School volunteer Erin Clayton is seeking a seat on the Sherman Independent School District Board of Trustees. Clayton and Paul Manley will both compete for the Place 5 seat on the board that is currently held by Sean Vanderveer.
The Herald Democrat recently reached out to all candidates in Sherman ISD’s spring elections and asked them a series of questions about their priorities, qualifications and issues facing the district in 2025.
Early voting will be held from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. April 22-25 and 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. April 28-29.
The polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Election Day on May 3.
The answers are published below verbatim with only minimal edits due to style, formatting and if a candidate exceeded the word count.
Q: For anyone who may not know you in the community, who are you, and what motivated you to run for a place on the Sherman ISD School Board?
A: “Hello, I am Erin Clayton. I am a mom of 3 Sherman ISD students, a graduate of Austin College and a resident of Sherman for the last 20 years. I am a leader in multiple PTAs and volunteer in both the schools and in the community. Over the last 10 years of volunteering in my students’ schools, I have built relationships with teachers, staff and fellow parents that have helped me be an effective volunteer and enabled me to provide impactful support to multiple schools in our district. I decided to run for school board because I believe that building strong relationships between our trustees, administration, staff, teachers, parents and community members is how we will reach our goal of Sherman ISD being the most effective district at nurturing and educating our children to their highest potential.”
Q: What unique skill sets or traits do you feel you would bring as a member of the school board?
A: “I earned my teaching certification from UNT. The courses I took prepared me with the skills and knowledge needed to work in the classroom. I understand how to read and incorporate the curriculum requirements from TEA to be compliant with state policy and laws. I closely follow the bills proposed by our Texas Legislature that matter to our schools and community. I understand the impact these laws can have on our district’s day-to-day operations and yearly budgets. I have been the treasurer of multiple PTAs and have gotten training from the National PTA to be compliant with both state and federal guidelines. I majored in Sociology, and understand how to read, interpret, and use data to guide important decisions. Above all this, I believe the most important skill I would bring as a trustee is active listening because strong relationships are built on being able to meet people where they are.”
Q: As a member of the school board, what priorities do you wish to pursue?
A: “I believe in knowing your limitations so you can create achievable goals. I want to prioritize getting the Leader in Me program at every school. I want to increase our kids’ access to recess. I want to evaluate the impact of the iReady programs on student achievement. Among the responsibilities of the Board, they set the district’s budget and oversee the Superintendent. My priority is to build community understanding of how the district allocates funds and the challenges we face. I have been told that the Leader in Me Program costs over $40,000 for a five-year program at the elementary level. Our schools do not necessarily have that extra money, but I believe that if the community is involved and aware of our budget we can achieve more. Our community is full of people who want to help, if they know there is a need.”
Q: The topic of state funding has been a recurring one for many districts in recent years. The state funding allocation has not been updated since 2019 and many districts have turned to deficit budgets as a way to make ends meet during the interim. How would you go about balancing SISD’s budget during the current funding uncertainty?
A: “As a participant in the district’s Ambassador Academy, I have had the opportunity to learn more about the budget. We were educated on how the state and our property taxes fund the district. The district needs to hold more educational opportunities to larger groups of community members. Involving the community will create opportunities for better financial support. Our CFO and Superintendent are running a tight budget. We must balance serving current students and preparing our district for the families of the future. It isn’t a question of balancing the district’s budget, it’s a question of building understanding within our community how the district is funded and how we maximize our dollars.”
Q: Following up on the topic of school budgets, one topic that has been discussed by many districts is increasing teacher compensation. Is this something that should remain a priority while the topic of state funding remains in question? How would you go about funding increases during the current economic climate for the district?
A: “Teacher Compensation is always a high priority because the goal of the district is to attract and retain the most qualified teachers and staff. With vouchers being pushed through, Sherman needs to be an attractive district to Teachers and Staff to ensure that families choose our schools over private schools. I don’t believe that people go into teaching just for the paycheck and I believe the culture of our district will have more impact on quality hires and employee retention. As a trustee, I would work to create and maintain a culture that meets the needs of our teachers and provides them with the support they need to succeed. Part of that support is actively listening to them when they tell me there is a problem. As a parent, I have witnessed teachers being minimized when they share a concern, or worse, say nothing for fear of retaliation.”
Q: What issues do you see facing Sherman ISD in 2025 and how do you plan to address them?
A: “Three issues that are top of mind: growth, funding and district culture. Growth creates tremendous opportunities for our district. As a board member, I would work to balance the responsibilities we have to our current students and the need to prepare for our future ones. Second is uncertainty in state and federal funding. We must maximize the value of each dollar to our teachers, students and staff. Our community must be engaged to help us succeed during this time of uncertainty. Lastly, is the district culture. Our district’s success will be built by teachers and staff we can attract and retain. Education is always budget constrained, so we must create an environment where great people want to work. The connection that board members build with our educators is just as important as the ones we build with our community. We serve them.”
