Please Vote for Heather Sheffield for Eanes ISD School Board, Place Six
Political advertisement paid for by Heather Sheffield.
About Heather
Re-Elect Heather Sheffield for EISD Trustee Place 6 - Vote Early April 25-May 3 or on May 7th!
Heather was originally elected to the Eanes ISD School Board in May, 2019. She proudly serves on the executive committee as the Board's secretary. Heather has done a lot for our amazing district but she still has work to do as a Trustee in Eanes ISD. Please vote to re-elect Heather so she can continue working for taxpayers and advocating for students and staff.
Since Heather began serving on the Eanes ISD board, she has helped the district in many ways including with the following initiatives:
- The overall tax rate decreased from $1.20 to $1.06 per $100 valuation during her tenure due to both local and state action
- The district opened a new wrestling multipurpose room
- A new Robotics and Engineering building at Westlake High School
- A new Aquatics Facility, which the community and students will have access to this winter, that will not negatively impact the district's budget
- The Spanish Immersion program was continued
- A balanced budget despite many challenges including the state taking over $100 million (this year alone) of our tax dollars per year
- EISD gained additional golden pennies from the state of Texas, resulting in $7.2 million in nonrecapturable funds used to hire 130 full-time teachers
- Votes to fulfill the promises made with $132 million in bonds that were supported by the community, leading to instructional technology and facility updates in the district
- Raises for teachers and substitutes
Heather was elected by other Trustees around the state to serve on the Texas Association of School Boards Legislative Advisory Council (LAC) for Region 13 representing Eanes ISD. The job of the LAC members is to help merge the regional priorities identified by board members around the state into a statewide list of priorities for TASB and to advocate for public education. Heather has served as both a Delegate and an Alternate of the TASB Delegate Assembly for our district. Delegates play an important role in TASB’s governance and create the Advocacy Agenda for TASB to pursue during the following legislative biennium. Heather was one of 30 Trustees from Texas selected to go to Washington D.C. for the National School Board Association's Advocacy Institute in February, 2020 where she met with lawmakers to discuss federal education policies impacting Eanes ISD. Heather was awarded a stipend from TASB and will go back to D.C. in January, 2022 to advocate for our school district again. Heather is a current member of the Leadership TASB program and is on pace to become a Master Trustee in 2022. She served as a Board liaison on the Eanes ISD Legislative Priority committee for the 87th Legislative Session. Heather is an active member of the Central Texas School Board Association.
Professionally, Heather is the Director of Outreach, Advocacy, and Client Relations for a law firm that specializes in working with public schools. She is a Registered Provider of continuing education for school board members and superintendents and has lobbied for the Texas Rural Education Association and Texas Rural Broadband Coalition. Heather is not currently a registered lobbyist and is focusing on grassroots advocacy. Her work allows her to gain knowledge, experience, and to advocate for public education in a way that also helps her be a better Trustee for Eanes ISD. Heather's experience in business, as an advocate, and as a former 1st grade teacher, along with her volunteer work, lead her to run for the school board originally and helps her make decisions while she continues to serve. She has held almost every possible volunteer role within a school, including PTA President. Heather was awarded a Honorary Lifetime PTA award for her work. Since moving to Eanes ISD with her husband and two children, Heather has been extremely involved at both the campus and district level as well as at the Capitol. Heather attended almost all of the EISD Board Study Sessions and Board Meetings along with the 2018-2019 Bond Advisory Committee meetings for three years before being elected to the Board. She founded the group Eanes Advocates in 2017 and sat on the District Leadership Team from 2016-2019. She was an original member of the Envision Eanes committee and was a member of the 2018-2019 calendar committee along with the Eanes ISD Legislative Priority committee for the 86th Legislative Session and the Special Education Parent Working Group. Heather supports the Eanes Education Foundation and proudly serves on the EEF Teacher Fund Committee. She was also instrumental in helping to pass the “Penny Swap & Drop”/Tax Ratification Election (TRE). Heather has gone to great lengths to learn about and understand the complicated school finance system in Texas.
Heather is the current Board President of the grassroots group, Texans Advocating for Meaningful Student Assessment (TAMSA). She testifies at the State Board of Education meetings and at House and Senate hearings at the Capitol often on behalf of Eanes Advocates, Decoding Dyslexia, TAMSA, and Texans for Public Education. Heather is invited to and regularly attends Texas Education Agency stakeholder meetings and was selected to be a parent participant on the Texas Education Agency’s Special Education Teacher Certification Policy Forum. She was awarded the 2019 Citizen of the Year "Westie" Award by the Westlake Chamber of Commerce and was asked to chair the event for the Westlake Chamber 2021 and 2022. Heather is also a Volunteer Deputy Registrar, a proud sustaining member of the Junior League of Austin and a Patroness of the Hills of Austin chapter of National Charity League. She sits on the Westlake Chamber of Commerce's Board of Directors and serves as the President-Elect on the Board of Directors for the Rotary Club of Austin Westlake.
Heather loves the Eanes ISD community and is committed to serving the children and taxpayers. She has two children currently attending Eanes ISD schools with a long way to go until graduation. Heather is passionate about making sure that ALL children get the best education possible. She believes in transparency and engaging students, parents, teachers, staff and other district stakeholders. Heather understands the needs and concerns of our community and she is a good listener. She and her family are grateful that Eanes is already an exemplary and innovative school district and she has proven she will do the work to make it even better.
Heather would be honored to have your vote to continue her service on the Eanes ISD school board to preserve, protect and defend Eanes ISD in Place 6.
Get Involved
Heather‘s family supports her but she would appreciate your help. You can help by endorsing her in this school board election, by putting a sign in your yard, by sending out an email about Heather’s campaign, by sharing her Facebook or Instagram page and/or by donating. You can also host a coffee or a campaign party! Please help keep Heather on the Eanes ISD School Board by putting up yard signs all over our district (Austin, West Lake Hills, Rollingwood, Barton Creek, Cuernavaca, Lost Creek, Woods of Westlake, etc.!) Let's keep Heather as a Trustee in Place 6!
Vote for a Proven Advocate for Children
Heather is a strong and proven advocate for children and taxpayers. She has extensive experience at the campus and district level but also with the State Board of Education, the Texas Education Agency and at the Capitol. Please support Heather when she runs for re-election in May, 2022.
Please Contribute
Please donate to keep Heather on the board. Any funds left after the campaign will be donated to the Eanes Education Foundation.
