By Darragh Doiron

The News staff writer

Brant Graham, 39, is a Memorial High School assistant principal who says he has five reasons to run for Place 4 on Port Neches-Groves ISD Board of Trustees. They are his children.

“I have five Port Neches-Groves students and they are fourth generation PN-G students. They’re important to me and their education is important to me. This is an opportunity to help not only my kids, but all the kids in the district,” he said.

Teachers, students and the bond issue are issues in his race, he said.

“Student opportunities and student achievement are important to me. We have great students. We have great teachers. We just have to make sure that we’re taking care of both of them,” Graham said.

He said the district needs to continue efforts to obtain and keep qualified teachers and other staff and strive to improve their working conditions.

He said management of bond money is a focus, “as we move through the different phases of spending the dollars the voters have approved.”

“We’ve already seen the need to check and adjust,” he said.

“I’m not coming in with an agenda other than to offer talent and qualifications to the board. As this district and other districts move forward, we need a real strong school board with a good diversity of backgrounds,” Graham said.

Graham is a previous district teacher and coach with outstanding performance reviews.

“I’m the only candidate certified by the State Board of Education. This is also what I do as my profession, so I’m very well informed of the issues that face public schools in Texas,” he said.

Graham is a member of the Texas State Teachers Association and Texas Association of Secondary School Principals. He is completing a doctorate degree in educational leadership from Lamar University and has a master’s degree in chemical engineering from Lamar University.

He and his wife, Donna, have five children: David, Kayleigh, Alyssa, Marley and Haley.

Graham was a candidate for Place 3 on the PN-GISD board in the 2007 election and lost to Carol Broussard.