FRISCO, TEXAS – Frisco ISD Board President John Classe announced today that he will seek re-election to his Place 6 seat in the school district’s May 5, 2018 general election.
Classe, a 17-year Frisco resident, first joined the Board of Trustees in 2014 and was elected president by his colleagues in 2017.
“It is an honor to represent the residents of one of the most sought-after school districts in the state of Texas,” John Classe said in his announcement. “It is no secret we have been and continue to be one of the fastest-growing school districts in the nation. That growth is attributable to the superior educational opportunities Frisco ISD provides its students, and to the desirable learning community that has developed through stable leadership.”
Since joining the board in 2014, Classe says he is most proud of the effort put into expanding opportunity for FISD students. “Maintaining a smaller high school environment, even through unprecedented growth, has given our children more opportunity to participate in fine arts, athletics and career certifications. We have expanded partnerships with higher learning institutions such as Collin College, so students can graduate high school having already attained an associate’s degree.”
As a goal for his next term, Classe says he wants to continue to identify additional academic opportunities for FISD families. That strategy is yielding continuous results for Frisco ISD, who recently announced the planned rollout of the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Programme and Primary Years Programme – two offerings identified in the district’s 2015 Strategic Plan, and long sought by Frisco ISD families.
In order to keep pace with growth and continue enhancing student achievement, Classe is also a proponent of school finance reform at the state level. “Maintaining the level of excellence our community expects from its school district requires a modern state school funding formula that rewards success,” Classe observed. “Instead, we are challenged with outdated indexes, the widening creep of Robin Hood and a declining share of state funding. Frisco ISD homeowners are paying more but that money isn’t staying here, where it should be spent on Frisco ISD kids. Texas taxpayers have realized that the only way to truly reform property taxes is through fixing school finance in the Legislature.” He believes that strong relationships with legislators and increasing community awareness of public school funding challenges will contribute to solutions.
Classe is proud that the district has been a good steward of its financial resources and should continue to make that a top priority.
“While we as a Board work with our state leaders on school finance reform, the district will also continue focusing resources on students and the classroom. I am proud that Frisco ISD has once again achieved an ‘A’ or Superior rating in the Financial Integrity Rating System of Texas (FIRST),” Classe shared. The FIRST program was created by the 77th Texas Legislature in 2001 to encourage better management of financial resources by local governments; Frisco ISD has maintained the top rating every year since the program was established.
John Classe is a Certified Financial Planner™ professional and has been serving clients with Bell Financial Group in Frisco since 2002. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and a minor in Computer Science from Vanderbilt University.
A Dallas native, Classe is a graduate of Leadership Frisco Class XVI, and has served as a board member of the Frisco Education Foundation, Frisco Economic Development Corporation, Frisco Community Development Corporation, a commissioner on the City of Frisco 2013 Charter Review Commission, and a member and Chair of the Frisco Parks and Recreation Board.
Classe and his wife, Melanie, have been married for 17 years. They have two daughters who attend Frisco ISD schools in 7th and 4th grade.