Candidate Questionnaire
Voices for Public Schools
What is your full name?
Ryan Tsamouris
You are running for a position on the Board of Trustees for what school district?
Conroe ISD
Why are you running for the school board?
My story began when my wife left public school teaching after 12 years in the classroom. I wanted to understand why strong, experienced educators were feeling pushed out of the classroom and why so many families were losing confidence in the direction of our schools. As I attended board meetings, studied budgets, and listened to parents, teachers, and taxpayers, I became convinced that Conroe ISD needs steady, transparent governance focused on students, educators, and academic success. Further, we have continued to see decisions made at the board level that prioritize political party platforms and a drive to implement more religious content into our classrooms, which I believe is unacceptable and not what our public schools need. I am running to help restore trust, strengthen accountability, and keep the district focused on what matters most, which is student outcomes & wellbeing, supporting our educators, and realigning district priorities that keep the focus on building excellence and confidence in our public schools.
What are your qualifications?
I have 10 years of board experience, currently serving as President of both my Municipal Utility District and Homeowners Association. In those roles, I have focused on fiduciary responsibility, transparency, infrastructure, lowering tax rates, and long-term planning. I have been a recurring volunteer on school district committees, including the Conroe ISD School Health Advisory Council, and I have written extensively on the issues within our schools and public education on my Substack at www.wehavequorum.net. Through these efforts, I connected and became part of the Texans for Public Education (T4PE) research group, where I assisted with their mission to advocate for Texas public schools at the state level. Professionally, I have worked in information technology for about 20 years, including systems architecture and cybersecurity in the energy sector. I hold both a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Engineering from Texas A&M. Together, these experiences give me a practical background in governance, budgeting, risk management, technical know-how, and accountable leadership.
How have you been involved with the school district in the past?
I have stayed engaged by attending board meetings, joining committees, following district decisions, reviewing budget and governance materials, and listening to parents, teachers, and community members about their experiences. I have served on the Conroe ISD School Health Advisory Council for the last two years, currently serving as the Parent Co-Chair leading our 72-member SHAC. This past school year we produced more reports & recommendations for our school board than any previous SHAC cohort. This work has given me direct experience working with district staff and parents on important issues such as student mental health, suicide prevention, student physical safety, and teacher retention. We also have three kids in Conroe ISD schools, so I often volunteer for school events that include spending entire days in classrooms as part of our Watch DOGS program. Further, I have been writing about these topics for the last three years on my Substack at www.wehavequorum.net. I prefer to deep-dive topics and then write about them, as writing is thinking, and share them with others so we can have a shared understanding of where the issues are and how we can solve them.
How many school board meetings have you attended?
I have attended at least every other board meeting for several years, missing meetings only when they conflicted with my MUD or HOA board obligations. That regular attendance has helped me understand the district's recurring issues, governance patterns, budget priorities, and the concerns raised by parents, teachers, and taxpayers. I also try to speak during public comments whenever possible to speak directly to the school board when needed. To help track board meetings, I built a suite of apps at cisd.boardmonitor.app that helps the community track board meeting agendas, meeting summaries, policy updates, and more. It is my goal to help everyone stay up to date and keep track of changes, as the last few years have seen a flurry of activity that makes it very difficult to stay informed.
In your opinion, what are the 3 greatest strengths of your school district?
The district's first great strength is its families and community support. Conroe ISD is well-connected to local organizations and businesses that helps our schools thrive through more student support options and opportunities. Its PTO/PTAs, booster programs, and other support groups are likely some of the best run in the state, and their efforts help keep our district strong. Second, the district has the most dedicated teachers and staff members who continue serving students despite growing demands and pressure. This may be reaching a breaking point as staff recruitment & retention efforts continue to struggle, but we see resilience and drive as our educators and staff work through the issues before them. These professionals deserve our respect and support, and I am dedicated towards bringing their voice to the board. Third, Conroe ISD has tremendous potential because of its size, growth, and community resources; with clear priorities and disciplined governance, the district can provide strong academic opportunities for students across every campus. This includes the many opportunities provided through its college & career readiness, CTE programs, and other strong programs that support a student's path towards a successful career after graduation.
From your perspective, what are the 3 greatest challenges of your school district?
The first challenge is restoring trust. Too many parents, teachers, and taxpayers feel that decisions are made without enough transparency or meaningful input. We continue to see board decisions made during executive session or consent agendas, and it is too often that complex issues are not well understood or explained by our school board. This includes decisions on curriculum, such as Bluebonnet, that was implemented without teacher or community input. This has had clear consequences as we see the continued impact Bluebonnet is having on our schools. We had the district's first two 'F' ratings in its history this past year, which may correlate directly to Bluebonnet's implementation. The second challenge is keeping the focus on student achievement and classroom support instead of controversy or distraction. Our board rarely reviews student outcomes data during public meetings, and this past year they abandoned our District Improvement Plan. This lack of focus on outcomes is very concerning to me, and I believe we need a hard shift back towards proper oversight of how well our district is performing. The third challenge is fiscal responsibility. Like many Texas districts, Conroe ISD must make difficult budget decisions while protecting the classroom, supporting educators, and being honest with taxpayers about costs and priorities. Lastly, Conroe ISD used to be THE destination for teachers and staff for all North Houston. It was once the pride and joy of the community, but the last several years of controversy and turnover have driven out our best administrators and educators. It is another goal of mine to turn this around.
With budgetary concerns prevalent for school districts throughout Texas, what ideas do you have for rightsizing the budget for your school district?
School districts across Texas are facing increasingly difficult decisions when it comes to budgets. Public education is under attack from private interests, and our current elected leadership is enabling the underfunding of our schools. For many school districts this means making cuts to vital programs that support students and staff. Further, enrollment for Conroe ISD has flatlined for the first time in many years, whereas we were previously projected to have substantial growth. Outside of the continued expansion of charter schools and vouchers for use with private schools, families are losing trust in public schools. This means that until we can rebuild that trust and offer competitive education programs, we will continue to struggle with enrollment. My first mission, if elected this November, will be to attend the 2027 Texas Legislative session as a representative of Conroe ISD, which will include submitting public comments and speaking at committee meetings on the issues with the Texas Foundation School Program and its funding mechanisms. I support a shift from ADA to enrollment-based funding. Locally in our school district, we must prioritize what we can with the funding we have. I will work with our CFO to make sure we have as much coverage as possible, and that we begin considering use of options such as VATREs for use with staff raises.
What do you see as the most important responsibility of the Board of Trustees for your school district?
The Board's most important responsibility is governance: setting clear expectations, hiring and evaluating the Superintendent, approving responsible budgets and policies, and holding the district accountable for results. Trustees should not micromanage campuses or administrators, but they must ensure that decisions are transparent, lawful, fiscally responsible, and aligned with the best interests of students, families, educators, and taxpayers.
What does the concept of "Team of Eight" mean to you?
The "Team of Eight" refers to the elected trustees and the Superintendent working together within their proper roles. To me, it means shared commitment to students, professional respect, open communication, and clear accountability. The board sets direction and provides oversight; the Superintendent manages district operations. When the Team of Eight functions well, disagreements can be handled respectfully, decisions are made with better information, and the community sees stable leadership focused on student success rather than personal agendas. I do NOT see the Team of Eight as meaning that all board trustees or the Superintendent must agree on everything, but I do see it as a priority to work together to find the best solutions for students that improve their outcomes, achievement, and overall wellbeing.