Latricia Smith
Latricia Smith was a candidate for the Place 3 seat on the Allen Board of Trustees in Texas. She lost in the general election on May 9, 2015.
Smith participated in Ballotpedia's 2015 survey of school board candidates. To read her responses, check out her 2015 campaign themes.
Biography
Smith has her bachelor's and master's degrees in business administration from the University of Texas at Dallas. She is employed at Optum as a project manager. She is married with two children.[1]
Elections
2015
The general election on May 9, 2015, in the Allen Independent School District featured three seats up for election. In the Place 2 race, incumbent Carl Clemencich Jr. defeated challenger Ron Austin. Place 3 incumbent Jason Shepard did not file for re-election, and three challengers — Christine Caplinger, John Montgomery and Latricia Smith — filed to replace him. Montgomery was successful in that race. Place 1 incumbent Susan Olinger ran unopposed.
Results
| Allen Independent School District, Place 3 General Election, 3-year term, 2015 |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Nonpartisan |  John Montgomery |
44.8% | 812 | |
| Nonpartisan | Christine Caplinger | 28% | 507 | |
| Nonpartisan | Latricia Smith | 27.2% | 494 | |
| Total Votes | 1,813 | |||
| Source: Collins County, Texas, "Election Summary Report," accessed June 15, 2015 | ||||
Endorsements
Smith did not receive any official endorsements for this election.
Campaign themes
2015
Ballotpedia survey responses
Smith participated in Ballotpedia's 2015 survey of school board candidates. The following sections display her responses to the survey questions. When asked what her top priority would be if elected, the candidate made the following statement:
| “ | The first issue I would give attention to is the programs that AISD offers because career pathways should be aligned with the needs of the job markets and students. Career trends must be researched, evaluated and updated when necessary. Next would be the equality of resources for all students. This must be balanced with fiscal responsibility and teaching tools available to all students. We must realistically assess the desirability and cost for new technology along with other such considerations while anticipating future growth in the district.[2] | ” |
| —Latricia Smith (2015)[3] | ||
Ranking the issues
The candidate was asked to rank the following issues by importance in the school district, with 1 being the most important and 7 being the least important. This table displays this candidate's rankings from most to least important:
| Education policy |
|---|
 |
Click here to learn more about education policy in Texas. |
| Education on the ballot |
| Issue importance ranking | |
|---|---|
| Candidate's ranking | Issue |
| Expanding career-technical education | |
| Closing the achievement gap | |
| Balancing or maintaining the district's budget | |
| Improving college readiness | |
| Improving education for special needs students | |
| Expanding arts education | |
| Expanding school choice options | |
Positions on the issues
The candidate was asked to answer 10 questions from Ballotpedia regarding significant issues in education and the school district. The questions are in the left column and the candidate's responses are in the right column of the following table:
| Question | Response |
|---|---|
| "Modifications are required before they are implemented." | |
| "I am not opposed to charter schools in our district as long as high standards are met. It is imperative that we offer as many options as possible for students through public, magnet or charter schools. There are unique challenges involved in the development of good charter schools, including the integrity of the school itself. The focus should be on the needs of the students and families and on solid student achievements. Charter schools should follow the AISD mission: Allen ISD cultivates innovation in education that empowers every learner to realize his or her full potential." | |
| "I oppose school vouchers for private school students. Allen ISD strives to provide a variety of curriculum to meet students' needs. State wide, school choice already exists in Texas. Transfers from one public school to another or from public schools to magnet schools or to charter schools are already available. A major concern with vouchers for private school students is that they are not accountable to taxpayers, not required to teach the state’s curriculum or participate in the state’s assessment program." | |
| "Standardized test should be used as a measuring stick to assess schools and identify necessary improvements. AISD recognizes that teachers are in the best position to gauge a student’s knowledge and academic progress. Standardized testing should not undermine this longstanding principle of state law; it can diminish the creativity and freedom to contour the learning experience for the student. There certainly needs to be a standard protocol in which to measure districts without constraints limiting the teacher’s or school’s ability to reach all students." | |
| "The equality of resources for all students must be balanced with fiscal responsibility and teaching tools available to all students. We must realistically assess the desirability and cost for new technology along with other such considerations while anticipating future growth in the district. Some methods that could be used are mentoring programs, tutoring, matching low & high achievers together." | |
| "There are policy & procedures in place. There could be some situations that might need to be researched, but those should be the exception not the norm." | |
| "Trustee only have 2 duties: Oversight of Management and Governance. We can help look at the Big Picture during our terms and beyond. Setting a good vision with goals helps a community. Board Members can create an environment for Administration to do what needs to be done. The board could encourage the district to research to see what could be done to assist the school." | |
| "School performance should be a consideration but not the only one. The big picture must be looked at to determine the most effective way to evaluate compensation. The goal of the district is to retain, promote and award the best teachers. We want our students achieve their highest possible level of success. This level of student success does not necessarily relate to the statewide mandated school metrics that are reported. There are several other factors that need to be weighed to determine the success of the student. Linking school performance to pay drives the teacher or principle to achieve the best measured score and may drive the teacher to teach only to the test. This takes out the creativity and freedom to contour the learning experience to the student and shapes the learning experience per the standardized tests. In the end, the district is accountable for the school performance, and you want teachers and principals to have ownership in that accountability; however, at the same time, you don’t want constraints to limit the teacher’s or school’s ability to reach all students." | |
| "Mentor and additional training should be the first step. Probation and termination should only be exercised in extreme situations." | |
| "As Allen ISD Council of PTAs president, I have had the opportunity to work closely with many principals, teachers, PTA presidents and parents in Allen and surrounding communities. I’ve had the chance to visit all the AISD schools and have observed that they may look similar on the outside, but can be very different in how they function and flourish on the inside. I have learned to appreciate those differences. I believe we can leverage the experiences, knowledge and successes that come from those differences in ways that will bind us as a close community and improve our educational system.
|
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Latricia Smith Allen Independent School District. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
- Allen Independent School District, Texas
- Allen Independent School District elections (2014)
- Allen Independent School District elections (2015)
- Decreased success for school board incumbents in Texas; 1/3 defeated in largest districts (May 11, 2015)
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Latricia Smith for Allen ISD, "Biography," accessed April 30, 2015
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Ballotpedia School Board Candidate Survey, 2015, "Latricia Smith responses," May 1, 2015
| 2015 Allen Independent School District Elections | |
| Collin County, Texas | |
| Election date: | May 9, 2015 |
| Candidates: | Place 1: Incumbent, Susan Olinger
Place 2: Incumbent, Carl Clemencich Jr. • Ron Austin |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Key deadlines • Additional elections on the ballot |
