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Natalie Blasingame earned a high school diploma from Alief-Elsik High School, a bachelor's degree from the University of Texas at Austin in 1992, a graduate degree from Stephen F. Austin State University in 1998, and a graduate degree from the University of Houston in 2019. Her career experience includes working as an educator.[1]

Elections

2025

See also: Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District, Texas, elections (2025)

General election

The general election will occur on November 4, 2025.

General election for Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District, Position 6

Incumbent Natalie Blasingame, incumbent Scott Henry, and Cleveland Lane are running in the general election for Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District, Position 6 on November 4, 2025.

Candidate
Image of Natalie Blasingame
Natalie Blasingame (Nonpartisan) Candidate Connection
Image of Scott Henry
Scott Henry (Nonpartisan)
Image of Cleveland Lane
Cleveland Lane (Nonpartisan) Candidate Connection

Candidate Connection = 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.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Endorsements

Blasingame received the following endorsements. To view a full list of Blasingame's endorsements as published by their campaign, click here. To send us additional endorsements, click here.

2021

See also: Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District, Texas, elections (2021)

General election

General election for Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District, Position 5

The following candidates ran in the general election for Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District, Position 5 on November 2, 2021.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Natalie Blasingame
Natalie Blasingame (Nonpartisan)
 
35.7
 
12,721
Image of John Ogletree  Jr.
John Ogletree Jr. (Nonpartisan)
 
31.6
 
11,283
Image of Courtney Spradley
Courtney Spradley (Nonpartisan) Candidate Connection
 
21.9
 
7,831
Grace Horner (Nonpartisan)
 
5.1
 
1,824
Xavier Leal (Nonpartisan)
 
3.8
 
1,363
Todd LeCompte (Nonpartisan)
 
1.8
 
659

Total votes: 35,681
Candidate Connection = 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.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

2019

See also: Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District, Texas, elections (2019)

General election

General election for Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District, Position 3

Gilbert Sarabia defeated Natalie Blasingame and Ryan Irving in the general election for Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District, Position 3 on November 5, 2019.

Candidate
%
Votes
Gilbert Sarabia (Nonpartisan)
 
35.9
 
12,297
Image of Natalie Blasingame
Natalie Blasingame (Nonpartisan)
 
33.6
 
11,515
Image of Ryan Irving
Ryan Irving (Nonpartisan) Candidate Connection
 
30.5
 
10,469

Total votes: 34,281
Candidate Connection = 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.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

2017

See also: Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District elections (2017)

Three of seven seats on the Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District board of trustees in Texas were up for by-district general election on November 7, 2017. All three incumbents filed for re-election. Position 5 incumbent John Ogletree Jr. and Position 7 incumbent Bob Covey were unopposed in their re-election bids. Incumbent Don Ryan defeated challenger Natalie Blasingame for the Position 6 seat.[2][3]

Results

Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District,
Position 6 General Election, 4-year term, 2017
Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.png Don Ryan Incumbent 61.62% 7,578
Natalie Blasingame 38.38% 4,720
Total Votes 12,298
Source: Harris County, Texas, "Cumulative Report - Official," accessed November 22, 2017

2015

See also: Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District elections (2015)

Four seats on the Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District Board of Trustees were up for general election on November 3, 2015.

The seats of Position 1 incumbent Thomas Jackson, Position 2 incumbent Christine Hartley, Position 3 incumbent Darcy Mingoia and Position 4 incumbent Kevin Hoffman were up for election.[4] Hoffman was the only incumbent to not file for re-election. Two candidates, Debbie Blackshear and Pam Redd vied for his seat. Mingoia faced challenger Natalie Blasingame. Both Jackson and Hartley were unopposed.[5]

Jackson and Hartley were re-elected to their respective positions. Mingoia was successful in securing the Position 3 seat and Blackshear won the Position 4 seat.

Results

Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District, Position 3, General Election, 2015
Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.png Darcy Mingoia Incumbent 51.8% 16,302
Natalie Blasingame 48.2% 15,193
Total Votes 31,495
Source: Harris County Clerk, "Cumulative Report-Official", accessed December 16, 2015

Funding

Blasingame reported no contributions or expenditures to the Texas Ethics Commission as of October 29, 2015.[6]

Campaign themes

2025

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Candidate Connection

Natalie Blasingame completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Blasingame's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Hello- my name is Dr. Natalie Blasingame and I am a proud mother, lifelong educator, community volunteer, and trustee of Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District (CFISD). As an immigrant from South Africa at the age of nine, I grew up grateful for the freedoms and opportunities that only America provides. Guided by my faith, I believe these blessings come with a responsibility to give back, and I have dedicated my career to building strong schools, strengthening families, and defending the values that make our nation exceptional. With more than 30 years of experience in Houston-area public schools, I have served as a bilingual elementary teacher, assistant principal, principal, school support officer supervising high schools, and assistant superintendent. My leadership has always centered on student success, respecting and supporting teachers, parental involvement, and ensuring schools reflect community values.
  • I believe schools must prioritize academic excellence, discipline, and safety, supporting parents as the primary decision-makers in their children’s education. I am committed to pushing back against one-size-fits-all state testing, instead encouraging the development of strong character, critical thinking, and personal responsibility.

    My top priorities: • Upholding high academic standards that prepare students for the workforce, higher education, or the military - including addressing literacy deficits • Creating safe schools where discipline, respect, and order are valued and "we have teachers' backs" • Promoting parental engagement and expanding educational choice within our school system

    • Restoring common-sense values
  • Literacy is the primary work of school. We must be sure all students read for comprehension by 3rd grade- and when we miss the mark ensure students are supported and tracked until they are able to read on level. In our schools system, we still have 13,000 students in 3rd-10th grade (Eng I/II) who still are not at the “approaches” grade level designation on 2025 STAAR ELAR test. We have set new strategic plan goals to track students in 1st - 5th grades who end the prior grade level not reading at the 50th percentile/on level. I am committed as a board trustee to align the resources and goals to ensure we provide the most basic of civil rights to our students- the ability to read.
  • Fiscal accountability and transparency is critical for good decision making an community trust. I do not believe in raising taxes or proposing an inflated bond program to our taxpayers. We are operating in a $50M annual budget deficit and have over $4.7B in outstanding bond debt and interest. This equates to approximately $40,000 per student bond debt as a district. We must complete a forensic audit of our budget- looking at spending trends in"functions" and compare this to rate of growth in enrollment and inflation. This can give us a clue as to where spending has skyrocketed and we can compare this with improvements and effectiveness in our educational outcomes. We must be good stewards of the taxpayers dollars.
I am passionate about literacy, college-preparatory academics, career pathways in schools, internships and job-related experiences for students matched to careers available for graduates in the major industries of Houston, values-based education, and building hope in students about their futures. Public policy in the areas of education, workforce, law-enforcement/ incarceration, human services, housing and urban development, health and human services, etc. are all impacted by education because it determines teh trajectory of the children's lives. Schools must be effective and efficient in educating our children and engaging their families for our communities and our nation to flourish.
The most important characteristics and principles that I can display and operate in as a school board trustee in CFISD include a commitment to students' success, ethical integrity, strong collaboration, and a focus on long-term improvement of public education as an excellent, safe, viable choice for every family in our district.
I understand that my key role as a trustee is governance- setting clear goals and maintaining a vision focused on high expectations for all students. We also provide accountability, prioritizing policies that improve student achievement, using data and performance monitoring, and minimizing focus on operational minutiae. This is how we best serve all constituents, not just particular loud groups or narrow interests- we make sure all students are having strong outcomes even if their parents don't come advocate.
My personal mission: “Defend the weak and the fatherless; uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed. Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.” If students cannot read on level, then they are at risk in the school-to-prison pipeline. We must ensure that students who don’t meet expectations get interventions and are monitored until they read on level. That’s a worthy legacy. Literacy is a basic right.
When the Challenger exploded I was in my high school library watching the launch on T.V.
I started babysitting at 11 years of age- but my first official job was as a lifeguard at my neighborhood pool.
We provide citizen governance/oversight for education at a point closest to the parent/child, acting for our district citizens. We advocate for educational excellence, putting those interests first, ensuring that the district is moving in a positive direction with a clear shared vision for our students, schools, staff and supporting community. We adopt comprehensive goals giving the system clear direction and monitor progress of the administration. We adopt policy that provides a framework for district operations.
I hold myself to high standards of integrity, transparency, and honesty in decision-making and conduct. I work to communicate well, both listening to and expressing ideas to the community and our stakeholders. I am always seeking to learn about emerging trends with parents and students to push for new educational ideas and best practices.
CFISD must achieve academic and fiscal excellence by putting an emphasis on: reading for comprehension by 3rd grade; fiscal accountability and transparency; safe and disciplined classrooms; supporting teachers; and empowering parents. We must hold high expectations for ALL students and increase choice within our public school system to maintain enrollment which drives funding and ensure that every graduate has a clear plan with requisite skills for success in college, career, or the military right out of high school that keeps students attracted to our school system.
We must keep adding layers of security-known and unknown- to stay ahead o threats. The policies for safety and security in CFISD schools are driven by several key principles which align with state mandates and nationally recognized best practices. The overarching goal is to "foster a safe and resilient learning environment."

Proactive Prevention: stop issues before they escalate
1. Identification & Intervention: address student needs and potential risks
2 Anonymous Reporting: Tipline and the Crime Stoppers programs allow students and parents to anonymously report concerns
3. Bullying Prevention: a "proactive stance" with resources and education for students, teachers, and administrators

Physical and Technological Security: facility and communication enhancements to harden campuses.
4. Limited Access: security vestibules with impact-resistant glass, locked classroom and exterior doors (subject to weekly sweeps and audits), and procedures to limit entry points.
5. Technology & Communication: a dedicated Police Department radio system, classroom phones, emergency call stations, and "Lockdown" panic buttons.
6. Identification & Screening: student and staff IDs, Raptor visitor management system to screen guests, and implementing a Clear Backpack Policy

Preparedness and Crisis Response: a uniform and immediate response to emergencies
7. Standard Protocols: staff and students trained on the Standard Response Protocol (SRP) and having clear procedures for actions like Shelter, Secure, Lockdown, and Evacuate.
8. Reunification: Standard Reunification Method (SRM) for efficient and safe parent-student pickup after an emergency.
9. Training and Drilling: regular practice drills and mandatory staff training in areas like Psychological First Aid for Schools and active-shooter response.

Law Enforcement Collaboration Maintaining a dedicated on-site police presence.

10. Commissioned officers for each campus, plus dedicated mental health officers
Let’s revisit how we calculate GPA and class rank. Students are forced to choose between exploring interests and careers or earning a GPA that accesses competitive universities. This seems shortsighted- I believe the CFISD community can outsmart the factory model of education and build our schools into factories of hope.
𝑵𝒂𝒕𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒆 𝑩𝒍𝒂𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒂𝒎𝒆: CFISD Trustee Position 6

• Republican Party of Texas
• Texas Latino Conservatives
• Harris County GOP
• Tom Oliverson -State Rep 130
• Valoree Swanson -State Rep 150
• Tom Ramsey -Precinct 3 Commissioner
• James Buntrock, Pastor and Senate District 7 Republican Chairman
• Julie Pickren -TX SBOE District 7
• Christine Kalmbach -CFISD Trustee
• Super Majority of CFISD Precinct Chairs
• TxCRC-Texas Coalition of Republican Clubs
• Howard Barker, Senate District 18 Republican Chairman
• Mark Ramsey, North Harris County Regional Water Authority District Director & former SD7 SREC
• Kevin Stertzel, Former Emergency Services Division 9 Commissioner / Treasurer

• Deborah Kelting-Fite, Senate District 7 Executive
I am always listening- seeking input from parents/community members wherever I go. I push for surveys, expanded committees, and more forms of community input to guide board/district decision-making. This is top priority - the schools belong to the community not the administration. The board is your voice for your schools.
CFISD must achieve academic and fiscal excellence by putting an emphasis on: reading for comprehension by 3rd grade; fiscal accountability and transparency; safe and disciplined classrooms; supporting teachers; and empowering parents. We must hold high expectations for ALL students and increase choice within our public school system to maintain enrollment and ensure that every graduate has a clear plan with requisite skills for success in college, career, or the military right out of high school.
Service and Impact:
Since retiring from district administration, Dr. Blasingame has continued to serve the Cypress-Fairbanks community as a trustee, working to expand educational excellence and protect equal opportunity for all children in Texas’ third-largest school district. She has advanced literacy initiatives, worked to close achievement gaps, and advocated policies that prepare students for success while strengthening families and local communities. Above all, she seeks to lead by example—demonstrating integrity, service, faith-based decision making, and commitment to teaching the next generation the values that make America strong.

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.

2021

Natalie Blasingame did not complete Ballotpedia's 2021 Candidate Connection survey.

2019

Natalie Blasingame did not complete Ballotpedia's 2019 Candidate Connection survey.

See also


External links

Footnotes