Leadership Through Inclusion

At the start of her junior year in high school, Rolinda Schmidt and her family left the Houston area where she had enjoyed a busy, happy life since she was a toddler. They headed west to the family ranch outside Kerrville. It was a dramatic change that taught her an important life lesson, but it would not be her last.

“What a culture shock that was — urban to rural, rural, rural — my life was over!” Schmidt said in recalling how she felt about the shift from a metropolitan area to the Texas Hill Country. “But I quickly learned I had prejudged and misjudged this new hometown of mine and soon grew to love the friendships and freedoms that came with living the smalltown life.”

Schmidt, TASB President for 2024-25 and a Kerrville ISD trustee for 28 years and counting, said the move taught her the true meaning of a famous line by Walt Whitman: “Be curious, not judgmental.”

Being inquisitive and optimistic, listening and asking questions, and seeking solutions that many stakeholders can embrace are trademarks of Schmidt’s approach to life and her efforts to serve her community. Those are traits she also brings to her new role as president of TASB, serving at a time when public education is facing funding and other challenges and is sure to be a focus of the Texas Legislature next year.

Kerrville ISD Superintendent Brent Ringo said Schmidt’s long tenure as a school board trustee will serve her well at the Association because it demonstrates her commitment to public education and is “a testament to her unwavering dedication, vision, and heart.

“Mrs. Schmidt has helped shape generations, not just in Kerrville, but across our great state of Texas while serving TASB. Her leadership has helped ensure that public education remains a beacon of hope and an opportunity for every student,” Ringo said. “I truly appreciate her legacy of service and the profound impact her experiences will bring as president of TASB, as the ripple effect of her leadership will continue to have a positive impact for years to come.”

Another superintendent who worked with Schmidt at Kerrville ISD also has high praise for her work as a compassionate and respected public education advocate.

“Rolinda is a remarkable leader,” said TASB Executive Director Dan Troxell, who was Kerrville ISD’s superintendent from 2003 to 2016. “She has a great heart for children, teachers, and staff. She also thinks strategically and looks for the win-win solution. She listens first and always ensures that everyone has their voice heard, which builds trust in her leadership. I think that makes her especially unique and effective as a leader.”

A Compassionate Path

Schmidt was born in Fort Worth, where her parents had earlier graduated from Arlington Heights High School. Her father attended Baylor University on a baseball scholarship but returned to Fort Worth after graduation to work for Marathon Oil Co. as an oil and gas landman, who works with landowners to acquire leases for the development of energy sources. Her mother went straight to work out of high school as a phone operator and receptionist at a law firm located in the same building as Marathon Oil. They met, married within a year, and had two boys and a girl. Schmidt, the middle child, is named after her father, Roland, who was transferred to Houston when she was three.

A Passion for Helping Others

Helping others has long been Schmidt’s passion. After moving to the Hill Country and then graduating from Kerrville ISD’s Tivy High School, she went west again to Denver, where she attended Colorado Women’s College for a year. She returned to her home state, enrolling at Southwest Texas State, now Texas State University, as a sociology major. After two years as a Bobcat, she transferred to San Jose State University in California to pursue a degree in social services, which wasn’t offered then at Southwest. At San Jose, she worked as a nurse’s aide at a group home for children with health conditions that included Down syndrome, spina bifida, cerebral palsy, and heart abnormalities.

“I grew to admire and love each one of those special needs kids who had so much love and joy to offer, even in their limited physical or mental capacity,” Schmidt said. “I came to appreciate the gentle and caring nature of the special education teachers, aides, and bus drivers who dedicated their lives to the wellbeing of these students every school day.”

Her caring and dedicated approach was cultivated in part from a line Schmidt’s parents recited to her often from Mother Teresa’s Anyway poem: “The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow; do good anyway.” She believes those wise words instilled an important value and belief system in her that led to her degree path and “ultimately where I am today.”

She likely would have led a happy life of service in California, but a dramatic course change was ahead. With it came another important life lesson: Family comes first.

A Close-Knit Family

When they were in Houston, Schmidt and her older brother attended rival high schools because her family moved to a new attendance zone when she started high school. Their high school rivalry prompted spirited family dinner conversations and some confusion for the parents at school events. It was all in good fun. They were a close family.

While away at college in California, her beloved older brother, Cully, was killed in an automobile accident. The tragedy prompted Schmidt to move back to Kerrville after she graduated from college so she could be with her grieving family.

Schmidt eventually married and moved to Washington D.C., where her then-husband Clarence “Butch” Randall was a lobbyist. When Ronald Reagan was elected president, Randall joined the new president’s administration in 1981. A highlight for Schmidt was meeting then-President Reagan when he strolled through the White House Mess, the dining room for West Wing staffers run by the U.S. Navy.

But political life was hard on family life. The couple divorced several years later after a brief move to the rural community of Westcliffe, Colorado, for a simpler lifestyle that involved farming.

Schmidt left Colorado with her two small children and moved home to Kerrville — again for the strength of family. Back in Kerrville, Schmidt eventually went to work in the family real estate development business, earning a real estate broker’s license. She married Arthur Schmidt, a local homebuilder and former classmate, and they have raised three children — Shaun, Amelia, and Hunter. They now have seven grandchildren. “The silver lining in this change of career direction is it afforded me the flexibility to be present and engaged in school events for my own three children,” she said. “I was an active member of campus PTOs, served on the [Kerrville ISD] districtwide planning committees, and was a board member for our public school foundation. Our family hosted two foreign exchange students from the Netherlands through the Rotary Club.”

Schmidt got involved in community organizations, including the Kerr County United Way, which opened another door of public service for her in a most unexpected way.

A Quick, but Important, Decision

Serving in Kerr County as the campaign chair for United Way gave her the opportunity to meet area educators. One day decades ago, she walked into Kerrville ISD’s central office for one such meeting.

However, someone at the front desk mistakenly thought she was there for another reason and asked if she needed a school board candidate packet. Schmidt quickly pondered that possibility — then picked up a packet! Another course change was launched. “A school board position was not on my radar at that time, but that simple question on a Friday afternoon with one hour to the deadline to file changed my life.” In 1996, Schmidt was first elected to the Kerrville ISD school board, which serves a midsize district of about 4,600 students. She has continuously served on the board for 28 years and has been board president, vice president, and secretary. “I have more passion, dedication, and commitment today than I did in those very early months of learning just what I had signed up for,” she said. A primary reason for her continued desire to serve lies in the strength of her local board. “Our Kerrville community has been fortunate to have a school board that is truly invested in the best interests of all our students and staff.”

Serving Kerrville ISD

A couple years after she was first elected, Dr. David Sprouse joined her on the Kerrville ISD board. Sprouse is now board president.

“Rolinda is a person who is the perfect balance of smart businesswoman and kind, caring servant,” Sprouse said. “On the board, she has worked tirelessly on behalf of not only our local district’s students, but due to her commitment of service for school boards and schoolchildren on a statewide level, her positive impact has been exponentially expanded.”

Schmidt is a strong supporter of the district’s early childhood education center, literacy programs, STEAM Education, and CCMR initiatives, to name a few.

During her time as a trustee, the district has passed bond packages to build a high school, middle school, elementary school, agricultural facility, renovate athletic facilities, and add safety and security upgrades on all existing campuses. She is especially proud that those projects were completed on time and within budget.

Schmidt also introduced a leadership program modeled after one at Hurst-Euless-Bedford ISD. She learned about the program at an annual txEDCON convention during a presentation by Julie Cole, a current TASB director, and Faye Beaulieu, the 2013-14 TASB President. This leadership program gives community members the opportunity to learn about the school district and the Texas public school system, and it serves as a way to showcase district success.

The program has graduated more than 135 community ambassadors and future school board candidates. “It’s a reflection on how it takes a community-wide effort to ensure that every student has the educational resources and opportunities to reach his/her full potential,” Schmidt said.

She also has worked to expand the district’s CTE offerings, and in collaboration with the local airport board, the Airplane Owners and Pilots Association, and former NASA professionals, aviation courses were added to the district’s high school curriculum. “This has been a welcome addition for our Air Force Junior ROTC students and others, many of whom have earned a pilot’s license or drone pilot certification.”

Schmidt also has served on the Campus Improvement Team at Kerrville’s academic alternative high school for more than 20 years. “She always provides support to the school and administration,” said Steve Schwarz, senior director of Alternative Education. “Rolinda is an asset to our community. She has committed years of time and effort to our district and community. She is very thorough in her school board time and effort. She reads everything and offers excellent ideas.”

Another program dear to Schmidt’s public ed heart is Kerrville’s sixth grade Outdoor Education program, which offers students from the district’s four elementary schools the opportunity to bond as one class. A few weeks after school starts each year, these students can go on an overnight trip at a local camp deep in the Hill Country, arguably Texas’s most picturesque territory.

“Fifty-seven percent of our Kerrville students are economically disadvantaged and most of these have not experienced camp life or an overnight away from home, so this is quite a unique experience for them,” Schmidt said. “It’s a perfect setting for students and teachers to bond in a nontraditional school setting.”

While fun for the kids, the camp program is a labor-intensive effort that requires community sponsors, program presenters, and parent volunteers. Schmidt has been a lacing presenter for 18 years. (For those not familiar with lacing, an activity that helps build hand-eye coordination, finger strength, and concentration. She encourages you to ask for a demo the next time you see her!)

“I really appreciate the opportunity this camp experience affords our kids in a beautiful setting along the Frio River, away from all the distractions and barriers of everyday life. Best of all, no cell phone service!”

Service through TASB

Schmidt was sworn in as TASB President this September at txEDCON24 in San Antonio at Delegate Assembly. But her first encounter with the annual convention came decades ago shortly after being elected to the Kerrville ISD board in 1996. At her first convention, she remembers feeling grateful that the district was part of a statewide organization that was deeply committed to Texas schoolchildren. (Read more about her first convention and plans as TASB President in her inaugural column on page 5.)

She attended Leadership TASB, graduating as a Master Trustee in 1999. Schmidt has served on the TASB Board for many years, including the past several years as a board officer.

Troxell said a cornerstone of Schmidt’s leadership style is that she is an inclusive collaborator who works to get input from all stakeholders. And she never seeks credit for all the work she’s done.

“Rolinda is a humble, respected, ethical, and civic-minded person. She is a true leader in the Kerrville community and a strong statewide leader in public education,” Troxell said. “She leads by finding smart ways to build consensus and has a keen ability to think around corners and find ways to act on large and small ideas. She has a brilliant business mind and incredible insight into people. She understands what motivates them.”

For Debbie Gillespie, the 2022-23 TASB President, Schmidt is a great mentor and friend who sets an example of what it truly means to value others.

“One of the greatest privileges of serving on a board such as TASB is sharing your passion while watching and learning from others,” said Gillespie, who was a Frisco ISD board member and the 2023-24 TASB Immediate Past President. “I have learned so much by watching the way Rolinda cares about her family, friends, the Kerrville ISD students, staff, and community, and all of our precious public school students in Texas. Her involvement and service to her community are wonderful examples of servant leadership.

“I could not be more excited and prouder to see her as the next president of TASB,” Gillespie said.

Schmidt is excited as well.

“I have been blessed with some of the most amazing mentors throughout my life, and my hope is to put to use the wisdom and experience I have gained to best serve TASB and all the hardworking trustees across this great state of Texas,” Schmidt said. “Together we are better.”