Eanes ISD School Board Elections
May 2022

Here's a breakdown of the candidates' positions on the DEI initiative quoted from: (1) this article from the Austin American Statesman; (2) a series of podcast interviews hosted by "Eanes Kids First," an organization with a mission to "get[] Critical Race Theory out of our schools"; (3) a forum hosted by "Eanes ISD Special Ed Parent Working Group" (SWPG); and (4) a forum hosted by the Lost Creek Neighborhood Association.

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Place 6

• Heather Sheffield (incumbent): The AAS article says that Ms. Sheffield "has been a supporter" of the DEI initiative and "wants to bring in more community members and make sure everyone understands the goals of the program." In the Lost Creek Forum, Ms. Sheffield confirmed her support for the DEI initiative, and clarified that the initiative is meant to ensure that "staff and students feel safe and supported while at school," in particular that special education students feel included. (Source at 38 mins.) She repeated the same statement in the SWPG forum, pointing out that special education students should be part of the "inclusion" part of DEI. (Source at 38 minutes.) Ms. Sheffield states that her main priority is to ensure that educational experience are good for all students. (Source at 48 minutes.)

• Jim Withers (challenger): As stated in the AAS article, Mr. Withers' goal is "to unite people around a DEI program that is best suited to the needs of everyone in the district and to be transparent." In his podcast interview, Mr. Withers suggests we need to "soften the tone of DEI" and "bring back positivity." (Source at 47 mins.) 

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--> Ms. Sheffield supports the DEI initiative. It seems like Mr. Withers wants to change certain aspects, but he's not clear about what he'd change.  

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Place 7

• Ellen Balthazar (incumbent): I emailed Ms. Balthazar about her position, and she said: "I strongly support the work we are doing on the DEI front, as well as other social-emotional needs of our students." In the Eanes Kids First podcast interview, Ms. Balthazar said that the Board adopted the DEI initiative to help staff deal with difficult conversations related to race and social injustice. (Source at 39 mins.) Ms. Balthazar describes how the DEI initiative helps kids, in particular with college admissions and improving grades. (Source at 53 mins.)

• Jay Lamy (challenger): In the AAS article, Mr. Lamy says he "does not think the current DEI initiative should remain at Eanes because he feels it is too divisive and too expensive." In the podcast interview, Mr. Lamy said that DEI was undefinable and chaotic. He says that he never needed a DEI program. He wants to take all politics out of school (inferring that DEI is too political). (Source at 48 minutes -  1 hour.) In the Lost Creek forum, Mr. Lamy suggested he might roll back the DEI initiative if there were budget cuts. (Source at 54 minutes.) 

• David Barrutia (challenger): In the article, Mr. Barrutia said that "he supports the district’s DEI initiative but wants to improve transparency and bring more members of the community into the conversation." In the podcast interview, Mr. Barrutia says that DEI can help expand diversity of thought and opinions, but the process of adopting the initiative was wrong. In the Lost Creek forum, Mr. Barrutia pointed out that was born in Peru, previously lived in China, and speaks multiple languages. (Source at 12 minutes.) Mr. Barrutia thinks Eanes is "multi-cultural" and that we can simply celebrate each other's heritage. (Source at 58 minutes.) Mr. Barrutia repeated similar thoughts in the Lost Creek Forum. (Source at 42 minutes.)

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--> Ms. Balthazar supports the DEI initiative. Mr. Lamy wants to get rid of it. I think Mr. Barrutia supports DEI, but he might want to change certain aspects.

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