Trustee Stephanie Elad of the Frisco Independent School District (ISD) addressed the district's declining enrollment and ongoing efforts to retain teachers and expand career and technical education during a July 9, 2026 episode of The Building Texas Show. The episode, titled "Frisco's Population Boom: What's Really Happening?", featured Elad, a corporate HR executive and two-term trustee, discussing the implications of the district's transition from rapid growth to a landlocked, built-out phase.
Elad, who was reelected in 2025 to a term running through 2028, highlighted the district's new reality: after years of explosive growth, Frisco ISD is now facing declining enrollment. She noted that this inflection point requires the district to reassess its priorities, particularly in teacher retention and workforce readiness. Elad pointed to a confidential, third-party employee engagement survey she brought into the district as a key tool to improve teacher retention. "Tough conversations with staff and parents have never really been foreign to me because I've just been doing it for so long," she said, drawing on her HR background.
The conversation also touched on the district's expansion of apprenticeship pathways in plumbing, electrical, and HVAC trades, alongside existing CTE tracks like medical terminology, legal assistant work, and e-gaming. Elad argued that these programs can prepare students for careers that artificial intelligence cannot replace. She cited a neighbor who owns a plumbing business and clears a couple hundred thousand dollars a year but cannot find apprentice plumbers. "Frisco high schoolers should be able to enter apprenticeship programs earning $60,000 to $70,000 within a year or two of graduation, without debt or a four-year degree," she said.
Elad also recounted the moment that spurred her 2022 run for office: an April 2021 board meeting where the board president said, "This is our meeting, not the community's." That comment triggered a standing ovation and statewide press coverage. "That just did not sit right with me," she recalled. "I realized that what I really wanted to talk about at that point was what he had just said."
Trustee Elad discussed the district's new superintendent, hired roughly a month before the taping, and expressed renewed optimism about Frisco ISD's next chapter. The episode also explored broader workforce readiness issues, including the stigma around trades and the importance of school board elections, which often see low voter turnout. The Building Texas Show, hosted by Justin McKenzie, profiles founders, operators, educators, and civic leaders shaping the future of Texas. New episodes release weekly across YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
