Sharon DeBerry

Sharon DeBerry

Sharon DeBerry was a candidate for District 2 representative on the Irving Independent School District school board in Texas. DeBerry was defeated in the by-district general election on May 6, 2017.

Elections

2017

See also: Irving Independent School District elections (2017)

Two of the seven seats on the Irving Independent School District board of trustees were up for general election on May 6, 2017. In his bid for re-election to the District 1 seat, incumbent Steven Jones ran unopposed and won another term. District 2 incumbent Nell Anne Hunt defeated challenger Sharon DeBerry.

Results

Irving Independent School District, District 2 General Election, 3-year term, 2017
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Nell Anne Hunt Incumbent	66.67%	1,280
Sharon DeBerry	33.33%	640
Total Votes		1,920
Source: Dallas County Elections, "2017 Joint Election," accessed September 20, 2017

Funding

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

DeBerry reported $6,179.00 in contributions and $5,285.48 in expenditures to the Irving Independent School District, which left her campaign with $893.52 on hand as of April 28, 2017.

Campaign themes

2017

Candidate website

DeBerry submitted the following Q&A to Ballotpedia.

“	Why are you running for this office? I have desired to earn the position of IISD Trustee for several years, but have been hindered by the mandated redistricting of five single member districts, and two at-large districts, and then further carving the eloctrate into seven single member districts. The demographics of the district have changed dramatically since 1988, when I first began to work in Irving. The district needs an attitudinal cultural paradigm shift. This comes from the perspective of one who is “all in” when it comes to being inclusive and respectful of everyone because every student and every faculty and staff member has value added relative to his or her uniqueness. In Irving ISD, around the country and even across the world, we have reaped the benefits of educational excellence as promoted within different cultures. As trustee, I would hope to harness that positive energy towards excellence, and demonstrate kindness and empathy. Then, and only then, will be ready to elevate to a higher level of cohesiveness in this community of Irving that I so dearly love. Why should voters choose you over your opponent? I have more than 25 years of experience in the education arena as well as many hands-on volunteer experiences in the trenches in a non-teaching capacity. Additionally, I bring a sense of energy and urgency to the playing field. My attitude towards life was best expressed by the paraphrased query of Hillel the Elder, a renowned Jewish religious leader, “If not me, who, If not now, when?” If elected, what two issues should be given the most attention and resources during your term in office? Fiduciary responsibility and accountability is key as well as fostering a climate of respect and cultural inclusiveness that truly channels from the top down. What resources are lacking in schools in your trustee district? Human resources in the form of mentors are in short supply throughout the district. Also, we could use more partnerships with the business community as well as improved relations with the police department.	”
—Sharon DeBerry (2017)

The Dallas Morning News survey

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

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

“	I value education as 'the great equalizer' and I want to have a positive on the lives of the children and youth in this city of Irving that I so dearly love.	”
—Sharon DeBerry (2017)

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

“	I would give much time and attention to mentoring and drug and alcohol related issues. I believe that the former can positively effect the latter as proven through research.	”
—Sharon DeBerry (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?

“	Yes, I have attended many school board meetings, with the most recent being Monday, March 27, 2017. The business portion of the meeting was rather contentious with the President of the Board being rather disrespectful towards my incumbent opponent. My opponent tried unsuccessfully to get a resolution passed regarding school as a designated safe zone. The same basic resolution has passed in other major Districts around the State but, I believe the philosophical thinking at the core of the board at have played a key part in the defeat of the resolution in my beloved city. The presenting board member's closing thoughts addressed malcontent with the choice made by her overriding peers. As I watched the dynamics unfold, my thought was to let the citizens be heard loud and clear. The Board President had pulled what seemed to be a power move in an attempt to shut down citizen voices as he first tried to keep the resolution off the agenda and then secondly, cut citizen comments from 3 to 2 minutes at his will. That presenting Trustee has a responsibility to attend town hall type meetings, get the item back on the agenda, and ask citizens to voice their opinions at the next board meeting.	”
—Sharon DeBerry (2017)

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

“	The use of technology is key to holding the attention of today's students. I would also suggest the use of volunteers to support classroom teachers. If you utilize personnel from the workforce, you are actually being quite financially responsible as well as adding real world views for the students.	”
—Sharon DeBerry (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?

“	I don't know that I would be willing to ask voters for any increase without first doing an internal audit to be sure that there is no waste. Irving ISD, is a low socio-economic status school where the majority of our students qualify for free and or reduced lunch by Federal standards. Therefore, we qualify for funding that supplements our District.	”
—Sharon DeBerry (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 would be more in favor of cutting costs than the consideration of shifting costs to parents and students. If Irving were comparable to a school district the likes of Highland Park or Katy ISD, we could consider shifting some costs to the families. But, because we are a low socio-economic status district as obvious from school lunch eligibility, family financial responsibility is not a feasible option.	”
—Sharon DeBerry (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 am not in favor of this system because it is too broad.	”
—Sharon DeBerry (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?

“	There seems to be a shift in student thinking that causes some of them not to be eager to pursue a college education. In my experience mentoring students, I have personally seen how some students have the misconception that they don't need post high school training. This thinking, seems to overtake all efforts by their campus teams to move them in a different direction. Thus, I feel we really need to expand our mentoring efforts, to include more real world experiences for our youth. I have had many students who have completed college and I dare say their lives have been greatly enhanced. An alternative to college are our Career and Technology Education (CTE) programs such as Cosmetology, Culinary and Hospitality programs just to name a few. These signature programs in are District are superb. They provide our students with skills that make them job-ready upon graduation. I believe we should continue to put major emphasis on these programs for students who may not choose college.	”
—Sharon DeBerry (2017)

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

“	All of our schools continue to hone their methods of preparing our students in the basic skills. We have a very competent school district.	”
—Sharon DeBerry (2017)

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

“	We have options within our District. For instance, a student may decide that he or she wants to attend the Jack E. Singley Academy. Their name would be submitted and drawn at random. Other choices allow students to transfer to another school. That option is available as dependent upon several variables.	”
—Sharon DeBerry (2017)

How would you assess your superintendent’s performance?

“	Our superintendent is doing what he can given the governance of the current board of trustees.	”
—Sharon DeBerry (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 extremely important in today's world. When children step into the door of their kindergarten classroom, they are expected to have certain skills already. as a former classroom teacher, I would not support increasing class-size ratios at any point.	”
—Sharon DeBerry (2017)

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

“	We need an upgrade with regard to the housing of some programs. We need to review space utilization and we may need to entertain a bond election if the necessary space cannot be found.	”
—Sharon DeBerry (2017)

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

“	This is an ongoing area of improvement. Electronic messages, the use of the school marquis, written correspondence and the Irving school t.v. channel are all used effectively. Our schools always need to be welcoming and we need to invite parents to participate via specific tasks. I have found through my years of volunteer service that, people do respond to specific requests. Not getting involved may sometimes be the result of people not knowing exactly what to do.	”
—Sharon DeBerry (2017)

See also

• Irving Independent School District, Texas
• Irving Independent School District elections (2017)

External links

Suggest a link

• Irving Independent School District