NBISD Board of Trustees - Candidates

Election Date: May 1, 2021

For more information about board elections, CLICK HERE or call 830-643-5758.

Candidate: Eric Bergquist
Occupation: Pharmaceutical Sales
Length of Continuous Residence in State: 52+ years
Length of Residence In Territory from Which Office Sought if Elected: 18 years
Incumbent: Yes

I am excited to be running for re-election as Trustee for NBISD District 3, as an experienced School Board member. As a long-time citizen of New Braunfels, I am proud to be serving my community and the students of our District. I am a proud graduate of New Braunfels High School (Class of 1987) and my wife, Dawn, and I chose to raise our family here. My two children are Unicorns – my son graduated in 2016 and my daughter in 2018 from NBHS. Serving as a trustee has allowed me to support the District that has been an important part of my life, as well as my children’s. New Braunfels has been my home for nearly 42 years.

During my first term as a trustee for NBISD, we were dedicated to making substantial improvements to safety and security within our District in response to events in our nation that made schools more vulnerable. We also completed the purchase of all land needed to accommodate future build-out for serving students in our District. The construction of the first building of the new middle marks the start of that vision. And most recently, we have carefully and expediently navigated the response to COVID-19 and ensured the District is able to continue to serve students, while still keeping everyone safe and healthy.

As I complete my first term on the NBISD School Board, there are numerous items currently active that will benefit from consistency in leadership and will require careful consideration in planning. First and foremost, we are tasked with securing a new superintendent to lead our rapidly growing District in an unprecedented environment of challenges. Additionally, we plan to have a bond election in November that will help support the incredible growth of our community. This includes navigating the addition of a second high school to our District. As a Unicorn, I understand the sensitivity of this undertaking and commit to making this inevitable transition a positive evolution of our District’s history.

I would like the opportunity to continue to carry out the mission of NBISD to "provide an environment where all students are engaged and empowered to become self-reliant learners in a constantly changing world," along with the simple, yet significant vision of "Every student. Every day." Your support will ensure my continued commitment to the students, families, and staff of NBISD.

Candidate: John Porter
Occupation: Artist Management
Length of Continuous Residence in State: 3+ years
Length of Residence In Territory from Which Office Sought if Elected: 3+ years
Incumbent: No

I’m running for a position on the NBISD Board of Trustees because I believe in Science and vow to put the needs of Students, Teachers, and Administration over politics (city, state, or national). 

Candidate: Steve Minus
Occupation: Engineered Building Materials - General Manager of Operations
Length of Continuous Residence in State: 44+ years
Length of Residence In Territory from Which Office Sought if Elected: 15+ years
Incumbent: No

I have lived and served in New Braunfels for 15 years and would be honored to continue serving if so elected.  Today, our district is growing and changing more rapidly than ever before and I want to help ensure we meet those challenges. NBISD has a rich identity completely different from our neighboring districts in major cities.  I want to keep that identity and hold firm to the community values that have built our district and help produce amazing citizens.  The Board must continue to expect and execute excellence. The community that we live in has amazing parents, students and administrators - district leadership must continue to deliver for them.

Candidate: Brian Grenier
Occupation: Chief Technology Officer at Randolph Field ISD
Length of Continuous Residence in State: 3+ years
Length of Residence In Territory from Which Office Sought if Elected: 9 months
Incumbent: No

I was raised to value serving others in your community, and continue to instill that belief in my own children. In my professional life I subscribe to the philosophy of servant leadership where listening, empathy, foresight, stewardship, and committing to the growth of people play a significant role.  In my personal life I have strived to serve my community when opportunities arise through volunteering my time, or serving on various boards at both the local and state level. I strongly believe that a community’s system of public schools is one of the most important, if not the most important, functions it undertakes.  Nothing has a greater role to play on everything from local economic development, to community pride, to personal growth and development. 

Every day, thousands of families across New Braunfels, entrust our public school system to care for and educate our most precious gifts, our children.  I do not believe that there is a parent, or community member out there who would not want the very best educational opportunities for our children to be made available in our schools. When the call for candidates for the District 5 Trustee vacancy was announced, I knew the people of New Braunfels deserved a candidate who has a deep understanding and a background in Texas public education.  I knew that this was the right opportunity to use my skills, knowledge, and talents to serve my community. I have been a Texas public school educator for 25 years.  Having served as a high school teacher, a Special Program Coordinator, a Technology Specialist, and currently as a Chief Technology Officer for Randolph Field ISD, I offer the voters and students of New Braunfels the kind of experience and passion for education that they deserve. 

I believe that I am uniquely qualified to work on behalf of the families and students in New Braunfels and with the other members of the School Board to address the important issues that our community and schools are currently or soon will be facing.  Chief among these issues, I believe, are: 

• Working with a newly hired Superintendent to set a vision and action plan for a highly effective school district dedicated to educating the whole child. 
• Strategically planning for smart and responsible growth of our school district as New Braunfels experiences tremendous growth. 
• Ensuring that all of our children continue to receive a high-quality educational experience, and are college or career ready upon graduation, through review and continuous improvement of NBISD academics and extracurricular activities including Career and Technology offerings, Gifted and Talented programming,  Special Education services, Advanced Academics, Fine Arts options, and Athletics. 

I am running for school board to serve the voters and students of New Braunfels in the best way I am qualified to serve. I would be honored and humbled to earn your trust and vote.

Candidate: Betty Niven
Occupation: America Reads Volunteer Coordinator
Length of Continuous Residence in State: 12+ years
Length of Residence In Territory from Which Office Sought if Elected: 9 years
Incumbent: No

All our students matter! So, we must focus on raising scholastic achievement in all subject areas.  Our students must obtain the best education possible as they are the future generation of our community, state and country. 

The school board must position itself for continual growth. This requires working together as a team and maintaining excellent communication between the school administrators, teachers and parents. We are fortunate that we have many highly skilled and experienced teachers in our district.

We need to create an environment that is conducive to retaining and attracting these types of resources. Over 500 top educational experts state that Covid-19 has created an unprecedented challenge for our schools K through 12. Our children who have fallen behind academically and socially need more intervention through the continued involvement of recruited volunteers with the America Reads Program.   

Page Updated: April 1, 2021

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