Why are you running for this position?
Austin ISD can do better, and I’m running to help make that happen. I’m a father of three, including a child in special education. I’m tired of watching problems ignored until they become crises. The warning signs were visible for years. Children, families, teachers and staff deserve better.

Q&A: Meet the candidates for Austin ISD District 4 ahead of Nov. 3 election

Edward M. Bradfield is a father of three, including a child in special education.

Meet the candidates for Austin ISD District 4 ahead of Nov. 3 election

Edward M. Bradfield
Special Ed Advocate and Brand Manager. Lamar PTA President Two Years; Special Ed Liaison; Districtwide parent advocate; AISD campus volunteer.
Website:www.edward4aisd.com

Edward M. Bradfield is a special education advocate and brand manager.

Edward is a special education advocate and brand manager.

2026 Texas General Election

2026 Texas General Runoff

Nonpartisan

We've Seen This Movie Before

This is one of the things that really bothers me because we have seen a version of it before with Special Education.
Austin ISD spent years failing to complete special education evaluations on time. Kids who needed to be evaluated for services were waiting. In some cases they were waiting so long that they were also waiting for services they might have been legally entitled to receive. TEA eventually intervened, Austin ISD got serious about fixing the problem and the district changed staffing, scheduling and tracking systems. By January 2026, AISD reported zero overdue evaluations.

If a campus gets its first F, I want to know exactly why. After the second, I want to know what changed after the first one and whether it is working. By the third, if the answer is still no, I don't want another committee explaining that there is a problem. I want to know what we're changing again and what measurable result we expect from it.

Things to Think About: Austin ISD Is In A Mess. Here's How We Start Fixing It. — Edward M. Bradfield 4 AISD

That's the operating model I want to change. Find the problem earlier. Spend the money when it can still prevent the crisis. Measure whether it's working. Change it again if it isn't. Don't wait until State law leaves us with two terrible choices and then suddenly discover urgency.

Proposes early, measurable intervention at low-performing campuses, with changes reassessed after repeated F ratings.

- Proposes early, measurable intervention at low-performing campuses, with changes reassessed after repeated F ratings.

School Curriculum

How would you support students, families and staff amid ongoing budget constraints?
Protect the people and services closest to students. Pay teachers competitively, keep a librarian on every campus, and protect special education and direct campus support. Cut executive-level and central-office positions before student services. Listen to families and staff, then make budget decisions based on student impact and measurable results.

Sell property when selling property makes sense. Consolidate when consolidation makes sense. I have no philosophical problem with either one. But a building can only be sold once, and recurring expenses show up every year. I want recurring expenses supported by recurring revenue. That's not some exciting new financial theory. It's how you avoid showing up next summer with another hole.

The clearest example happened while I was President of the Lamar Middle School PTA, when Austin ISD proposed moving Dobie students into Lamar.
Lamar would welcome any student who walks through its doors. That was never the issue. Moving those kids would have effectively ended the Dobie community. Dobie would no longer have existed in any meaningful way as the school those teachers, staff, students and families had built together. You cannot take a school community, scatter its children, teachers and staff somewhere else and pretend nothing important was lost.

Dobie teachers, staff and families were fighting to preserve their school. I understood. I brought Dobie teachers, staff and families together with Lamar teachers, staff and families and we organized against the district plan.

Prioritizes a librarian on every campus and direct student support over executive-level and central-office positions.

Supports property sales and consolidation when appropriate, but says recurring expenses should be paid with recurring revenue.

Opposed Austin Independent School District's plan to move Dobie students to Lamar, organizing teachers, staff and families from both schools.

- Prioritizes a librarian on every campus and direct student support over executive-level and central-office positions.
- Supports property sales and consolidation when appropriate, but says recurring expenses should be paid with recurring revenue.
- Opposed Austin Independent School District's plan to move Dobie students to Lamar, organizing teachers, staff and families from both schools.

School Facilities & Resources

As of September 19, 2026, Edward M. Bradfield’s website did not contain information on this issue.

Student Wellbeing

Sell property when selling property makes sense. Consolidate when consolidation makes sense. I have no philosophical problem with either one. But a building can only be sold once, and recurring expenses show up every year. I want recurring expenses supported by recurring revenue. That's not some exciting new financial theory. It's how you avoid showing up next summer with another hole.

And I want teachers paid more. Not when everything else is finished. Not someday if Austin ISD suddenly discovers extra money under a couch cushion. The people actually standing in front of our kids every day need to be much higher on the list when we decide how recurring dollars get spent. Now. Not later.

Selling property can help us restructure and can be smart financial management, but we cannot use one-time money to permanently support recurring expenses and then act surprised when the hole shows up again next year. I want a structurally balanced district where recurring expenses are supported by recurring revenue and where teachers are much closer to the front of the line when we decide what that money pays for.

Is It Just Me?: Could a State Takeover Give Austin ISD a Way Out of Recapture? — Edward M. Bradfield 4 AISD

Supports higher teacher pay funded through recurring revenue and prioritized in district budget decisions.

- Supports higher teacher pay funded through recurring revenue and prioritized in district budget decisions.

Teachers

Supports protecting special education and direct campus support during budget constraints.

- Supports protecting special education and direct campus support during budget constraints.

Access to Education

LinkedIn

Edward M. Bradfield

Alejandra Gracias

Mauricio Mendez

Jessica Neufeld

Tricia Mitchell Kim

- A trustee is an elected member of a local school board who helps govern a public school district.

- Trustees represent community interests and are responsible for setting policies that guide how the school district operates.

- The board of trustees hires and evaluates the superintendent, who manages the day-to-day operations of the district.

- Trustees approve the district’s budget, monitor spending, and may set the local tax rate or call for bond elections to fund schools.

- The board also oversees educational programs, district goals, and overall performance.

- In Texas, trustees are elected to four-year terms, often on a rotating basis, so not all seats are elected at the same time.

- Trustees serve without financial compensation.

An official who sets policy for a local school district. 