Spouse’s name:   Kathleen Moore Covey

Child(ren) name(s) and age(s):   David & Christiana Covey (27) (29),  Michael (24), James (21)

Describe your occupation and company:

I am Vice President Domestic Sales @ American Alloy Steel LLC.   American Alloy Steel is a distributor of Pressure Vessel Plate and Shapes for over 34 years.   We service the entire continental US, Canada, Mexico, Central and South America, and in 36 countries worldwide.

Subdivision:   Barwood/Tower Oaks Meadows

Years lived within district:   27 years

Why did you choose to live in CFISD?

The proximity to work and the educational benefits for my wife, as a teacher and our children.

Community organizations in which you participate:  

• Past President of Texas State Alumni Association
• Past President of Lambda Chi Alpha Alumni Association
• Promise Keepers
• Church choir
• Education

Describe your involvement in CFISD (i.e. PTO, district-level committees):  

• Reader for elementary school classes
• Mentor and volunteer at Arnold Middle School
• President of Cy-Fair High School All Sports Booster Club
• Organizer and First President of Cy-Fair High School Choir Booster Club
• Served on Project Prom and Project graduation
• Served on district’s School Finance Committees
• Served on district’s 2001 & 2004 Bond Steering Committee (serving as Co-Chairman of Education and Information Committee).

Why did you elect to run for a trustee position?

After serving on a number of committees, I felt that I would like to serve more actively.   I look forward to learning more about the inner-workings of this wonderful organization, and hopefully continue to improve our already award winning program.

Considering your skills and talents, what positive contribution would you make as a member of the Board of Trustees?

I have an advantage of being able to serve with a perspective that encompasses a degree in education, over 30 years in a successful family owned business, being the husband of a 20 year teacher in the district, and father of three CFISD graduates, who have completed their own degrees.   I have been able to work inside the school structures from elementary through high school as a volunteer.   I feel that I can represent all of these angles and can help in maintaining our mission as a school district

In your opinion, what are the responsibilities of the Board of Trustees?

It should be the responsibility of a Trustee to help the district provide the environment and educational opportunities for all students to be productive people in the workplace and society.   A Trustee should be able to represent a large cross-section of our community and communicate their needs, fears, and desires in a non-partial atmosphere.

If elected, what improvements do you believe are necessary in the district, and how would the Board bring about this change?

Provide a safe learning environment for our students as they concentrate on their academic growth without the pressure of fear.   In this ever-changing world, we must continue to improve our schools with up-to-date safety measures.

Provide incentive programs to the “average” students.   There are programs offered to our GT and Special Needs students, while the middle-ground students may be missing out on advantages that could make a difference in their advancement.   There is a contingent of students who are not included in either of the two groups mentioned, but who have needs that should be addressed and supplement their educational opportunities.   These students may have missed either program by only a few points.   These seem to be the “lost” children who would benefit from such incentives.

In your opinion, what critical challenges face the district, and what is necessary to address those issues?

Obviously the biggest challenge will be school finance and how it is regulated by the State of Texas.   We are fortunate to live in an area that is growing and financially stable.   However, we are not isolated from the problems that face some of our neighboring districts, who are not as financially independent.   I think that we must stay informed, and enlightened as to the state government’s position.   We must continually strive to find ways to reduce our costs, which are being done, but there always seems to be other ways to do that, without hurting our programs.   I think that we can expand on the “partners-in-business” idea, especially considering all the businesses that are in our district, and the continuing growth we are so fortunate to be experiencing.

It is also imperative for our school district to offer the opportunity for our students to develop well-rounded educational experiences that include not only excellent academics, but also the fine arts, and athletics.   It takes all three to give us that “Portrait of a Cypress-Fairbanks graduate”.   I would hope that we, as a district, would continue to support and encourage our students to be active in the arts and athletics.

What challenges face the public education system of Texas?

School finance is of course the biggest challenge.   I do not have a solution, but I do not believe in the “Robin Hood” procedure that we have seen over the past few years.   There must be a better way to protect the smaller districts, without taking monies from the more financially secure districts.   This is a subject that I am looking forward to learning about in depth.   This is also a subject that should be open to discussion at every level, and new ideas encouraged and shared, with hopes of finding a solution that would benefit our public education system in Texas.

It is also imperative to attract top-notch teachers to our school systems, and especially to our more “at-risk” schools.   Attracting and retaining teachers of high caliber should be one of our most focused goals for education.   This is a subject that seems to be great for “coffee-talk”, but we must develop strategies that will encourage our excellent teachers to stay in the classroom.   In addition, we must be able to offer incentives to our teachers who continue their education past the bachelor level and in involvement with continued education.   There can be no better life-goal than to develop young minds, through our teachers, for all of our futures.

Other comments:  

We have been fortunate, in this district, to have administration, teachers, and staff that realize the importance of a well-rounded education.   Implementing the latest techniques and tools in our teaching areas sets our district apart from many others.   However, it is even more important to acknowledge that we still can do better, teach better, communicate better, implement different activities, support each other better and strive to make each student individually successful.   We must listen, especially to those who are on the front line and working with students on a daily basis.   We must listen to parents, who may not know how to handle situations with which they are unfamiliar.   We must learn to avoid being judgmental, but remain supportive and available.   Being proud of our district’s educational opportunities should not foster acceptance that there is nothing better.   Sitting still is actually loosing ground.   I look forward to supporting our district in its endeavor to continued improvement.