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Erin Norris Candidate Celina ISD Place 4

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Opponents: David Hogue, Jennifer Driver

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Please introduce yourself and describe your connection to the Celina ISD community.

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I am a wife, mom, and neighbor who grew up right here in Celina, graduated
from Celina High School, and I'm raising my family here. My family lives,
worships, and homeschools here. You will see us eating at local restaurants,
coaching at the ballfields, and cheering on our Bobcat teams. This community
shaped who I am, and I care deeply about what it becomes.

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What personal experiences in education or community service have prepared you for a role on the School Board?

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I homeschool my kids and currently direct a large homeschool co-op in the
area, which means I hire and train staff, manage curriculum, balance budgets,
organize large events, and work with families and leadership across multiple
cities. It is a real organization that takes real leadership. I also coach youth
sports through the Celina Parks Department and was honored to be named
their Parent of the Year last year. Beyond that, so much of my time is spent in
conversation with Celina ISD families, parents with kids at every grade level,
hearing firsthand what they love, what worries them, and what they want for
their children. I attend board meetings regularly and have made it my business
to understand how this district operates and where it falls short.

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On average, how many Celina School Board meetings have you attended in person this school year and have you ever addressed the board?

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I have attended the majority of scheduled board meetings this school year,
including special called meetings, and on the occasions I could not be there in
person I watched the recorded version to stay current. I have addressed the
board directly, and earlier this school year I helped organize a community
effort where nearly one hundred people showed up and more than fifteen
spoke during public comment, including students. It made local news.

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What grade would you give the current status of the Celina ISD overall.

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B

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Vision For Celina ISD

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What is your long-term vision for Celina ISD, and how do you plan to balance the district’s rich heritage with the demands of rapid growth?

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My long term vision is a district that grows without losing what makes Celina
special, the relationships, the sense that your kids are known and not just a
number. Through surveys and conversations with families across this
community, I have heard real love for what Celina is and real hope for what it
can become. That feedback is shaping everything about how I am
approaching this race. Rapid growth brings real pressure, on facilities, on
teachers, on trust, and the decisions made in the next few years will define
what kind of community Celina becomes for a long time. My job as one trustee
among seven is to make sure families have a genuine voice in how we grow,
that the heritage worth protecting actually gets protected, and that we build
something every family who calls Celina home can be proud of. That is a vision
worth fighting for and I believe this community is more than capable of
getting there together.

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In what ways do you see the School Board evolving to meet future challenges?

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The best boards are not reactive, they are ahead of the curve, asking hard
questions before issues become crises and bringing families along before
decisions are made. As Celina grows, the board has an incredible opportunity
to set a new standard, one where parents feel like genuine partners, where
communication is proactive and clear, and where trust is built through
consistency and honesty over time. That kind of board does not just manage
challenges, it earns the confidence of a community that is watching closely
and deserves nothing less. Celina has everything it takes to get there and I
want to be part of building it.

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How will you work to maintain and enhance academic excellence across all Celina ISD schools?

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When I ask Celina families specifically about academics, the feedback I hear
most consistently is that they feel disconnected from their child's education.
Reading struggles going unaddressed at the elementary level, inconsistent
communication, and a sense that the district is not bringing families along are
examples that come up regularly. Part of my job as a trustee would be
understanding whether those are isolated concerns or something systemic
across the district.

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What I do know is that academic excellence does not happen without order,
and order has to start at the top. I became who I am because teachers
invested in me personally and academically, and I will never stop fighting for
the teachers in this district who do the same for our kids every day. But lately
the conversation has shifted from academics to behavior, and that shift
matters. When staff conduct issues surface, when hiring processes miss clear
red flags, and when the response from leadership is to declare the job done,
that is not order, that is chaos.

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The district's own investigation confirmed systemic failures in hiring and
oversight. Those failures do not get fixed by the same culture that created
them. Real accountability means asking whether the right people are in the
right seats, not just announcing that a new hire will solve everything. Our good
teachers, and there are so many, deserve leadership that protects them by
holding everyone to the same standard. Our families deserve a board that
knows the difference between a problem being quiet and a problem being
solved. We are not there yet, and I am running because I believe we can be.

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Academic Excellence & Curriculum Development

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What strategies would you propose to ensure that the curriculum remains innovative and relevant for today’s students?

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Curriculum is one area where I want to be honest about what I know and what I
still need to learn. I am not on the board yet and I do not have full visibility into
what is already working or being planned. Recent academic improvements are
real and worth understanding more deeply before drawing conclusions.

What I do know is that Celina earned an 87 and a B rating from the state this
year. Prosper ISD, literally our neighbor, earned a 91 and an A. That gap is not
large, but this is a conversation worth having. If elected I would want to learn
from A rated districts in our backyard and bring those conversations back to
our board and our families.

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My job as a trustee is to ask the hard questions, hold leadership accountable
for the answers, and make sure teachers are empowered and parents are
informed. When families tell me their elementary kids are struggling with
reading, I want to know what the data shows and what the plan is. When
teachers have ideas about what is and is not working in their classrooms, I
want the board to hear them. When parents cannot get a clear picture of what
their child is learning, that is a board level conversation. A stronger GT
program, better early literacy outcomes, more visibility for families - those are
not my decisions to make alone. They are the right questions to keep asking
until the answers are good enough for every kid in this district.

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Teacher Support & Professional Development

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What steps will you take to support and retain quality educators within Celina ISD?

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Teacher retention starts with leadership and culture. As a trustee I can ask
whether our compensation is competitive with neighboring districts, whether
teachers feel supported and heard, and whether the culture we have built
makes people want to stay. When good teachers leave, that is a signal worth
paying attention to. I would push the board to ask why, listen to the answers
honestly, and hold leadership accountable for creating an environment where
talented people want to build a career. Teachers who feel valued, respected,
and trusted to do their jobs well do not leave. That is not just a compensation
formula. That is a culture question, and culture starts at the top.

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How do you plan to promote ongoing professional development to keep our teachers at the forefront of modern education?

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Professional development should be something teachers look forward to, not
something they simply endure. The difference between meaningful and
mandatory is the difference between a district that invests in its teachers and
one that checks boxes. As a trustee I would ask whether what we are offering
is actually making teachers better in the classroom and whether they feel
valued in the process. That is how you build a culture where great teachers
want to stay and grow.

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Fiscal Responsibility & Resource Allocation

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With enrollment projected to grow significantly, how would you ensure that the district’s budget is managed efficiently while meeting the needs of expanding facilities?

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Most Celina families could not tell you what is in our district budget and that is
not their fault. Public does not mean accessible and accessible does not mean
understood. As a trustee I would push for budget conversations that go
beyond a line item approval at a board meeting, regular plain language
updates that help families connect the dots between how we are spending
money and what their kids are experiencing in the classroom. When people
understand where the money goes, they become a meaningful part of the
conversation.

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What priorities should guide the allocation of funds between new construction, renovations, and educational programs?

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The community already weighed in on this, Celina voters passed a $2.3 billion
bond by a strong majority, and the priorities they set were clear: new schools,
safety upgrades, and technology. My job as a trustee is to make sure those
dollars are spent the way voters intended, that educational programs are
protected alongside construction, and that families can see exactly where the
money is going.

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Addressing Overcrowding & Infrastructure Needs

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Celina ISD is experiencing rapid enrollment growth. What measures would you support to prevent overcrowding in our schools?

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We can't prevent overcrowding; it's already here. According to the district's
own bond materials, every campus will exceed capacity within three years. We
witnessed it firsthand last year at Moore Middle School, with children sitting
on the floor at lunch due to a lack of seating. The bond voters passed gives us
a path forward, but someone has to make sure we stay on the path and ask
hard questions when we don't.

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How can we optimize existing facilities while planning for necessary future expansions?

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Optimizing what we have and planning smart for what's coming are both
board level conversations that require transparency and honest reporting.
Celina is not the first district to grow this fast. Prosper, Frisco, and Allen have
all been through this and have real lessons to share. Are we learning from
them or figuring it out on our own? As a trustee my job is to ask those
questions, make sure families know what's being planned, and ensure every
decision has students at the center.

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How will you ensure that parents, teachers, and community members have a meaningful voice in the decision-making process?

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This is exactly why I'm running. Before I was ever a candidate I was showing up
to board meetings and talking to families in this community. As a candidate
I've been conducting surveys and having real conversations with parents,
teachers, and community members, and what I'm hearing is shaping
everything, including how I'm answering these questions right now. People
want to be heard before decisions are made, not after. That's the standard I
hold myself to and will expect the same from the board.

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Community Engagement & Transparency

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What methods would you use to maintain transparency about district policies, budgets, and upcoming projects?

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Information has to be accessible and in plain language. Budget updates,
project timelines, and policy decisions should not require a law degree to
understand. Texas law allows closed sessions for specific reasons like
personnel, legal matters, and real estate, but a lot of what affects families
most should never be behind closed doors in the first place. When documents
are presented to the public they should actually be readable, not heavily
redacted.

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Technology & Innovation in the Classroom

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How can Celina ISD better integrate new technologies to enhance learning and operational efficiency?

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Technology should serve students and teachers, not create more work for
them. I'd want to understand what we already have, whether it's being used
well, and whether teachers feel equipped to use it before we talk about adding
anything new. Better technology in the hands of teachers and better
communication tools connecting families to the district would make an
immediate difference for everyone.

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What role do you see for technology in preparing students for a rapidly evolving, digital future?

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Every student leaving Celina ISD should be digitally literate and ready for 

what comes next. Technology in the classroom should connect to real skills,
not just screens for the sake of screens. The board's job is to make sure we're
asking whether what we're investing in is actually preparing kids for careers
and opportunities that don't exist yet, and that teachers have what they need
to make that happen.

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Student Safety & Wellbeing

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What initiatives do you believe are essential to creating a safe and inclusive learning environment?

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Every student deserves to feel safe and to learn in an environment where they
can actually thrive. That looks different for different kids. Students with
special needs deserve programs built for them, not just access to a general
classroom. Gifted students deserve to be challenged, not held back. Strong
discipline and clear behavioral expectations protect everyone, especially the
kids who are there to learn. Safety and order are not optional, they are the
foundation everything else is built on.

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How would you address issues related to student mental health and overall wellbeing within the district?

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Mental health challenges are real, and parents are telling me they are
watching kids develop anxiety and depression at rates we have never seen
before. Some of that starts with what we are putting in front of them. Celina
made a strong call going phone free on campuses and the data backs that up,
but taking phones away is only part of the answer. We need to educate kids on
real dangers and partner with parents to put safeguards in place at home too.
When a student is struggling, parents need to be the first call, not the last.
When that struggle becomes a safety concern for others, the district needs
clear policies to protect everyone involved. Every child needs to know they are
uniquely valued by this community and by God, and as we grow we cannot let
that get lost.

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Celina ISD has seen its share of trouble with the recent locker room events and impaired teachers. Why did these things happen and what do you intend to do to stop similar events from happening in the future.

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These are questions that deserve full and honest answers from the people
who were in the room. What I know is what most Celina families know, which is
not enough. Reports have been heavily redacted, decisions have come
without explanation, and parents have had to show up to board meetings just
to get basic information. What the investigation confirmed is that our children
were not protected the way they should have been. That is the bottom line.
The protection of our children has to come before everything else. That is not
a political position. That is the only acceptable standard. As a trustee my job is
to dismantle what is not working and build something better in its place.
Parents deserve trustees who fight to get the truth out, not keep it in the dark.
The truth always comes to light, and parents in Celina deserve the truth.

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Balancing Tradition with Change

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Celina ISD has a proud legacy—how will you honor this tradition while implementing necessary changes for modern education?

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I grew up here and graduated from Celina High School, so this is not abstract
for me. The legacy worth protecting is not a specific program or a way things
have always been done. It is the culture of this community, the relationships,
the belief that every kid matters and everybody knows your name. That does
not get preserved by standing still. It gets preserved by making sure every
decision we make, whether it is about curriculum, technology, facilities, or
hiring, is held up against the question of whether it is actually good for kids.
That is how you honor where you came from while building something worthy
of where you are going.

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What innovative ideas do you have that could enhance the learning experience while respecting the district’s history?

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Celina's legacy is something to be proud of, and the families who built it
deserve that recognition. But we are not the same town we were ten years
ago. Thousands of families are moving here with kids who have different gifts
and different interests, and our programs need to reflect that. One concern
parents raised in our survey is equity in girls' athletics, from funding to
facilities to opportunity. That conversation is worth having openly. Every kid
who moves to Celina should be able to find their place here. That is how you
honor a legacy while actually growing it.

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Collaboration & Leadership

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How do you plan to work collaboratively with fellow board members, administrators, and community stakeholders to achieve your goals?

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My approach has always been to show up prepared, listen more than I talk,
and work hard alongside whoever is in the room. If I raise a concern I bring a
solution with it, or I commit to finding one. I have spent this campaign doing
exactly that with parents, teachers, and community members across Celina,
and that does not change if I win. A board works when everyone at the table is
pulling in the same direction for kids. That is the only agenda I am bringing.

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What leadership qualities do you bring that will positively impact the district’s future?

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I do what is right and I speak what is true, even when it is uncomfortable and
even when people push back. I do not cave. I have grit and I have integrity, and
right now those two things matter more than any title or credential. A lot of
people care about what is happening in this district. I am someone who will
actually stand up and fight for it. I ask questions until I understand something
fully and I do not vote on things I do not understand. Celina does not need a
politician at this table. It needs someone who genuinely loves this community
and will not stop working until it gets what it deserves.

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What is the key message you want to convey to parents, educators, and community members regarding your candidacy?

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I have no personal agenda here. I am not running to protect anything except
the kids and families in this community. What pushed me to step up was
simple. I believe every child in Celina deserves the same thing I want for my
own kids, and I believe parents deserve a seat at the table through someone
who has nothing to offer except their voice, their fight, and their grit. Someone
who genuinely loves this community and will not stop working until it gets
what it deserves. No one will work harder for your kids than I will. I would be
honored to earn your trust and your vote.

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Closing Statement

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How do you envision your role on the School Board making a lasting difference for Celina’s students and families?

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I regularly tell my kids that God created them to be difference makers, called
by a higher authority to something bigger than themselves. That is not just
something I say. It is something I believe about every child in Celina. Schools
shape who children become. The values they encounter in those hallways, the
way they are seen and known, the culture that surrounds them every day, that
matters eternally not just academically. Celina's students and families deserve
a board that understands that weight and takes it seriously. That is the
difference I am praying this seat can make.