Shannon Grona

This page was current at the end of the official's last term in office covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Shannon Grona

Prior offices

North East Independent School District, District 5

Successor: Melinda Cox

---

Report an officeholder change

Education

Bachelor's

Austin College, 1984

Personal

Birthplace

San Antonio, Texas

Religion

Catholic

Profession

Compliance officer

Shannon Grona was a member of the North East Independent School District in Texas, representing District 5. She assumed office in 2012. She left office on May 14, 2024.

Grona ran for re-election to the North East Independent School District to represent District 5 in Texas. She won in the general election on November 3, 2020.

Grona completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Grona was born in San Antonio, Texas. She earned a bachelor's degree from Austin College in 1984. Her career experience includes working as a compliance officer.

Grona has been affiliated with the following organization:

• PTA

Elections

2020

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

General election

General election for North East Independent School District, District 5

Incumbent Shannon Grona defeated Cimarron Gilson in the general election for North East Independent School District, District 5 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Shannon Grona (Nonpartisan)	71.7	20,221
		Cimarron Gilson (Nonpartisan)	28.3	7,985

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 28,206
= 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.

2016

See also: North East Independent School District elections (2016)

The district school board election held on May 7, 2016 featured a mix of incumbents, challengers, and unopposed seats. Incumbent Sandy Hughey faced challengers Chris Herring and Melissa Martinez White for the District 1 seat. In the District 5 race, incumbent Shannon Grona ran against candidate Roger Fisher. Incumbent Jim Wheat was unopposed in his District 4 re-election bid and newcomer Tony Jaso was the sole candidate to file for the District 6 position. Incumbents Hughey and Grona retained their seats. Hughey defeated Herring and White in District 1 while Grona defeated challenger Fisher in District 5. Both Wheat and Jaso were automatically elected as the District 4 and 6 elections were canceled due to lack of opposition.

Results

North East Independent School District, District 5 General Election, 4-year term, 2016
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Shannon Grona Incumbent	81.22%	627
Roger Fisher	18.78%	145
Total Votes		772
Source: Bexar County Elections Department, "Joint General, Special and Bon," accessed May 7, 2016

Endorsements

Grona was endorsed in the race by the North East Teachers Association.

Campaign themes

2020

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Shannon Grona completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Grona's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I am a mom who values family. I have lived in NEISD for 33 years. Both of my children grew up in the District and graduated from Johnson High School and Texas A&M University. My husband also grew up in the District and graduated from Churchill High School. We are members of Holy Trinity Catholic Church.

I have served on the board for the past 8 years and have served as President for the past 4 years. Prior to serving on the Board I was a long time PTA volunteer, serving as a PTA Officer for 7 years. Prior to being a mom, I was a Compliance Officer and Internal Auditor in the banking industry.

I graduated from Austin College with a BA in Accounting. I grew up in Denison, Tx and attended public schools. I come from a family of educators with my mom being a retired public school teacher, my brother was a public school teacher, coach, principal and now Superintendent, my sister-in-law and niece are both public school teachers.

I serve because it is a labor of love. I am not a one-issue candidate nor do I seek political gain from my service on the board. I work hard to ensure that we are making the best decisions for all of our 60,000+ students, 9000 employees, and parents in this very diverse district.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• The Board has lowered the tax rate every year since 2015 for a total reduction of 12%. I will remain fiscally responsible to our taxpayers.
• Ensure that our children are prepared for college, a career or the military through the innovative course work that we provide to keep up with the changes in high demand, high wage industries.
• Advocacy for ALL- I will continue to advocate for all children, parents and teachers at the local, state and national levels. NEISD will remain a highly recognized, sought after school district that enhances the lives of our students, families, and community.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

The mental health of our children and staff is a top priority. It was already a priority before the pandemic and has become even more important. As a board, we have invested in programs and staff to support mental well being. The District has created a wellness website for parents, children and staff to use as a resource. We have policies in place to address bullying and cyber bullying and will continue to ensure that we have policies to address the mental well-being of our children and staff.

College, career and military readiness (CCMR) is another policy for which I am highly passionate We need to continue to provide innovative courses for our children; courses that align with high wage, high demand industries. That is why we are evolving our magnet programs. We took a single program, the Automotive Technology Academy, and added other components and industries to create the Career and Technical Education Center. We are following that blueprint by creating a new Cybersecurity Center. We are also addressing the CCMR needs by offering our students and parents options with our magnet programs and dual language programs, We heard from parents that they wanted more robust programs for their children who are advanced learners. We added Hyper Accelerated Math in elementary school. We are constantly looking at new ways to prepare our children for life after high school.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Honesty, integrity, and willingness to listen to all stakeholders. I also believe it is imperative that elected officials fulfill their obligations by attending all necessary meetings , gatherings, and events and be held accountable to their constituents.

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

Honesty, integrity, and willingness to work with all stakeholders. My audit/compliance officer/banking background allows me to understand the very complex issue of the budget and school finance. I am also completely committed to serving and protecting my school district. My loyalty to my school district is unwavering.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

To make decisions that are best for ALL students, parents, teachers, staff and community members. You must put personal agendas aside and make decisions that are best for the whole. You must have a servants heart. You must serve with honesty and integrity and you must be willing to work together with your fellow board members to achieve these goals.

What legacy would you like to leave?

That I have had the ability to put everything in place to ensure that our children are successful in life and that everything I did, was for the greater good of all those who served in our district and those who were impacted by our district.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

I was a bank teller in high school. I continued to work at the bank during college and remained in banking until I became a stay at home mom. I worked a total of 17 years.

What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

I Hope you Dance

What is the primary job of a school board member in your view?

Governance is the primary job of a school board member. The board is responsible for adopting a budget, adopting policy, setting the tax rate, and hiring and evaluating the Superintendent. The day to day operations of the District falls under the purview of the Superintendent.

Who are your constituents?

My constituents are everyone who lives or works within NEISD. From the community members to the parents, to the teachers and staff, down to the children. I am responsible for making the best decision that I can for everyone in the District, not just District 5. While I am elected by residents of District 5, all residents of NEISD are my constituents.

How would you support the diverse needs of your district’s students, faculty, staff, and community?

We have a very diverse district. Diversity not only in ethnicity, but in socio-economic status. The Board has done a really good job in the past ,with our bonds to ensure that we touch every campus with a project. Whether it is providing more technology for students or renovating campuses to look like new, we work to achieve equity throughout our district.

Dr. Maika has been intentional about recruiting and hiring people of color. Diversity is very important. We recruit teachers from all over Texas and outside of Texas when traveling was safe, to ensure we reach and provide opportunities to teachers of color and bilingual educators.

At many of our campuses and at all our TItle 1 campuses, we employ family specialists who provide much needed resources to our children as well as their families. We provide many wrap-around services for our children to include a snack program for dinner and weekend meals. We have CEP on many campuses which allows for all children to eat free, and parents don't have to fill out the paperwork.

Our board reflects our community in its diverse make-up, with four minorities and four women currently serving . Our diversity is our strength because we all come from different backgrounds ,with different experiences and we are able to relate and more fully support our students, faculty, staff, and community.

How will you build relationships with members of the broader community? Which groups, organizations, stakeholders will you specifically target?

As a board member, I have the opportunity to interact and build relationships with our broader community. From our state elected officials to members of our School Health Advisory Council, I believe that all of our stakeholders have a voice in shaping our school district.

That is why I began a Student Voice initiative in 2019-2020. I felt that student voices were not as heard as others, even though they are our customers. I look forward to building upon the Student Voice initiative to dive deeper into the issues that our children care about.

What will you do to build a better relationship with parents in the district? What plans do you have to be inclusive of parental involvement?

This year and last year I joined every PTA in the District. As a former PTA officer and volunteer, I know the importance of PTA on a campus. I joined every PTA in the District because I felt it was important for them to know that I supported their efforts. PTAs play a vital role on a campus not only for teachers and staff, but for the children and their families. PTAs provide many resources to the parents and families and advocate on behalf of every child. I believe that my involvement in PTA helps parents to know that I am approachable and available to help any way that I can.

Do you believe it is important to intentionally recruit with the aim of diversifying the district’s faculty, staff, and administration? If so, what would be your policy to achieve this?

I believe it is important to have a diverse faculty, staff and administration and that our recruitment effort should be intentional in achieving this goal. More importantly, it is the job of our Superintendent to hire all personnel. As I stated previously, Dr. Maika has been very intentional about recruiting and hiring people of color and our Board supports his efforts. Diversity is very important primarily, because we are such a diverse District. We recruit teachers from all over Texas and outside of Texas to reach teachers of color and bilingual educators. Nevertheless, it's important that we continue to recruit and hire the best person for the position and provide the professional development necessary to assist our employees in continuing to professionally grow.

What type of skills should students be learning for success in the 21st century?

We just approved a new CyberSecurity Magnet Program which will expand STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) opportunities across the District. The hands-on, interactive academy will accept up to 150 students each year from every NEISD high school for two periods a day. NEISD will work alongside local colleges and universities to create dual credit course offerings for this program. Community partners will also be involved with the magnet, giving students the opportunity to network and learn directly from industry leaders. The District is currently developing a curriculum plan to strengthen cybersecurity and programming skills for elementary and middle school students.

Our students also have the opportunity to earn Industry Based Certifications in CTE pathways offered at the high school level. A few examples include Welding, Carpentry, HVAC, Medical Assisting, Cosmetology, Diesel Technology.

How might you improve the value of a high school diploma? What should a 21st century diploma reflect?

I believe that industry certifications and college credits along with a high school diploma are key to preparing our students for jobs in the 21st century. As a board, we have expanded magnet programs and Career and Technical Education courses. We have also approved plans for College, Career and Military Readiness (CCMR). The CCMR initiatives, counseling and strategies that we are implementing will make significant improvements to the high school experience.

In what areas would you like to expand curriculum? For example, do you see a need for advanced technical training or apprenticeships? What sort of innovative programming would you advance if given the opportunity?

I believe we need to expand more hands-on, project-based learning. That is why we have expanded our magnet program and Career and Technical Education courses. We hear from industry partners that students need the training along with the knowledge. We can't just rely on classroom learning alone. If given the opportunity, I would like to see more work based experiences for students. Some employers hesitate in offering job opportunities to high school students, but I have found that many of them are very capable.

What strategies or plans would you advance to ensure the schools are properly funded?

I believe it is important to directly engage with state and federal lawmakers who are making decisions about school finance. I have made numerous trips to Austin and Washington, D.C. to share our needs and advocate for funding. Our current focus is to sustain the financial gains made through House Bill 3 in the 86th Texas Legislature. I will be involved with our state delegation to keep focus on that important policy.

What role do you imagine technology playing in (and outside) the classroom in the future? How would you prepare the district for this?

The pandemic has shed a light on the role of technology in education. We have learned valuable lessons about connectivity and digital inclusion. We have also learned that some students thrive in virtual learning and some need the in-person learning environment.

I think technology and virtual learning is here to stay, even after a pandemic recovery. It has become another layer of choice in public education. We need to harness its capabilities to better serve diverse learners.

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

2020 Elections

What's on the ballot? U.S. President U.S. Congress U.S. Congress special elections State executives State legislatures State courts Ballot measures Municipal government School boards Election analysis hub

Government

Who represents me? U.S. Congress State executives State legislators State courts Ballot measures Municipal government School boards

Newsletters

Coronavirus Weekly Updates Documenting America's Path to Recovery The Heart of the Primaries The Daily Brew The Weekly Brew The Ballot Bulletin Checks and Balances Economy and Society Hall Pass Number of the Day Robe & Gavel Union Station

External links

Search Google News for this topic