TPR interviewed all 12 NEISD school board candidates and attended forums for the candidates hosted by the North East ISD Council of PTAs. Visit the NEISD website to input your address and find your single member district. To read about all 12 candidates, return to the main voter guide. Scroll down to the bottom of this story for links to guides on the other four races.
Interviews have been condensed for brevity and relevance.
Single Member District 6 – Reagan High School cluster
Two candidates are vying to represent the Reagan High School cluster in the Stone Oak area. Steve Hilliard was first elected to the seat in 2020. He is one of only two incumbents on the ballot and is the only conservative incumbent.
Steve Hilliard
Age: “Dad of school-aged children”
Occupation: pilot; retired Air Force officer
Political affiliations: Parents United for Freedom PAC
Reason for running: “I've always told people it's easy to complain and hard to fix and actually putting words into action.
“If you look at the history of the board, before I got on there, there was 700 unanimous votes. Whatever the administration wanted, the trustees just said 'yes,' every time. And that was a little concerning to me.”
“There was very little deliberation, very few questions asked. And they're supposed to be independent oversight of the district staff and the superintendent.”
Priorities if elected:
“The number one focus has to always be on the kids and improving that high academic standard in their student performance. So, we need to maximize all of their potentials. So, we have to be kind of laser focused on that.
“Making sure that that parent/teacher relationship is really fostered in a very positive role. There's been a disconnect, and it's very hard, especially after elementary school [for parents to connect with teachers].
“Little by little, without parent permission, the relationship has changed. You know, setting up emails, directly, communicating with our kids. It needs to be parent/teacher. Now it's teacher/child.”
Hilliard also said he wants to eliminate a common board policy: notifying the superintendent of campus visits in order to avoid trustee micromanagement.
“As a trustee, I can't even get on the campus without first clearing it with my subordinate, the superintendent,” Hilliard said. “It's like once you become a trustee, you're actually more isolated, not connected. And to me, that is just backwards. Our job is to know what's going on and have that independent, informed oversight, but establishment doesn't want it that way.”
What do you think of NEISD’s new sex ed curriculum?
“I think it's important for you to understand a little bit of the background about the SHAC, or the School Health Advisory Council. Previously, it was closed.
“I worked very hard, and it took over a year to get it, but we got it opened up.
“It gives every parent the right to choose if they want their child to have it. I think that's great. And so yes, I did vote to support it because I think the process was well done, and everybody was behind doing that.”
What are your priorities for sex ed?
“Compliance with the law.” (Before he was a trustee, Hilliard filed a grievance with the district because he felt the sex ed curriculum didn’t meet the requirement that it be abstinence focused and that it encourage students to wait until marriage to have sex.)
Many of the books NEISD pulled from school libraries in 2022 had LGBTQ characters or themes. Do you think LGBTQ books should have greater scrutiny?
“I'm unaware of the specific ones. I was assured that no books were banned. That they reviewed them for appropriateness.
“Any parent that wants to, there's a whole library review committee.
“And this falls under the superintendent's staff and the day-to-day stuff.”
You voted against allowing chaplains to serve as counselors in NEISD schools. Would you approve them in the future?
“I was looking at the bill, the way in which it was written and looking at the long-term implications of it.
“It's shown where chaplains go in, there is [a reduction of] issues as far as behavioral problems and other stuff. But I had to look at the totality of it and consider what was best. In my opinion, not changing our current volunteer program was important to do that, and [to] make sure that we're being focused on the things that we have to do.
“I will look at things as they come up, because there's a lot of 'what ifs' and all that stuff. I don't like hypotheticals.”
Are you in favor of school vouchers? Would you advocate against them if elected? (Question and answer primarily from PTA forum)
Hilliard said he supported the position of the board but did not share his individual opinion on vouchers.
“As a trustee, I support the position of the board. For the last decade, North East ISD has opposed vouchers. So, I don't really understand the relevance of the question, and I'll tell you why. We do not make that decision. That is a legislative decision,” Hilliard said during the forum.
Last spring, Hilliard abstained during a vote on a resolution against vouchers. Hilliard told TPR he felt the resolution was political.
“I knew it was political because eight months ago [during the regular legislative priority discussion], the long-serving trustee said it wasn't needed. And now we're suddenly doing it in the middle of the [legislative] session. I abstained from the vote because, as I said then, I represent the [Single Member District] 6 community. I don't work for TASB.”
NEISD, like many Texas school districts, is facing a budget deficit this year due to rising costs, the end of federal COVID relief, and flat state funding. What parts of the budget would you prioritize as a trustee?
“We have to have a holistic approach. We need to look at everything that we're spending money on, looking at the return on investment and making sure that it's a priority that is tied back to the academics and taking care of our staff as well. So there's not a specific thing to answer your question. We have to make some priorities [on] decisions that are coming up to make sure we're being good stewards of the taxpayer money.”
Terri Chidgey
Age: 68
Occupation: retired NEISD principal / central office administrator
Political affiliations: Bexar County Champions for Public Education
Reason for running: “I am passionate about public school, and I have a great loyalty and just commitment to North East Independent School District. I feel that North East has been a destination district, and our boards have always been people to be proud of and that work together.
“The last eight years of my career [at NEISD], I was required to sit in every board meeting, and they did not always agree, but they disagreed respectfully, and I just am not seeing that now.”
Priorities if elected: “My opponent and I have a lot of commonalities, but this business of 'We've got to let parents back in the classroom,’ [and] ‘The parents are the first educators of their children’ implies that anybody disagrees with that.”
“I completely agree with that but I also trust the experts. I also want to validate teachers and honor teachers and listen to what teachers have to say and put teachers and parents in the same room to make quality decisions on behalf of children.”
“I want to just be there for the kids. I mean, this is about children. Children first. That's who I hope to represent.”
Would you have voted for NEISD’s new sex ed curriculum? What are your priorities for sex ed?
“To provide our students with as much information as possible. They are navigating a very difficult world out there.”
“The idea that abstinence is the first line of education — I believe in that. Absolutely believe in that. But I also believe that if you look at the data, that's not happening.”
“Parents are allowed to opt in. So, if parents don't want them to learn about that — yeah, that that's their right, and I want to honor that.”
Many of the books NEISD pulled from school libraries in 2022 had LGBTQ characters or themes. Do you think LGBTQ books should have greater scrutiny?
“Parents can opt out. I said opt in for sex ed. Opt out for these folks.
“I've been knocking on a lot of doors, talking to a lot of parents. There are a lot of parents that are angry about that. They want their children to have access — not to anything that is so graphic, but some of the books there’s just an LGBTQ character.
“Some just don't want to include that population in the world right now, and they're there and they're in our schools. And I don't want them shamed. But I want families to be protected that don't want those books for their children.”
Would you have voted to allow chaplains to serve as counselors in NEISD schools?
“Absolutely not. In my schools, counselors are some of the most revered. They're part of the leadership team. They're part of the very fabric of the school. The kids trust them. They've had incredible training. They've had to teach first and then have a master's degree in counseling.
“Our country was founded on religious freedom and founded on the ability to select your religion.”
Are you in favor of school vouchers? Would you advocate against them if elected? (Question and answer primarily from PTA forum)
“I certainly do agree that it is a legislative decision and not a board decision. However, if asked, I will always say I do not support vouchers.
“I believe that public moneys belong in public schools. I also believe that when you compare our public school accountability system to the private school accountability system and even home schools, there is not the same accountability system. There's nobody doing oversight for home-schooled students. The private schools are not required to take the stringent STAAR test that our students are given. And so, they would be taking funds from our public schools. And I just believe in public school — I believe [it] is the great equalizer.
“I will advocate for this, and I have advocated for this at the statehouse. I've done that many times, stating my opinion, going with other teachers. Public educators do not support it. They know how valuable public education is. And we have to preserve it for our students, for all students, not just for some individual students that wants a particular, private school. We give choice in our district.”
NEISD, like many Texas school districts, is facing a budget deficit this year due to rising costs, the end of federal COVID relief, and flat state funding. What parts of the budget would you prioritize as a trustee?
“The finance department has been working on this diligently since we knew we had this deficit. And so, before I would answer something like that, I would want to know what they are proposing.
“Eighty-six percent of the budget is staffing. So, what can we do through attrition? Can we combine some programs?”
“I feel confident we're going to have to cut somewhere, but the mission of North East has been to meet the needs of all students and give students choice. And so, my eyes will definitely be looking on that to ensure that we continue with that mission.”
- Single Member District 1 — Churchill High School cluster
- Single Member District 2 — Roosevelt High School cluster
- Single Member District 4 — MacArthur High School cluster
- Single Member District 5 — Johnson High School cluster
