Phillip Martin

One, financial qualifications built for this job: 22 years in public finance, 750+ transactions totaling $23 billion, including Conroe ISD's own bonds - I can spot what's buried in a budget or bond schedule without needing it translated. Two, skin in the game: four children in CISD schools right now, elementary through high school, so every board decision lands on my own kitchen table. Three, straight talk: I'll ask uncomfortable questions when the numbers don't add up and explain every vote plainly, so voters can hold me accountable.

First, money: enrollment is projected to decline for the first time in years while state formulas shift every session -I'd re-bid contracts that have rolled over without competition, eliminate overlapping services, and protect classrooms first. Second, teacher retention: raises haven't kept pace, and scripted state curriculum is driving good teachers out -pay must be the first budget priority, not the leftover. Third, trust: the community deserves plain-English explanations of every major decision, and I'll provide them.

Yes - and Texas law already requires one: every ISD must have an annual independent audit by a CPA, which CISD undergoes. I've read hundreds of these professionally. What I'd pursue beyond the required audit is a genuine efficiency review - contracts, overlapping services, outsourced work - because the standard audit tells you the books are accurate, not that the money was spent wisely. That second question is where I'd push.

Primary. Parents are the first and most important educators; the district works for families, not the other way around. That means real access to curriculum and materials, honest communication from teachers and campuses, and a board that treats parent input as essential rather than an inconvenience. I'm raising four CISD students - I don't need this explained to me.

Texas never adopted Common Core - state law actually prohibits it; we use the TEKS. Critical Race Theory concepts are barred from K-12 instruction by state law, and I support that. I firmly oppose International Baccalaureate: it means paying ongoing fees to a private foundation in Geneva and handing curriculum decisions to an outside organization accountable to no one in this community - the opposite of local control. AP and dual credit serve our advanced students without surrendering an inch of it. SEL should never substitute for academics or bypass parents. And I'm watching the state's own curriculum push closely: Bluebonnet is heavily scripted, required 4,200 corrections, and cuts real reading time. Curriculum belongs with our teachers and parents, not with Austin - and certainly not with Geneva.

Yes. Until very recently, CISD was one of the fastest-growing school districts in the state. Although enrollment growth has slowed somewhat, many campuses were at or beyond capacity. The District needed those bond funds to provide the additional classroom space and facilities necessary to accommodate the significant influx of students since the passage of its 2019 Bond Program.

Yes. Sexually explicit material has no place in front of children, and state law now backs that up. CISD's review process has removed materials, which shows the system can work; the board's job is to make sure it works consistently, transparently, and with parents involved - without sliding into removing books simply because someone dislikes the ideas in them.

Yes to the first - materials meeting the 43.24 definition of harmful to minors don't belong on school property. On the second: that exemption is already gone. SB 412 repealed the educational affirmative defense effective September 1, 2025. The law changed; the district's obligation now is full compliance, and I'll insist on it.

This is exactly my professional lane. You fix it by budgeting on data instead of hope: multi- year projections built on the current demographic study - which projects student losses - not on assumptions of endless growth. Then you find the slack: contracts renewed for years without competitive re bid, overlapping services between departments, outsourced work we could do cheaper in-house. Protect classrooms first, maintain a healthy fund balance, and publish the projections so taxpayers can check the math.

Yes - a trustee takes an oath, and enforcing state law isn't optional. More fundamentally: schools should never keep secrets from parents about their own children. Anything significant happening with a child at school - academic, disciplinary, or personal - belongs in front of that child's parents. My job as a trustee is academics, safety, and stewardship, and making sure the district follows the law while treating every student with basic decency.

No. Texas law requires school sports participation based on biological sex, and the Supreme Court upheld states' authority to do exactly that this summer. Privacy in bathrooms and locker rooms follows the same principle. The district should follow the law, provide reasonable single-occupancy accommodations where needed, and ensure every student is safe from bullying - all of those at once.

Gender ideology has no business in our schools. State law now restricts instruction on gender identity in K-12 classrooms, and I'll insist on full compliance - in curriculum, in classroom materials, and in what's on our library shelves. Materials that push gender ideology on children should be removed through a review process that's consistent, transparent, and puts parents at the table. Schools exist to teach reading, math, science, and history -and to leave conversations like these where they belong: with parents.

No - the state has legislated on this, and teachers shouldn't be compelled either direction. Teachers also shouldn't be conscripted into concealing anything from parents. I'd expect every adult in our schools to treat every child with respect, and I'd expect parents - not the school - to be the decision-makers in their child's life.

No - and I'll explain fully, because I've watched this play out. The state sets standards through the TEKS, and that's appropriate. But "total and final authority" is how we got Bluebonnet: a state-developed curriculum that needed roughly 4,200 corrections, that one Republican SBOE member called sloppy publishing, and that Austin is using bonus dollars to push into local classrooms. Conroe ISD has experienced educators and engaged parents who can evaluate materials on the merits. The people closest to the child, accountable to this community, should make the call.

Full access. Curriculum and instructional materials should be posted and available for review. Parents should be welcome in the building and able to reach teachers and get a timely response. Gradebooks and assignments should be visible online. If a district is doing its job, transparency costs nothing - the only reason to hide material from parents is that you know they'd object to it.

By making sure CISD follows Texas law - which already requires sports by biological sex, and which the Court's ruling in the Idaho and West Virginia cases confirmed states may do. Protecting female students also means funding girls' athletics equitably, taking their safety and privacy seriously in facilities, and ensuring Title IX obligations are met in spirit and letter. My daughter is one of those students.

Yes. If material meeting the legal definition of harmful to minors is on a CISD campus, I'll say so publicly, on the record, and press for its removal through the process - and if the process fails, I'll say that publicly too. I've told this community I'll explain every position plainly. That includes uncomfortable ones.

Yes, and I've disclosed it from the start. My firm, Crews & Associates, has served as a co-managing underwriter on CISD bond transactions over the past four years, and approximately 12 years ago I was part of the District's municipal advisory team as lead analyst. The moment I decided to run for this board, my firm and I recused ourselves from all future CISD bond work. I've never done personal business with any CISD official.

Reading and math, without apology - everything else is built on them, and children learn to read by reading, not by listening to scripted read-alouds. Then science, real history and civics, and strong career and technical education for students whose path doesn't run through a four-year university. Measured honestly: our district goal is every campus at 90 or higher, and seven campuses are currently rated D or F. The priorities should follow the data.

The Bible can lawfully be in a public school library, and I'd support ensuring it's available in CISD libraries - as it is in many already - alongside its obvious historical and literary significance. Implementation is simple: verify availability through library services and direct that it be stocked where it isn't. As a Catholic raising four kids in this district, I'd also say the deepest formation happens at home and at church, with schools respecting - never undermining - the faith of the families they serve.

No arrests, no convictions, no bankruptcies. The one thing I volunteer before anyone asks: my firm has been paid for underwriting CISD bonds — disclosed above and everywhere I've been asked. That business relationship ended the moment I decided to run. Though the rules wouldn't require it until I'm elected, I recused myself and my firm from all future CISD bond work as soon as I made the decision to seek this seat.