Q&A with Trustee Justin Chapa
January is聽, and this year鈥檚 theme is Forward, Together. The 色窝窝无码一区二区三区 has been moving forward together thanks in part to our board. We appreciate our school board members, so we鈥檙e catching up with them this month to find out about their lives and why they serve.
Next up is Sam Houston High school graduate Justin Chapa, who has been on the board since 2017 and now serves as the vice president.
You have so many deep ties to the district and family members who work for the district. Do you think you take the job personally because of that?
Yes. I grew up here, and I know the community really well. So I鈥檓 invested in that sense, and I also have three kids in the district. I know every decision the board makes not only affects people in my family who work in the district but also impacts my kids.
Is it tougher on you because of your roots and everyone knows you?
Everyone on the board has some unique sphere of influence that they鈥檙e personally involved in, given the district鈥檚 large footprint. You鈥檙e also going to have a personal connection with people who have kids or have some other personal interest in the district. You want to represent all those various interests at the same time and sometimes you can鈥檛. But you get better about it over time. And I think over time people learn there are certain things I can and can鈥檛 do as a board member.
What鈥檚 something you didn鈥檛 know before you got on the board that鈥檚 helped you now?
Understanding that it often takes years to see the fruits of the decisions we make as a board. You can put together a $966 million bond package, but it鈥檚 going to take five or six years to implement. It may take even more time depending on how things are going with the economy and individual projects. It鈥檚 not often that we can get up on the dais on Thursday night and make an immediate change that will happen the next day.
What are the things you鈥檙e most proud of from your time on the board?
Universal pre-K is definitely up there. That鈥檚 going to be a huge difference-maker for our community. It鈥檚 really something that didn鈥檛 exist before now. There are a few other things, like the 2019 Bond package, that really moved forward the construction part of the east Arlington Master Plan, which includes building a new Carter Junior High and Berry, Thornton, and Webb elementaries.
I鈥檓 really proud of that work, and it鈥檚 in the neighborhood I grew up in. There鈥檚 also changes coming to Arlington High as well. If I had to pick a third thing, I鈥檇 go with the VATRE that the community passed in 2020. That was a tough election. It was a presidential election year, and yet we were able to convince folks that we need to invest not just in our facilities but our people. As a school district, the only way you can do that is raise taxes through a VATRE. We did that, and now you see that the 色窝窝无码一区二区三区 is back in the top tier of DFW area school districts for educator pay.
If you could give advice to someone who wants to be on the school board what would it be?
It鈥檚 not as easy as it looks. Education and school finance is really complicated, and so take some time and learn about the issues impacting education. Learn about the community here in Arlington. We鈥檙e a city built of neighborhoods, and those neighborhoods can be very different and have different needs. Get a grasp of the basics of the job and the community before you jump in. If you don鈥檛 have a constituency, and you don鈥檛 know what you鈥檙e doing, you鈥檙e not going to be in a position to truly add value through your service.
This year鈥檚 theme is Forward, Together. What are you looking forward to most in the next year?
We鈥檙e still coming out of COVID, like the rest of the country, but there already are signs that we鈥檙e getting back on track. Some of our academic measurements look even better than we anticipated. I do think it鈥檚 going to take several years to pan out, though, and now there鈥檚 a new legislative session. So, in the next year, we鈥檙e going to need to deal with some of the consequences of law and policy changes made by the legislature, like we do every time the legislature meets.