After Lake Travis Independent School District officially called the May 8 election at its Feb. 18 meeting, Place 3 incumbent Susan Tolles revealed she would not seek reelection.

“I decided not to run for several reasons,” Tolles, the current board president, said. “First, there is always someone else out there who is capable. I think it’s time for someone else with fresh ideas to come in and be part of the process. This is an incredible group of people to work with and I think its important for someone else to have the privilege of doing this.”
In addition to Place 3, Place 4 incumbent, Jason Buddin, as well as Place 4 incumbent, Alan Williams, will both seek reelection. Both Buddin and Williams were elected in 2007.
At presstime, only Alex Alexander, Lake Hills Church’s Pastor of Family Life, had filed to run for Place 3. No one has yet filed to challenge places 4 and 5. Deadline to file is March 8 at the LTISD administration building, 3322 Ranch Road 620 S.
Candidates do not represent specific geographical areas. Rather, each represents the Lake Travis school district at-large. The board elects a president, vice-president and secretary to serve one-year terms following the election.
Tolles, who has served for nine years, said she believes the district has made significant progress since she joining the board, but she doesn’t believe that was the case when she first ran.
“Back 2000, we had a huge strategic planning committee that asked me to be part of that process. There were about 40 people on the committee and it really piqued my interest. When the Place 3 incumbent, Pete Edquist, a friend of mine, decided not to run, I thought it would be an interesting thing to do. It was 2001 and my oldest son was graduating that year. I had a daughter who was in high school and a son who was in middle school, and it seemed like the natural thing to do.”
Since that time, he children have graduated and moved away from home. Her youngest child is a junior at Texas Tech University.
“I think it is important for parents who have children in the district to be vested, charged up and want to be part of the process,” Tolles said. “They need to be part of the process.”
Tolles said candidates need to bear in mind that being a trustee requires a lot of commitment.
“It is really hard to comprehend how big the district is when you are first elected,” she said. “The magnitude of the job can be overwhelming if you aren’t careful. When I was first elected, it was a very difficult time for the district. The board micro managed everything. My first session was a budget meeting. Back then, the board went through the budget line by line. It took us two solid meetings to just get through the budget. That was the level of detail we got into. At first, I wondered what I had gotten myself into and was feeling a little inadequate. But you grow into it. It is a big job. There is a lot of work and a lot of preparation that goes into it. You can’t be expected to know everything that is going on everywhere. That isn’t what we are expected to do. Fortunately, we have grown as a board to a point where we have an incredible staff that we trust.”
Tolles said that hasn’t always been the case.
“In 2001, we [trustees] didn’t trust the staff,” Tolles admitted. “That is why the board was so involved in all the decisions. But now, we have confidence in the staff and when they bring something to us, it is going to be their best effort.”
She credits Superintendent Dr. Rocky Kirk, who joined LTISD in 2002, for helping the district evolve.
“Since then, both the board and the district has grown tremendously,” Tolles said. “It has been exciting.”
And rewarding, Tolles added.
“The best part is when we have the students at a board meeting, or when I go to a Special Olympics event, or a school play — anything that involves the students is very fun,” Tolles said. “It is rewarding to know that ultimately we responsible for the kids and that they are doing well and achieving.”
While her children are grown and gone, Tolles said she isn’t suffering from “empty nest syndrome.”
“It is a time of rediscovery,” Tolles said. “I just launched a Web site that I have been working on, www.flourishover50.com, for women over 50. I am having a lot of fun with it. I am also beginning to write for a few blogs nationally and that is interesting. I am also hoping to get involved in charitable work with women’s-oriented interests.”
For more information about filing to run for the LTISD Board of Trustees, contact Kathy Johnson at 533-6013, or e-mail johnsonk@ltisdschools.org.