BRENHAM SCHOOL BOARD CANDIDATES FACE OFF AT FORUM

Josh Blaschke April 15, 2021

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Facemasks in schools, curriculum, and diversity in leadership positions were some of the questions candidates for the Brenham School Board faced Wednesday night at KWHI’s Candidates Forum.

The five candidates in the contested school board races all met at Brenham National Bank to answer questions submitted to KWHI by members of the public, who were not in attendance due to COVID-19.

Candidates were first asked about their stance on facemask requirements for students and staff, and whether they thought Brenham ISD should make them optional. Melvin Ehlert, running as the incumbent for Position 7 on the board, said he did not feel it would be appropriate to change policy that has been effective before the end of the school year, and gave an analogy to explain why.

Christine Giese, challenging Ehlert for Position 7 on the board, said a greater emphasis should be placed on getting back to the basics and teaching students love of the United States.

Jared Krenek, also running for Position 7, was asked why he sent his children to private school and whether they would attend public school if he is elected to the board. He explained that faith is very important to him and his family, but he will have a child in the public school system next year.

Tommie Sullivan, incumbent for Position 5, said the district needs more racial diversity in teaching and administrative roles, and that the school district is working hard to reach this goal, but Brenham’s proximity to Houston makes it difficult.

Challenging Sullivan for Position 5 is Michelle Walbeck, who said the district should aggressively focus on teaching the fundamentals like language arts, reading and math to catch students up from the COVID-19 pandemic.