Texas Ballot Compare

General election · Tuesday, November 3, 2026

Nonpartisan voter guide · Texas

School Board Trustee Place 7

Race · November 3, 2026 general election

College Station ISD
Vote for oneResearched · fact-checked
Heather SimmenHeather SimmenNonpartisan Incumbent
Karen StropeKaren StropeNonpartisan
On ballot as
Heather Simmen
Karen Strope
Current role
College Station ISD trustee, Place 7 (elected November 2023); board vice president
Vice President, Marketing, StataCorp LLC
Background
  • A&M Consolidated High School graduate, Class of 1993 (per her candidate statements)
  • Texas A&M graduate (per her candidate statements)
  • Owner, Pride Cleaners, with her husband, 32 years (per candidate)
  • Parent of a 2021 A&M Consolidated graduate and a current A&M Consolidated student
  • Family has lived in College Station for over 20 years (per her district candidate statement)
  • Parent of two CSISD graduates and a current CSISD middle school student (per her district candidate statement)
Experience
  • Previously served as board secretary (per campaign)
  • Served 10 years with the CSISD Education Foundation, including as president (per campaign)
  • School Health Advisory Council and Community Advisory Committee (2025–2026) (per her district questionnaire)
  • College Station Little League Board, sponsorship chair (2022–2023) (per her district questionnaire)
  • PTO service at three CSISD campuses since 2019 (per her district questionnaire)
Top priorities
  • "My priority is protecting classroom programs and staff compensation through responsible budgeting."
  • "competitive teacher pay to recruit and retain great educators"
  • "Progress matters, but so does continuing to raise the bar."
  • "Safety is not a one-time investment."
  • "CSISD's top needs are culture, student success, and accountability."
  • "I would prioritize restoring interventionist and GT positions"
  • "My priority is a thorough review of the budget to eliminate waste and direct more dollars to classrooms."
Tidbits
  • Curriculum and instructional materials: No public statement found
  • Library books: No public statement found
  • School funding and bonds: In a Community Impact Q&A: favors "advocating at the state level for adequate, sustainable public school funding for CSISD"
  • Vouchers / school choice: No public statement found
  • Curriculum and instructional materials: No public statement found
  • Library books: No public statement found
  • School funding and bonds: In a Community Impact Q&A: "we must scrutinize nonessential spending, including plans for a new central administration building"
  • Vouchers / school choice: No public statement found
Endorsements
None found in our research
None found in our research
Campaign website
heathersimmen.com
Not found
Heather Simmen

Heather Simmen

Nonpartisan Incumbent
On ballot as
Heather Simmen
Current role
College Station ISD trustee, Place 7 (elected November 2023); board vice president
Background
  • A&M Consolidated High School graduate, Class of 1993 (per her candidate statements)
  • Texas A&M graduate (per her candidate statements)
  • Owner, Pride Cleaners, with her husband, 32 years (per candidate)
  • Parent of a 2021 A&M Consolidated graduate and a current A&M Consolidated student
Experience
  • Previously served as board secretary (per campaign)
  • Served 10 years with the CSISD Education Foundation, including as president (per campaign)
Top priorities
  • "My priority is protecting classroom programs and staff compensation through responsible budgeting."
  • "competitive teacher pay to recruit and retain great educators"
  • "Progress matters, but so does continuing to raise the bar."
  • "Safety is not a one-time investment."
Tidbits
  • Curriculum and instructional materials: No public statement found
  • Library books: No public statement found
  • School funding and bonds: In a Community Impact Q&A: favors "advocating at the state level for adequate, sustainable public school funding for CSISD"
  • Vouchers / school choice: No public statement found
Endorsements
None found in our research
Campaign website
heathersimmen.com
Karen Strope

Karen Strope

Nonpartisan
On ballot as
Karen Strope
Current role
Vice President, Marketing, StataCorp LLC
Background
  • Family has lived in College Station for over 20 years (per her district candidate statement)
  • Parent of two CSISD graduates and a current CSISD middle school student (per her district candidate statement)
Experience
  • School Health Advisory Council and Community Advisory Committee (2025–2026) (per her district questionnaire)
  • College Station Little League Board, sponsorship chair (2022–2023) (per her district questionnaire)
  • PTO service at three CSISD campuses since 2019 (per her district questionnaire)
Top priorities
  • "CSISD's top needs are culture, student success, and accountability."
  • "I would prioritize restoring interventionist and GT positions"
  • "My priority is a thorough review of the budget to eliminate waste and direct more dollars to classrooms."
Tidbits
  • Curriculum and instructional materials: No public statement found
  • Library books: No public statement found
  • School funding and bonds: In a Community Impact Q&A: "we must scrutinize nonessential spending, including plans for a new central administration building"
  • Vouchers / school choice: No public statement found
Endorsements
None found in our research
Campaign website
Not found

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