Sandra Weinstein

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Sandra Weinstein

Nonpartisan

Elections and appointments

Last election

May 5, 2018

Contact

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Sandra Weinstein ran for election to the Lewisville Independent School District to represent Place 1 in Texas. Weinstein lost in the general election on May 5, 2018.

Weinstein was a candidate for Place 7 representative on the Lewisville Independent School District school board in Texas. Weinstein was defeated in the by-district general election on May 6, 2017.

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

Elections

2018

General election

General election for Lewisville Independent School District, Place 1

Incumbent Kronda Thimesch defeated Sandra Weinstein in the general election for Lewisville Independent School District, Place 1 on May 5, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Kronda Thimesch (Nonpartisan)	55.9	5,511
		Sandra Weinstein (Nonpartisan)	44.1	4,351

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 9,862
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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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 7 General Election, 3-year term, 2017
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Tracy Scott Miller Incumbent	54.35%	6,491
Sandra Weinstein	20.97%	2,505
Shari Chambers	14.94%	1,784
Colleen Shaw	9.74%	1,163
Total Votes		11,943
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

Weinstein reported $590.00 in contributions and $3,691.26 in expenditures to the Lewisville Independent School District, which left her campaign with a deficit of $3,101.26 as of April 27, 2017.

Campaign themes

2017

Weinstein participated in the following survey conducted by The Dallas Morning News. The questions provided by The Dallas Morning News appear bolded, and Weinstein'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 office because I believe every child should have the opportunity to receive a high quality education that prepares them to take advantage of emerging opportunities in the jobs market. I raised two children through public school education and I had to advocate for them to ensure they received the kind of education that allowed them to reach their full potential. I know what a struggle that was, and I want to ensure that every child can get the kind of education they need from their LISD without the struggle.	”
—Sandra Weinstein (2017)

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

“	First, I would put my attention to ensuring that all students have access to a high quality education that prepares them for the future of this country. One of the areas I would examine is how we are identifying learning differentiated students. The national average for special needs students is about 13.5%. LISD has an average of about 9.8-10%. I want to ensure we are identifying learning issues as early as possible and not overlooking those who are just getting by. The earlier we can identify learning differences and help children adjust and compensate for those differences, the higher the graduation rate, and the less money spent on remediation in later years. Second, I am committed to protecting and improving public school funding while ensuring it is appropriately applied to further the educational success of our children. I would advocate against school voucher systems that take money from the public schools and defer it to other educational systems that are not required to adhere to the same standards as the public schools, weakening the public school system while jeopardizing the educational quality of the students. I would also advocate for restructuring how public schools are funded.	”
—Sandra Weinstein (2017)

For non-incumbent trustees: Have you attended any school board meetings? If so, what have you learned about how a board member can be effective?

“	I have learned that school board members participate in workshops to educate themselves and are strong advocates in Austin for protecting and improving our schools. Parental and community involvement in decisions and awareness is also key to being effective.	”
—Sandra Weinstein (2017)

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

“	One of the keys to improving classroom performance is parental engagement. While grades may be posted on a centralized web tool like skyward, many parents don’t have the time to frequently check a website, and some may not even have access to a computer. I recommend implementing a text system wherein if a student is absent without a note or they are performing at a sub-par level, the parents would receive a text proactively. This would improve parental engagement without waiting for them to engage.	”
—Sandra Weinstein (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?

“	LISD offers a free half day pre-k for children meeting state criteria. The classes are staffed by certified bi-lingual teachers and a free lunch and breakfast are included. There are tuition options for extended care as well. I am willing to ask voters to approve a tax increases to expand these programs if a need is identified to ensure all LISD students have equal access to a good education.	”
—Sandra Weinstein (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?

“	Creative ideas I support include fund raising from the community. For instance, one high school on the East coast sold pavers engraved with the names of donors who donated a certain amount. This paid for a new football field and provided a nice walkway too. To save money, we need to do a cost benefit analysis of leasing versus capitalizing technology.	”
—Sandra Weinstein (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 A-F system. First, it relies too much on the STAAR, which is simply a snapshot in time and not representative of school performance or even student performance. Second, it fails to capture improvements made over time. For instance, low income children could be coming in behind, but have potential to grow and catch up. A-F fails to capture the amount of time and effort in addressing this gap, penalizing the school with a low rating that could affect funding. Tests and accountability systems should be diagnostic, not penalizing.	”
—Sandra Weinstein (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?

“	Currently LISD has a graduation rate of 95.2%, while the average graduation rate across Texas is 89%. This demonstrates LISDs efforts to attain a 100% graduation rate. Further improvements could come from investing more in Pre-K and ensuring that children who seem to be lagging are identified and tested for accommodations right away to reduce their chances of disengagement and improve their educational experience.	”
—Sandra Weinstein (2017)

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

“	All LISD schools appear highly committed to getting every child up to grade level. As a trustee I am committed to identifying innovative ways that teachers are getting children to grade level and recreating those successes across the ISD.	”
—Sandra Weinstein (2017)

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

“	In LISD, public school choice includes access to two career centers offering career training in a variety of fields and some STEM courses. There is another STEM campus underway to attract students who may wish to pursue college credit in their chosen fields prior to going to college. I’ve seen this be very effective in other districts where such schools include a mix of trades, arts and STEM.	”
—Sandra Weinstein (2017)

How would you assess your superintendent’s performance?

“	I respect Dr. Rogers and his commitment to LISD students and families.	”
—Sandra Weinstein (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?

“	I fully support Pre-K. The earlier you can engage a child in learning in a fun and organic way, and identifying where extra help may be needed, the less money needs to be spent getting children up to grade level later, the greater confidence the student will develop and the more able schools will achieve education standards.	”
—Sandra Weinstein (2017)

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

“	LISD has an amazing special education department with very good counselors, but we need more counselors and teachers trained in identifying children struggling with emotional issues and depression. Since children spend most of their time in school, that is the first line of defense against emotional issues and drug use. Identifying at risk students and engaging the parents is a first step, a second step would be to set up peer groups with counselors (like group therapy) to process their emotions and deal with the isolation these children feel. Another step is having juniors and seniors form mentoring circles with freshmen and sophomores to help them transition into the higher grades and deal with the attendant pressure.	”
—Sandra Weinstein (2017)

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

“	Currently, schools communicate with parents primarily through email and a central website with access to student progress and event notifications. Email is very inefficient and studies show that only about 30% of parents access the website either due to lack of time or lack of access to a computer. Yet, nearly everyone has a phone that can receive text messages. Sending text messages, similar to how some communities notify residents of warnings or changes and volunteer activities, will capture a parent's attention and should lead to better engagement.	”
—Sandra Weinstein (2017)

See also

• Lewisville Independent School District, Texas
• Lewisville Independent School District elections (2018)

External links

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• Lewisville Independent School District