Bay Area Houston

These forums will give you the opportunity to meet the candidates. You can keep track of of all election information at the CCISD Elections Webpage.

South Belt-Ellington Chamber of Commerce
CCISD Trustee Candidates Forum – At-Large Position B
Date: Tuesday, April 1, 2025
Time: 6:30 p.m.
Location: Sageglen HOA Facility (11610 Sageyork Drive, Houston, TX 77089)
Visit www.southbeltchamber.com

Clear Lake Area Chamber of Commerce
CCISD Trustee Candidates Forum – District 1 and At-Large Position B
Date: Tuesday, April 8, 2025
Time: 5:30 p.m.
Location: City of Nassau Bay City Hall (1800 Space Park Dr #200, Houston, TX 77058)
Forum will be livestreamed. Visit www.clearlakearea.com

League City Regional Chamber of Commerce
CCISD Trustee Candidates Forum – District 1 and At-Large Position B
Date: Thursday, April 17, 2025
Time: 6:00 p.m.
Location: Grand Living at Tuscan Lakes (1850 E League City Pkwy, League City, TX 77573)
Forum will be livestreamed. Visit www.leaguecitychamber.com

This is embarrassing. As a reminder Joe Machol was a high school football referee hence the football analogies and boy did he fumble this one! Again. You can read about Joe’s first fumble at “CCISD Candidate Joe Machol’s Campaign: Fumbling the Kick Off“.

Candidates for CCISD Trustee provided answers to a recent questionnaire covering the issues affecting our school district including funding, retention of teachers, plans for the future and more. The answers, by most candidates, were detailed and based upon their extensive knowledge of the public education system. Seabrook Council Member Joe Machol stood out above the rest, but not in a good way.

His answer to almost every single question focused on the 3 Rs, Reading, Riting, and Rithmetic. Here are some excerpts:

• Help students become efficient in reading, writing and arithmetic.
• Help the teachers instruct the students in reading, writing and arithmetic.
• Getting the Student efficient in Reading, Writing and Arithmetic. 
• Getting the students the help they need in reading, writing and arithmetic. 
• Go back to the basics of reading, writing and arithmetic. 
• Incentives to Teachers when the students achieve the best scores in reading, writing and arithmetic
• Go back to the basics Reading, Writing and Arithmetic. 
• Teachers who are focused on reading, writing and arithmetic. 
• I didn’t create the issue of schools going away from reading, writing and arithmetic, 
• Help each and every student become the best that they can be in reading, writing and arithmetic. 

Seriously that is his answer to almost every question. While other candidates have thoughtful, detailed, explanations on why they are best for the job Machol is focused on the 3 Rs as if CCISD students are dumber than a rock and teachers are incapable of instruction. His answers are not only embarrassing it is insulting to students, teachers, parents, and taxpayers. His comments about cutting waste is laughable. CCISD, as well as every school district in Texas, has been stretched to the limit due to cuts to education.

I don’t know why Trustee Bowen recruited Machol. He is clearly unqualified for the job especially when a very capable Trustee is already serving the district. I do not believe Machol’s heart is in this race. Based upon his answers to the detailed questionnaire I wonder if he would advocate for cutting out life lessons being taught in CCISD like band, music, theatre, culinary skills, and auto mechanics.

Or football.

Over the next couple of months there will be a series of forums where candidates for CCISD school board will be able to express their plans and concerns if elected. Unfortunately I believe the questions are just too nice, such as questions about school vouchers and how they intend to adjust to the cuts in funding. Moderators rarely will ask follow up questions. I’m also wondering why the educational community has not arranged a forum. Why do we have to depend on the Chamber or the Southbelt news paper to organize an event. Both are having forums soon.

In the past I emailed questions to candidates Wittliff and Trustee Larson. Larson refused to answer. You can read those the Q&As here: “Tough Questions (with answers) for CCISD candidates.“.

So I am curious. What questions would you ask of the candidates?

Community Impact is a pretty good local publication. Yesterday they posted Q&A for Rebecca Lilley and Trustee Scott Bowen. Today they published answers by Trustee Cejka and Joe Machol to some generic questions. My thoughts below.

Trustee Cejka
As I have said before I just don’t understand why Trustee Bowen recruited a candidate to run against Trustee Cejka. With major funding issues about to hit our district we need stability, experience, and level heads. Unlike other School Districts who have elected chaotic Trustees such as Keller, Katy, and Cypress, CCISD has been able to excel despite Scott Bowen’s political chaos. Cejka’s commitment to the tax payers, parents, teachers, and students has contributed to CCISD being selected as finalists for the HEB Excellence in Education Award. Cejka’s responses to the questions are what we expect from our Trustees.

Council Member Joe Machol
As posted yesterday, Seabrook Council Member Joe Machol has a long resume of football referee experience including with the NFL. In his first remarks to the public, as a candidate for CCISD Trustee, Machol fumbled the kick off. The questions by CI are as simple as putting the ball on the half yard line with 1st and goal. CI asked the candidates to keep answers to 50 words or less. Machol took full advantage of this requirement answering with short, generic, unresponsive responses. For example responding to the question:

“Should the district address declining enrollment? If so, how?“ he answered
“Declining enrollment could be offset with recruitment.”.

And/Or Duh. I thought Machol would have taken a few minutes to confer with Trustee Bowen and answer the questions with thoughtful responses. He didn’t. Instead he took a knee. Take a few minutes to read the article and bookmark Community Impact for future articles.

Two down. Bowen to go.

Community Impact asked Trustee Bowen and his opponent, Rebecca Lilley, a couple of generic questions concerning their positions on education. The article avoided the kind of questions I would ask like “Do you support vouchers?” or “Will you accept money from outside the district PACs?” or “Will you bring partisan politics into the classroom?”. If you read between the lines Bowen answers some of these questions. Here is an analysis of the interview, Get to know the candidates running for Clear Creek ISD’s board of trustees At-Large Position B.

Vouchers
Bowen’s opponent voiced her opposition to vouchers. Bowen didn’t even mention it even though he has been the champion of school vouchers for the Republic Party and he was caught on video doing it. Bowen sponsored a resolution in the Party urging passage of the voucher program. It passed, although NOT unanimously. You can watch the video here.

Bringing partisan politics into the classroom
Bowen is real proud of stopping “CRT” being taught at CCISD schools even though CRT was never taught and would never be taught since it is a specialized, advanced, graduate course taught in just a few colleges across the country. (Personally I don’t even know WTF CRT is.)

Bowen in his response to the Community Impact repeat the catch phrases being used by his Republic Party, including ” prioritizing traditional education (including phonics), reducing device dependence.” These are the current hot topics his party is pushing. They sound common sense but his party has been in control for 25 years and yet this is an issue now? His comments on property taxes are, again, out of his Party’s playbook. CCISD property taxes were cut two years ago, almost in half. School districts are struggling and vouchers will NOT help. For a party that has been in power for 25 years it is amazing how difficult they have made it for public education.

This article just touches the surface of the important issues. I wish someone would ask the tough questions like “Do you have any association with white supremacists?”. To read about Bowen’s record you might want to read the article “Scott Bowen: A Threat to CCISD Education“.