New Territory resident Lisa Rickert will seek a second term on the FBISD board May 12 in order to continue working towards goals that will improve the quality of education for students in the district. “I have seen much progress in the past three years within Fort Bend ISD, but there is still much to be done,” said Rickert.
New Territory voters turned out in record numbers in 2003 to help elect Rickert, the first New Territory resident to hold a political office in Fort Bend. Rickert, who served as board president in 2006, has taken a strong stance on issues of fiscal and administrative efficiency, long range planning, and professional leadership. As an at-large representative and a newcomer to the board, she examined existing practices carefully and challenged them when necessary.
“Ms. Rickert began to shake things up for the better. Eventually, a majority of Board members (who also live outside the sacred First Colony/ Commonwealth cloister) have come around to the same viewpoint — FBISD has languished for too long in nostalgia about “the good old days” when Ft. Bend was a sleepy suburban district. Reality has long left that picture in the dust but the District is having to catch up with it. An exploding population is only part of the problem….It’s been a painful change in some respects and the fight to get some change going was not pretty. Those entrenched in the ‘old ways’ fought hard to keep change from coming….” wrote an anonymous blogger in a March 6 post on Fort Bend Now.
Rickert continues to challenge “status quo” thinking but is also pleased to note that the board has worked as a team on important projects such as rezoning and hiring new Superintendent Dr. Timothy Jenney. “Dr. Jenney is a tremendous asset bringing in personnel with higher level management skills and experience that will help increase the overall efficiency of the district on all levels,” she said. Rickert was also instrumental in improving the student-teacher ratio so that there are more teachers in the classroom and smaller average class sizes. She supported internal audits that revealed areas in which the district could improve efficiency of operations.
And perhaps most significantly, Rickert has and will continue to work towards implementing innovative policies and programs to improve academic achievement for all students in the district. “No learning takes place without good teachers. As a board member, I will help ensure we have policies in place that allow us to hire and recruit quality teachers and improve the retention rate of our experienced teachers. I will support programs to encourage our best teachers to seek administrative education, promote from within the organization, and improve employee morale,” she said.
Classroom safety and discipline is another issue that will soon receive the district’s attention as Dr. Jenney’s new Chief Academic Officer John Frossard heads up a commission to recommend new policies. Rickert said she will “look to ensure rules are enforced in a fair and consistent manner with consideration for “common sense”, not zero tolerance.
Rickert aims to continue working on ways to reduce overcrowding in the growing district. She supports ideas that will make efficient use of existing campuses and facilities, as well as the construction of new schools in high-growth areas.
Rickert will be at the NTRCA candidate forum on April 19. The forum is at 7:30 p.m. at the Club.
Rickert and her husband, Bill, have lived in New Territory for 15 years and have daughters attending Sartartia Middle School and Austin High School. She has previously served on the NTRCA board, the MUD 111 board, The Brazos Bend PTO, and has been a Girl Scout leader for nine years.
New Territory voters turned out in record numbers in 2003 to help elect Rickert, the first New Territory resident to hold a political office in Fort Bend. Rickert, who served as board president in 2006, has taken a strong stance on issues of fiscal and administrative efficiency, long range planning, and professional leadership. As an at-large representative and a newcomer to the board, she examined existing practices carefully and challenged them when necessary.
“Ms. Rickert began to shake things up for the better. Eventually, a majority of Board members (who also live outside the sacred First Colony/ Commonwealth cloister) have come around to the same viewpoint — FBISD has languished for too long in nostalgia about “the good old days” when Ft. Bend was a sleepy suburban district. Reality has long left that picture in the dust but the District is having to catch up with it. An exploding population is only part of the problem….It’s been a painful change in some respects and the fight to get some change going was not pretty. Those entrenched in the ‘old ways’ fought hard to keep change from coming….” wrote an anonymous blogger in a March 6 post on Fort Bend Now.
Rickert continues to challenge “status quo” thinking but is also pleased to note that the board has worked as a team on important projects such as rezoning and hiring new Superintendent Dr. Timothy Jenney. “Dr. Jenney is a tremendous asset bringing in personnel with higher level management skills and experience that will help increase the overall efficiency of the district on all levels,” she said. Rickert was also instrumental in improving the student-teacher ratio so that there are more teachers in the classroom and smaller average class sizes. She supported internal audits that revealed areas in which the district could improve efficiency of operations.
And perhaps most significantly, Rickert has and will continue to work towards implementing innovative policies and programs to improve academic achievement for all students in the district. “No learning takes place without good teachers. As a board member, I will help ensure we have policies in place that allow us to hire and recruit quality teachers and improve the retention rate of our experienced teachers. I will support programs to encourage our best teachers to seek administrative education, promote from within the organization, and improve employee morale,” she said.
Classroom safety and discipline is another issue that will soon receive the district’s attention as Dr. Jenney’s new Chief Academic Officer John Frossard heads up a commission to recommend new policies. Rickert said she will “look to ensure rules are enforced in a fair and consistent manner with consideration for “common sense”, not zero tolerance.
Rickert aims to continue working on ways to reduce overcrowding in the growing district. She supports ideas that will make efficient use of existing campuses and facilities, as well as the construction of new schools in high-growth areas.
Rickert will be at the NTRCA candidate forum on April 19. The forum is at 7:30 p.m. at the Club.
Rickert and her husband, Bill, have lived in New Territory for 15 years and have daughters attending Sartartia Middle School and Austin High School. She has previously served on the NTRCA board, the MUD 111 board, The Brazos Bend PTO, and has been a Girl Scout leader for nine years.
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