Ben Prado

Ben Prado

Contact

Personal website

Ben Prado was a candidate for Place 3 representative on the Richardson Independent School District school board in Texas. Prado was defeated in the by-district general election on May 6, 2017.

Elections

2017

See also: Richardson Independent School District elections (2017)

Three of the seven seats on the Richardson Independent School District board of trustees in Texas were up for general election on May 6, 2017. The Place 6 and 7 seats were up for election to regular three-year terms, but the Place 3 seat was up for election to a two-year term due to the announced resignation of incumbent Kris Oliver. The race for the open Place 3 seat included candidates Joseph Armstrong, Karen Clardy, Eric Eager, and Ben Prado. Clardy won election to the seat. In his bid for re-election to Place 6, incumbent Justin Bono ran unopposed and won another term. Place 7 incumbent Kristin Kuhne defeated challenger Lynn Davenport.

Results

Richardson Independent School District, Place 3 General Election, 2-year term, 2017
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Karen Clardy	54.95%	5,748
Eric Eager	22.55%	2,359
Joseph Armstrong	12.41%	1,298
Ben Prado	10.09%	1,055
Total Votes		10,460
Source: Dallas County Elections, "2017 Joint Election," accessed September 20, 2017

Funding

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

Prado reported $3,237.89 in contributions and $2,166.15 in expenditures to the Richardson Independent School District, which left his campaign with $1,071.74 on hand as of April 28, 2017.

Campaign themes

2017

Candidate website

Prado highlighted the following issues on his campaign website:

“	EQUITY We know that a student’s success goes well beyond what happens in their classroom. Too many students do not have English Second Language teachers. Too many students do not have a reliable source of food at home. Too many of our students do not have opportunities to participate in afterschool or summer learning programs. As students grow older, these effects compound: more students dropout, more students are unprepared to participate in the economy, more students do not make it too college. By investing in programs that work—like early care and education and out-of-school time—we can make RISD a place where even more succeed and prosper. As a dual language speaker myself, I know how important it is for a school to be a place where everyone feels comfortable and everyone is in a position to learn. HOLISTIC EDUCATION Because of state budget cuts, RISD has increasingly cut back on programs—art, music, digital media, student-driven research—that are at the core of preparing students for their futures. These programs encourage students to develop holistically and inspire their future careers—ever more critical in our nation’s creative economy. They are just as important as core classes like English and mathematics. I will work to return these programs into our classroom, working with schools, nonprofits, and other community organizations to deliver them at high quality and at low cost. COLLEGE Too many of our students, including many of my former classmates, did not walk during graduation; even more did not make it to a post-secondary institution. We need to do more, earlier on, to help students think about their pathways after high school. Every student in RISD should have an individual learning plan that they develop in middle school and then work with guidance counselors to adapt as they progress through each grade. We should partner with local technical schools, college and universities to expose all of our students to different education options. CAREER Our local economy and our nation’s economy require more degreed and higher skilled graduates and RISD simply isn’t delivering. We need to work more collaboratively with the private sector to understand what DFW’s workforce needs are and adapt our curricula and programs accordingly. We need to invest more in apprenticeship and internship programs for high school students, and we need to work cross-sectorally to expose students to careers.	”
—Ben Prado (2017)

The Dallas Morning News survey

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

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

“	I want to make an impact with my life and with my time here in Richardson. I want to take a school system which has proven its worth time and time again and make it even greater. I want other districts to look to us and ask us why and how we are doing so well for our students, our teachers, and our community. I want to use my recent experiences as a product of RISD public schools to talk about what worked, what didn’t work, and what could have been done better. In complement to my experiences as a recent student, I want to bring more evidence-based programs to RISD and work across sectors to provide better outcomes for our students. Over the last few years, I have seen RISD’s needs change, but I have not always seen the board adapt to change effectively. The district has new challenges and opportunities ahead of it. I believe a new type of leadership can not only protect our past successes but also take us to a brighter and stronger future.	”
—Ben Prado (2017)

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

“	1. Careers: our local economy and our nation’s economy require more degreed and higher skilled graduates and RISD simply isn’t delivering. We need to work more collaboratively with the private sector to understand what DFW’s workforce needs are and adapt our curricula and programs accordingly. We need to invest more in apprenticeship and internship programs for high school students, and we need to work cross-sectorally to expose students to careers. 2. Holistic Education: due to state budget cuts, RISD has increasingly cut back on programs—art, music, digital media, student-driven research—that are at the core of preparing students for their futures. These programs encourage students to develop holistically and inspire their future careers—ever more critical in our nation’s creative economy. They are just as important as core classes like English and mathematics. I will work to return these programs into our classroom, working with schools, nonprofits, and other community organizations to deliver them at high quality and at low cost.	”
—Ben Prado (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, in Florida and here for RISD. Board members in Richardson have a unique setting: most votes are unanimous votes. Even though this is an "at-large" district, I have learned that the Board operates as if the decisions made will be equally applied, be equally effective, and achieve the same results throughout the district. This is not always the case. I think Board members need to realize how much influence their votes have and make decisions for the district as a whole and also for the differing communities within the district.	”
—Ben Prado (2017)

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

“	RISD has many bright spots to look to for inspiration on how we can continue to grow a great district. First, there are significant data innovations occurring in places like DISD and Palm Beach County where teachers and systems have access to student-level data. By knowing an individual's student performance and the types of services he or she is receiving--whether that is after-school time or free and reduced lunch--we can get better at knowing the needs of each individual student and creating a more responsive and efficient system to respond to those needs. I would be in favor of RISD piloting student-level data systems at select schools. Second, there is an increasing recognition throughout the country, from the nation's largest district in NYC to smaller districts in Virginia, that a school is a real anchor institution for many communities. It is where people gather every day. We should do our best to look at a school more holistically. It can be a place for wraparound services, where healthcare and social service providers sit. It can be a place for community gatherings. It can be a place where parents gather and learn about how they can plan for their children's future. These are all things that RISD can very easily do.	”
—Ben Prado (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 am not favor of a tax increase. I do not think more dollars will lead to better results. We spend the most per student of any developed nation, and we are very middle of the road in terms of results. Instead, I am for a more cost-effective use of resources--from instituting better data systems to integrating wraparound services in schools to building cross-sector collaborations--that will open up more dollars for us to use towards direct student services, including for low-income students.	”
—Ben Prado (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?

“	Shifting costs to parents works, in theory. But we often do not ask why parents do not take on additional activities in the first place. Many of our parents do not have the time or resources to support their students with things like out-of-school time. We should instead ask: How can schools partner with parents to support them where there are gaps? How can schools leverage not only parents but also community resources to save money or shift costs?	”
—Ben Prado (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 in favor of accountability standards. They allow us to measure, learn, adjust, and improve. But, we should always be careful about standards that come from above and work with the state to ensure that standards are designed and applied in a way that makes sense for our district.	”
—Ben Prado (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?

“	We know that a student’s success goes well beyond what happens in their classroom. Too many students do not have English Second Language teachers. Too many students do not have a reliable source of food at home. Too many of our students do not have opportunities to participate in afterschool or summer learning programs. As students grow older, these effects compound: more students dropout, more students are unprepared to participate in the economy, more students do not make it too college. By investing in programs that work—like early care and education and out-of-school time—we can make RISD a place where even more succeed and prosper. As a dual language speaker myself, I know how important it is for a school to be a place where everyone feels comfortable and everyone is in a position to learn. Too many of our students, including many of my former classmates, did not walk during graduation; even more did not make it to a post-secondary institution. We need to do more, earlier on, to help students think about their pathways after high school. Every student in RISD should have an individual learning plan that they develop in middle school and then work with guidance counselors to adapt as they progress through each grade. We should partner with local technical schools, college and universities to expose all of our students to different education options.	”
—Ben Prado (2017)

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

“	RISD, at every stage of the education pipeline, is outpacing state standards and at least at pace with Region 10. I am more concerned about the few schools in our district that are not meeting standards. We need to turnaround those schools.	”
—Ben Prado (2017)

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

“	We need to shift our focus on staff retention. Why is turn around rate for teachers nearly 20% every year? It's not just a matter of salaries. Raises can be given, but we need to give our teachers the freedom to do what they got into and what they dedicate their lives to. Our support staff members (assistants, computer lab technicians, office aides) need to be given raises - they need to earn living wages. Districts across the country (Dallas ISD, Palm Beach County) have shown that support staff play a huge role in the success of our students and schools. We need to figure out why our teachers are leaving and then reverse that trend. We need to find ways to support the growing population and make sure our leadership has a clear and decisive response and not only band-aid temporary fixes.	”
—Ben Prado (2017)

How would you assess your superintendent’s performance?

“	Dr. Stone is doing an excellent job - or at least, as good as she can in the given environment, but she would benefit from a board that is more willing to innovate and partner with her.	”
—Ben Prado (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 would not fundamentally alter classroom structure to expand pre-K. However, I would be in favor, budget permitting, of offering pre-K to more of our students. If we look at the evidence, like the pioneering work done by Nobel Laureate James Heckman, we know that ECE has the greater ROI of any investment we can make.	”
—Ben Prado (2017)

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

“	The next three years present incredible opportunities and challenges for RISD. RISD finds itself at a crossroads. The district faces challenges—from demographic change to state budget cuts—that it has not faced in the past. Old approaches will no longer work. What we need now, more than ever, is transformative, evidence-based, and fresh leadership to take RISD into an ever stronger, more successful future.	”
—Ben Prado (2017)

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

“	We need to get parents engaged in our schools through different channels--online, in-person, and in the community. This will help bolster our schools and the success of our students.	”
—Ben Prado (2017)

What was at stake?

2017

Election trends

See also: School boards in session: 2015 in brief

The 2017 Richardson Independent board of trustees election was guaranteed to add one new member to the board due to an open seat. Incumbents won re-election to the other two seats on the ballot.

New members were elected to the board in 2014 and 2015, but none were elected in 2016. That year, two of the three incumbents won re-election unopposed, and the third defeated a challenger to win another term on the board. The new members elected to the board in 2014 and 2015 won open seats. No incumbents were unseated in their bids for re-election in 2014, 2015, 2016, or 2017.

School board election trends
Year	Candidates per seat	Unopposed seats	Incumbents running for re-election	Incumbent success rate	Seats won by newcomers
Richardson Independent School District
2017	2.33	33.33%	66.67%	100.00%	33.33%
2016	1.33	66.67%	100.00%	100.00%	0.00%
2015	1.00	100.00%	33.33%	100.00%	66.67%
2014	2.50	0.00%	0.00%	N/A	100.00%
Texas
2015	1.69	48.62%	77.98%	83.53%	34.40%
2014	1.86	37.61%	75.22%	81.76%	38.05%
United States
2015	1.72	35.95%	70.37%	82.66%	40.81%
2014	1.89	32.57%	75.51%	81.31%	38.24%

See also

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

External links

Suggest a link

• Richardson Independent School District
• Campaign website
• Campaign Facebook page