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Candidates for the Victoria Independent School District (VISD) Board of Trustees District 7 seat in the May 3 election spoke on their views on pressing topics and future goals for the school district at the University of Houston-Victoria Election Forum Wednesday night. The forum was conducted in partnership with the Victoria Advocate and the League of Women Voters of Victoria.

Candidates Josh Moore, Mickey Kostella and Christian West spoke on a variety of topics relating to the district, including the expansion of Advanced Placement (AP), Dual Credit and Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs.

In his time as an instructor and coach at Victoria College, Moore saw firsthand the advantage students had over their peers as a result of taking dual credit courses in high school. He hopes to expand the program offerings, as well as expand AP and CTE.

Moore works in the construction business and believes the expansion of CTE courses will help meet the demand for technical careers in the community.

òòò½ÊÓƵœThe more we can get skilled trades at the high school level [the better],òòò½ÊÓƵ� Moore said. òòò½ÊÓƵœ[These graduates] would be making more than university graduates on average because of the need for [those jobs] in our community.òòò½ÊÓƵ�

Kostella similarly shared his hope for expansion of the three programs at VISD. Both of his daughters enrolled in high school participate in AP classes. If elected, he will push for VISD administration to increase communication with the community on AP classes and what they offer students.

An emphasis must be placed on ensuring kids are college-ready coming out of high school, Kostella said.

West hopes to expand all three programs, but places an emphasis on the need for strong CTE offerings and participation. The top industry gross regional project in the local area is manufacturing, West said. He hopes to instill skills like counting currency in students at a young age to empower them and get them career ready.

All three candidates responded adamantly to the question of student discipline on VISD campuses. A case-specific look at discipline measures with a focus on no tolerance dealings is crucial, Kostella said. He feels more egregious and continuous acts of poor behavior should result in longer stays at VISDòòò½ÊÓƵ™s Disciplinary Alternative Educational Program (DAEP).

West emphasized the need for teamwork between the district and parents for disciplinary actions. He believes in the zero tolerance approach and brought forward the concept of using a òòò½ÊÓƵœboot campòòò½ÊÓƵ� style of discipline for the DAEP.

A tighter following of current policies needs to be enforced, Moore said. The policies for disciplinary action need to be followed closely by all schools and instructors across VISD. A rigid adherence to the rules would help solve many of VISDòòò½ÊÓƵ™s disciplinary situations, Moore said.

VISD has implemented the process of applying for the Teacher Incentive Allotment (TIA) program. The candidates for the District 7 seat all shared their support for the program and a desire to improve teacher retention across VISD.

òòò½ÊÓƵœEmpowering our teachers, real incentives such as professional training to sharpen their skills, housing to help ease costs, smaller classes so they can focus on teaching and not chaos, offering leadership roles and loan forgiveness if they are graduates with a teaching degree are incentives [we could provide] that would help with ,òòò½ÊÓƵ� West said.

Senate Bill 26 would give school districts across Texas an annual allotment for employed teachers. Districts with less than 5,000 total students would receive approximately double the amount per teacher than districts with more than 5,000 total students. VISD had 13,253 students during the 2021-2022 school year, while every bordering district had less than 5,000, according to

If elected, Moore would place an emphasis on guiding and supporting VISD teachers through incentive programs. If teachers have access to a fair and competitive wage and build strong ties to the community and the district, they will be more likely to stay at VISD, Moore said.

The TIA program would pay additional funds annually to qualifying teachers who meet specific criteria set by a school district. Criteria for VISD could include measurements of students growth, teacher performance determined through observation and teacher attendance.

òòò½ÊÓƵœThis is a great way to increase pay without costing taxpayers additional money and without adjusting our budget in any type of way,òòò½ÊÓƵ� Kostella said. òòò½ÊÓƵœI think this is fantastic. I know it was the teachers that decided they didnòòò½ÊÓƵ™t want it [before]. But now that itòòò½ÊÓƵ™s here, I think itòòò½ÊÓƵ™s a good investment and Iòòò½ÊÓƵ™m excited for it.òòò½ÊÓƵ�