Misty Odenweller

Misty Odenweller wears many hats, but the most important one to her is Christian. Her faith has guided her as a wife, mother, grandmother, business owner, and teacher. Though she started out as a business major, Misty found her true passion and graduated from Texas A&M University in 1992 with a degree in education. She has taught in both public and private elementary schools and adopted, aligned, and written curriculum for both, giving her a clear understanding that success in education is found in a symbiotic relationship between the home and the school. Her drive for teaching was shaped by watching three siblings struggle with learning disabilities, and later by raising a child of her own with multiple learning disabilities. Those experiences taught her that every student learns differently, and that parents are essential partners, not bystanders, in their child’s education....

1. Promises made and promises kept. Removed woke ideology curriculum and inappropriate materials from our libraries, restored transparency and parent voice at the table, balanced an inherited budget deficit, and set rigorous strategic goals that will improve academic experiences. My record shows I follow through on what I say I'll do. ...

1. Adapting our finances to a new growth reality. Like many Texas districts, Conroe ISD's rapid growth has leveled off faster than originally projected, creating new pressure to responsibly manage the debt taken on during our high growth years. I'll continue pushing for lean, conservative budgeting and long-range financial planning, so the district stays fiscally strong and taxpayers are protected, even as growth patterns shift. ...

Yes. An independent set of eyes on our finances is good stewardship, and it builds trust with the families who depend on this district. To be clear, CISD already undergoes an annual audit and has been highly recognized and awarded for it. But that audit, in short, looks at bank statements and the balance sheet. It confirms the numbers are accurate. A deeper audit, one that looks at how money is actually spent across departments and programs, is a different thing, and that is the kind of review I want to see more of. As a trustee I cannot direct staff to commission an audit on my own authority, that requires a vote of the full board, but I intend to keep bringing this forward and advocating for my fellow trustees to support it.

Parents are the first and most important teachers their children will ever have. Schools are there to partner with families, not replace them. Parents should have full access to what is being taught, a real voice in decisions that affect their children, and the final say on the values their family holds, with the school supporting that role rather than working around it.

I do not support Common Core or International Baccalaureate programs. Critical Race Theory in our classrooms became illegal in Texas under HB 3979, passed in the 87th Legislature and carried by our own State Rep. Steve Toth, then further strengthened by SB 3 in a later session. Locally, our board went further and adopted a stronger EMB policy through our policy service, Texans for Excellence in Education, that requires not just employees, but all volunteers and vendors, to adhere to that same standard. Education should be grounded in academic excellence and treating every child as an individual, not sorted by group identity. The state mandates that we teach Social and Emotional Learning. Unfortunately, the intent to teach good content, like kindness, empathy, independence, and resilience, gave way in some programs to therapy style content, victimhood messaging, and gender confusion and ideology. That content belongs with parents, not schools....

I voted for the bond because we were over capacity for classroom seats on almost every campus. Some campuses had no room for another portable, let alone the electrical capacity to add one without major upgrades. While many districts are closing schools, we are opening them, and they are still needed to alleviate overcrowding and support growth. Our bond experts and former superintendent also shared demographic studies projecting 6 to 8 percent growth, which turned out to be a gross overestimation, along with data showing we needed more than just additional space. My main naivety was believing we would be able to see the numbers fast enough to be sure money was being spent wisely and efficiently. Over the following three years, I spent countless hours researching, asking questions, and being ridiculed by former trustees and our former superintendent for questioning our planning, construction bid processes, contracts, and decision making. That persistence has paid off. We now have an independent third-party audit underway, one that will either validate what has been done for years or bring meaningful change and real savings for our taxpayers....

Yes, without question. Our policies and procedures governing instructional and library materials should ensure children are protected from sexually explicit content. This is not censorship, it is basic responsibility. I have worked to remove this kind of material, and our policies EFA, EFB, and EMB do just that. I will always keep doing whatever I can to protect our students.

Yes to both, and I am glad to say the second part is already done. As I mentioned in question 25, I have voted for and supported the adoption of more robust policies to keep harmful material off our campuses, and I will keep working to see it removed from every CISD property. On the educational exemption, the 89th Texas Legislature passed SB 412, which repealed that loophole effective September 1, 2025, so material can no longer get a pass simply for being labeled educational. I supported that change. I also voted to purchase software that helps detect and identify books with inappropriate content before they are ever purchased for our shelves.

The demographics didn't meet the projections made by the previous superintendent and the bond developer experts. Our M&O budget is impacted, but we are balanced, the finance team and Dr. Vinson worked hard and made the right adjustments. The real deficit concern for next year is in debt service. We are adapting to a new growth reality that looks different than what was originally projected, and I will be advocating for our district's funding in the 90th legislative session. I don't believe we should go to Austin hat in hand asking for more money. Taxpayers are already feeling the shortfall in their own bank accounts. What legislators need is a clear understanding of what it day to day life in districts look like and the shortfalls our district is facing, what we are already doing to make them up, and how we can work together to bring meaningful change. My approach is disciplined budgeting built on current, honest enrollment data rather than outdated projections. Every dollar in our budget should be evaluated for its direct impact on student educational success, and that standard is what should determine our priorities, not habit or how things were always done. That means continuing the work already underway to bring spending in line with where our district actually stands today.

Yes. I will uphold Texas law as written and will not support policies or practices in CISD that work around it. As I noted in previous questions, our EMB policy strengthened what state law already requires, with related impact through EFA and EFB as well. Protecting children means schools stay in their lane on this issue, and parents remain the ones guiding these decisions for their own children.

No. I believe access to bathrooms, showers, locker rooms, and sports should be based on biological sex. This is about privacy and safety for all students, especially our girls, and it is consistent with Texas law. As a trustee, I personally advocated for a CISD family whose daughter, a wrestler, was being made to compete against a transitioning athlete. It took three seasons, but we saw it through, and the family was grateful we didn't give up until it was resolved.

I support age-appropriate curriculum and library standards that keep gender ideology material out of our schools, consistent with SB 12, which already prohibits instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity in Texas public schools from pre-K through 12th grade. These decisions should be made through clear board policy and parents, not left to individual judgment call by call, and I will make sure CISD stays fully aligned with what state law now requires.

No. Teachers should treat every student with respect, but I do not support a mandate requiring staff to use pronouns that do not match a student's biological sex, and under SB 12, Texas law already prohibits districts from adopting such a mandate. I will make sure CISD policy stays consistent with that law.

I believe in a balance. The State Board of Education plays an important role setting standards and an approved instructional materials list, which gives families some assurance of a baseline of quality and appropriateness across Texas. But local school boards, who are closest to their own communities and directly accountable to the parents in that district, should retain real authority to select from that list and to set additional local standards. Total, final authority resting in Austin alone would leave parents here in Conroe with no meaningful voice, and that is not a trade I am willing to make.

As much as possible. Parents should be able to see what curriculum is being taught, have the ability to visit or ask about their child's classroom, communicate directly and easily with teachers, and have full visibility into anything their child accesses online through the district. Transparency should be the default, not something a parent has to fight for.

Strong foundational literacy and math skills come first, especially in the early grades. I have already taken action on both, with the adoption of a science of reading curriculum and a new math curriculum that spirals through high school for the first time. That means students build year after year in a cohesive manner that prevents gaps in content. Alongside that, our strong career and technical education pathways make sure students graduate with real options, whether that is a four-year degree, a trade, or military service. I also want to see civics and financial literacy given real weight, so students leave CISD understanding how to be informed citizens and responsible with their own money. Our own CISD initiative, the Texas Standard, builds character traits into all of this, and I believe it is setting a bar other district across the state will look to.

Yes, wholeheartedly. Our students should start the day with that reminder of what it means to be an American, and I will support it fully. Texas law already requires the daily pledge in our schools, and it fits with the direction our State Board of Education has taken with new social studies standards that put a real focus on American history and civic pride.

Yes, the Bible has long standing historical and literary significance and should not be treated differently than other classic texts on our shelves. I would implement this the same way any material is added, through our standard library review process, with clear guidelines and parent input, so it is handled consistently and transparently rather than as a special exception.