School board candidates offer their takes at debate

DECISION 2026

Teacher compensation, taxes major topics

Teacher pay and tax rates took center stage during a debate this past week between two school board candidates on the May 2 ballot.

Boerne Independent School District Place 7 trustee Rich Sena and challenger Michael Ethridge fielded questions Wednesday posed by the Boerne Civic Roundtable in front of a packed house at the Patrick Heath Library community room.

Budgeting and district finances were at the heart of comments from both candidates. Ethridge questioned percentages of budget growth and debt in relation to educators’ compensation, and Sena laid out the board’s progress during his 10 years as a trustee.

Sena said the role of trustees rests in crafting a budget, approving policies that affect children and hiring the superintendent.

“ I t ’s very important to understand that role and not interfere with such duties as hiring teachers,” he said.

Sena said education “is the meal ticket to achieving the American dream,” telling of his life as a first-genera tion U.S. citizen after his parents arrived from Italy. “Communities can have beautiful parks and great roads, but you can never thrive unless you have excellent schools,” Sena said.

Ethridge spelled out his platform as “support the teachers who make our school great, protect the taxpayers who fund them, and Boerne ISD remains the ‘destination district’ our community expects it to be.”

Budgeting, he added, will be a priority if elected. In his opening statement, Ethridge, a Boerne High School graduate, drew comparisons of district percentages involving revenue, spending, debt and teacher pay.

“Boerne ISD doesn’t have a funding problem; we have a spending problem,” he said. “Revenue is up 83%, enrollment is up 48% and debt is up 120% ... while teacher pay has risen only 14%. My priority is making sure we live within our means and prioritize the classroom.”

He added, “Those numbers tell a story. There was a time when Boerne ISD was known for paying above the state average. Today, our teachers are paid below the state average.”

Sena, in taking the podium following Ethridge, said he wanted to “correct some of that fake news.”

He explained the state formula that shows the district’s combination of inflation and population at 98%.

“Our budget has grown at a far lower rate than that,” he said.

Spending caps, Sena said, keep Boerne ISD’s expenditures at $3,000 less per student, based on a school funding formula established by the state.

“The (district’s) 83% budget increase is less than the combined enrollment growth and inflation over the last decade,” Sena added.

The starting pay for teachers during Sena’s time on the board has risen from $43,000 to $60,000, he said.

“I don’t think there’s a person in this community that’s advocated for teacher pay more than me,” he said, having chaired a district legislative advocacy committee that supported the Texas Senate teacher retention allotment, which brought educators more pay.

“Strong institutions only stay strong when leadership is willing to ask hard questions about priorities,” Ethridge said.

While on the board, Sena said the district has maintained an “A” rating every year since the accountability system was established by the state and has expanded programming that allows graduates to leave BISD with an associate degree.