GISD trustee Stephanie Blanck resigns school board seat

Georgetown ISD trustee Stephanie Blanck announced her resignation from the school board Monday, January 12, while at trustees’ monthly board workshop.

She has served almost two three-year trustee terms, first joining the board in November 2020. At the board workshop, Ms. Blanck said she was retiring to “take more time for family and other responsibilities.”

“What I wanted to accomplish as a trustee, I've accomplished,” she said. “There are other things that need my time and attention, and I realized that I'm stretched too thin. It's time for me to back away,” she told the Sun. 

“I’m not disappearing, though. There are other ways I can serve the community and there are other ways I can serve the district.”

Board President James Scherer thanked Ms. Blanck for her ”years of dedicated service as a trustee and to the many Georgetown organizations she has supported.

“Your positive impact on the community is immeasurable,” he said to her  following the board vote to accept her resignation.

Trustees then appointed resident Laura Kincheloe to fill the Place 4 position on the board until the upcoming May 4 board election.

Ms. Kincheloe is a GISD graduate and parent. A registered nurse, she is employed in an advocacy position with the Texas Nurses Association.

She said she intends to file in the upcoming May election as a formal candidate to take the Place 4 board seat long-term.

Stephanie Blanck’s GISD history

Prior to joining the school board, Ms. Blanck served GISD as a school psychologist, assistant principal and special education director.

A graduate of the University of Texas-Austin, she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology and social work, and a master's degree in school psychology in educational leadership/mid-management from Southwest Texas State University. 

She has lived in Georgetown for more than 40 years.

Ms. Blanck first ran for a board seat in the May 2020 election when the district fared poorly in the 2019 state accountability assessments. Six of GISD’s 16 campuses had received D or F ratings from the Texas Education Agency that year. 

“The barn is on fire and we’re still debating whether to call the fire department,” she said in 2020 about what she perceived as GISD’s lack of action in working to turn the ship around.

However, due to the Covid pandemic, the May 2020 election was delayed until November. Ms. Blanck joined the board then, having defeated two candidates, one an incumbent. 

Taking a board seat, she pledged transparency and open discussion of issues on the dais.

“I intend to ask plenty of questions,” she said on that 2020 election night.

Recalling her early board tenure, she explained what she believed she brought to the school board of that era.

“A knowledge of education, a knowledge of what the staff needs for support, and understanding of what children and parents need for support,” she said. 

“I think of all my years in education, working at so many different levels, including campus administration. I knew where the holes were. I knew what needed to be improved, and I felt like that historical knowledge would be helpful.”

Her perspective on GISD today

Now, stepping down six years later, Ms. Blanck said, “Everything I initially ran on has happened. The district has made a positive turn and we're making progress.”

She said hiring Devin Padavil as superintendent in 2023 was “a fantastic decision” of the board. “He's done a phenomenal job,” she said.

“The district's in a good place now and the board is in a good place. As a governing body, we’re working very collaboratively,” she said. 

“We have wonderful people on the board — and you can quote me on this — everyone on the board has every student in mind when they make a decision.”

To fill her board seat, Ms. Blanck said — prior to the board appointment of Ms. Kincheloe — she’s expecting trustees will appoint someone with an “advocacy mindset; someone who's willing to listen to parents, teachers and the kids; someone who understands policy and policy advocacy.” “Someone,” she said, “who's not afraid to roll up their sleeves and go down to the Capitol, write the emails, go visit and get involved. In my mind, there's a lot of work to be done in Austin.”