Nic Rady
Nic Rady ran for election for an at-large seat of the Carrollton-Farmers Branch Independent School District in Texas. Rady lost in the general election on May 5, 2018.
Rady was a candidate for at-large representative on the Carrollton-Farmers Branch Independent School District school board in Texas. Rady was defeated in the at-large general election on May 6, 2017.
Rady participated in Ballotpedia's 2017 school board candidate survey. Click here to view his responses.
Elections
2018
General election
General election for Carrollton-Farmers Branch Independent School District, At-large (2 seats)
Sally Hill Derrick and incumbent John Mathews defeated John Black and Nic Rady in the general election for Carrollton-Farmers Branch Independent School District, At-large on May 5, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Sally Hill Derrick (Nonpartisan) | 44.4 | 4,028 |
| ✔ |  | John Mathews (Nonpartisan) | 25.5 | 2,316 |
 | John Black (Nonpartisan) | 15.3 | 1,384 | |
 | Nic Rady (Nonpartisan) | 14.8 | 1,339 | |
| Total votes: 9,067 | |||
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2017
Three of the seven seats on the Carrollton-Farmers Branch Independent School District board of trustees were up for at-large election on May 6, 2017. Two seats were up for election to regular three-year terms, and the third seat was on the ballot for a two-year term due to a vacancy on the board. In their bids for re-election to regular three-year terms, incumbents Nancy Cline and James Goode faced challengers Nic Rady, Derek Glatz, Victoria Kemp, and Candace Valenzuela. Incumbent Nancy Cline and newcomer Candace Valenzuela defeated their challengers. Tara Hrbacek defeated John DeLorme for the open two-year term.[1][2][3][4][5]
Results
| Carrollton-Farmers Branch Independent School District, At-large General Election, 3-year terms, 2017 |
||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Nancy Cline Incumbent |
29.99% | 4,156 |
| Candace Valenzuela |
22.85% | 3,166 |
| James Goode Incumbent | 18.33% | 2,540 |
| Nic Rady | 17.88% | 2,478 |
| Victoria Kemp | 8.55% | 1,185 |
| Derek Glatz | 2.39% | 331 |
| Total Votes | 13,856 | |
| Source: Dallas County Elections, "2017 Joint Election," accessed September 20, 2017 | ||
Funding
Rady reported $3,455.00 in contributions and $6,369.13 in expenditures to the Carrollton-Farmers Branch Independent School District, which left his campaign with $2,914.13 in debt as of April 28, 2017.[6]
Endorsements
Rady was endorsed by Friends of the Branch, Empower Texans, and state Rep. Matt Rinaldi (R-115).[7][8][9]
Campaign themes
2018
Ballotpedia survey responses
- See also: Ballotpedia's candidate surveys
Nic Rady participated in Ballotpedia's candidate survey on April 6, 2018. The survey questions appear in bold, and Nic Rady's responses follow below.[10]
What would be your top three priorities, if elected?
| “ | 1) Financial Stability 2) All students have equal access to education |
” |
What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about? Why?
| “ | Curriculum. I have studied Curriculum & Instruction on the doctorate level and developed courses for high schools and university.Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; invalid names, e.g. too many[12]
|
” |
Ballotpedia also asked the candidate a series of optional questions. Nic Rady answered the following:
What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?
| “ | Truth and Transparency.[12] | ” |
| “ | I prefer to lead and not dictate. I want to be a point of source for gathering ideas and input and execute policy based on desires of the community.[12] | ” |
| “ | To be truthful with your actions and do things for the betterment of the whole community.[12] | ” |
| “ | A more transparent and connected community with our schools.[12] | ” |
| “ | The fall of the Berlin Wall. 4[12] | ” |
| “ | Roller Rink Skate Boy from 12-17[12] | ” |
| “ | To make sure we use the schools resources in the most effective manner to educate our children.[12] | ” |
| “ | Everyone in the district.[12] | ” |
| “ | By listening and creating a welcoming environment to everyone the district serves.[12] | ” |
2017
Ballotpedia survey responses
Nic Rady participated in Ballotpedia's 2017 survey of school board candidates.[13] In response to the question "What do you hope to achieve if elected to the school board?" the candidate stated on April 5, 2017:
| “ | I want to foster an atmosphere where teachers, parents, students, business leaders, and the community at large feels like they have a stake in the decision making for the direction in which the school system is going. In that process, I want to empower the teachers to teach as they see their class learns and ensure they have the resources to move our children to the next level.[11][12] | ” |
Ranking the issues
The candidate was asked to rank the following issues based on how they should be prioritized by the school board, with 1 being the most important and 7 being the least important. Each ranking could only be used once.
| Education policy |
|---|
 |
Click here to learn more about education policy in Texas. |
| Education on the ballot |
| Issue importance ranking | |
|---|---|
| Candidate's ranking | Issue |
| Improving relations with teachers | |
| Balancing or maintaining the district's budget | |
| Closing the achievement gap | |
| Expanding arts education | |
| Improving post-secondary readiness | |
| Improving education for special needs students | |
| Expanding school choice options | |
| “ | My main focus is to ensure the teachers have what they need to do what they do best: teach.[12] | ” |
| —Nic Rady (April 5, 2017) | ||
Positions on the issues
The candidate was asked to answer eight questions from Ballotpedia regarding significant issues in education and the school district. The questions are highlighted in blue and followed by the candidate's responses. Some questions provided multiple choices, which are noted after those questions. The candidate was also provided space to elaborate on their answers to the multiple choice questions.
| Should new charter schools be approved in your district? (Not all school boards are empowered to approve charter schools. In those cases, the candidate was directed to answer the question as if the school board were able to do so.) |
|---|
| No. I am a proponent of schools within schools (e.g. academies). These allow for resources to be more easily shared and administration staff to be minimized. |
| Which statement best describes the ideal relationship between the state government and the school board? The state should always defer to school board decisions, defer to school board decisions in most cases, be involved in the district routinely or only intervene in severe cases of misconduct or mismanagement. |
| The state should only intervene in severe cases of misconduct or mismanagement. |
| Are standardized tests an accurate metric of student achievement? |
| No. There are many factors in education including affective components that are not easily measured in multiple choice exams. Although basic knowledge is an essential component of education, a student who excels in this area may not do as well in others. |
| How should the district handle underperforming teachers? Terminate their contract before any damage is done to students, offer additional training options, put them on a probationary period while they seek to improve or set up a mentorship program for the underperforming teacher with a more experienced teacher in the district? |
| Terminate their contract before any damage is done to students. Offer additional training options. Offer additional training options. Put them on a probationary period while they seek to improve. |
| Should teachers receive merit pay? |
| Yes. |
| Should the state give money to private schools through a voucher system or scholarship program? |
| No. |
| How should expulsion be used in the district? |
| Rarely and only when there ar no other options. |
| What's the most important factor for success in the classroom: student-teacher ratio, the curriculum, teachers, parent involvement or school administration? |
| Teachers |
Candidate website
Rady highlighted the following issues on his campaign website:
| “ | A CLEAR VISION & COMPREHENSIVE GOALS
One of the most important features of a school board is to guide the school district in long term planning and effective programming for its students. Nic has the background in education to know what current practices are used in schools, and which ones work. With this knowledge, he is unique in his ability to help guide the school district in its long term goal planning and effective programming, making sure our children have the best in front of them for a better future. COMMUNICATION According to the Texas Association of School Boards, "within the community, the board should take an active role in generating support for the district... First, board members need to listen to what is going on in the community. Next the board needs to ensure that the community is aware of what is happening in the district." Nic wants to make the communication between the community and the district enhanced. This can be done by having the Council PTA represented at meetings, holding town halls periodically throughout the year, and more transparent communication about school activities and programs. TECHNOLOGY Investment in different technologies to aid in the learning process and enhance the experiences of our students is a worthwhile venture. However, technology for the sake of technology is not a necessarily productive for any district. As with any investment, care needs to be taken in the acquisition by ensuring the right product is purchased for the desired goal. Then implementation with proper training must be given to those that use the equipment and evaluation after the implementation so that the goals for the investment in the new technology are being meet. Nic is in the business of technology, seeing it being used in the areas of research & design everyday. He knows what tools exist, where they are going, and what students need to know to productive citizens of tomorrow. INCREASED STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT The highest priority for any school district is to ensure that children in the community have a high quality education, typically measured by student achievement. Many factors determine student achievement: graduation rate, SAT and ACT scores, STAAR scores, post-secondary school success, etc. Our district has achieved some amazing numbers in some of these categories while being stagnant in others, hovering around state averages. Nic wants to make sure that while we strive to give opportunities for all students to prepare themselves for their future after high school, no matter if they go straight to work, trade-school, community college, or university. The best indicator of this is that all levels of student achievement are increasing year after year to levels well-above the state average. FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY Texas school financing is arguably a mess with funding calculations based on average house values, taxing rates, number of students, and many other factors that dictate the amount of local money that can be used locally and the amount of state funds that are appropriated to each district. Care must be taken in balancing the needs of the children with the needs of community. Nic believes that it is important for every government body to be good shepherd of the people's tax dollars. The district should be accountable for their budget so that the maximum results can been seen from the tax revenue generated. TERM LIMITS At no level of government should any person spend an extended level of time in an office. As an active resident in Farmers Branch, Nic has given his time on committees at the city level where his work ethic and commitment to bettering the whole city was seen his peers who ultimately asked him to run for the school board. Feeling the need to serve, Nic will give his all to the school board for a time, and then allow someone else in the community to take his place. Currently, there is no board rule that limits the number of terms a board member can serve. There should be, and will be when Nic is elected to serve.[12] |
” |
| —Nic Rady (2017)[14] | ||
See also
- Carrollton-Farmers Branch Independent School District, Texas
- Carrollton-Farmers Branch Independent School District elections (2018)
External links
- Search Google News for this topic
- Carrollton-Farmers Branch Independent School District
- Campaign website
- Campaign Facebook page
Footnotes
- ↑ Carrollton-Farmers Branch Independent School District, "Board of Trustees," accessed February 15, 2017
- ↑ Dallas News, "Frank Shor, Dallas lawyer and Carrollton-Farmers Branch school board president, dies at 64," December 8, 2016
- ↑ Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD, "Candidates: Board of Trustees Election, May 6, 2017," accessed February 24, 2017
- ↑ Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD, "Candidates: Board of Trustees Special Election, May 6, 2017," accessed February 24, 2017
- ↑ Dallas County Elections, "Unofficial Cumulative Results," accessed May 6, 2017These election results are unofficial and will be updated after official vote totals are made available.
- ↑ Election Information for Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD, "Home: Download Attachments," accessed May 3, 2017
- ↑ Friends of the Branch, "CFBISD Endorsements Announced!" March 15, 2017
- ↑ Empower Texans, "May 2017 Endorsements," accessed April 13, 2017
- ↑ NicRady.com, "Endorsements," accessed April 13, 2017
- ↑ Note: The candidate's answers have been reproduced here verbatim without edits or corrections by Ballotpedia.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Ballotpedia's candidate survey, "Nic Rady's responses," April 6, 2018 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "BPsurvey" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ 12.00 12.01 12.02 12.03 12.04 12.05 12.06 12.07 12.08 12.09 12.10 12.11 12.12 12.13 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Note: The candidate's answers have been reproduced here verbatim without edits or corrections by Ballotpedia.
- ↑ NicRady.com, "Positions," accessed April 13, 2017
| Carrollton-Farmers Branch Independent School District elections in 2018 | |
| Dallas and Denton Counties Texas | |
| Election date: | May 5, 2018 |
| Important information: | What was at stake? |
