Note: This is the first story in a series from Athens ISD profiling the seven members of the Board of Trustees.
By Toni Garrard Clay/AISD Communications Specialist
It’s quite possible Rob Risko has never met a stranger. Gregarious even as a youngster, Risko fittingly makes his living as a professor of history. And as president of the Athens ISD Board of Trustees, he handles procedural matters with polished aplomb.
Risko graduated from Athens High School in 1989 with a full football scholarship from Southern Methodist University to play on their offensive line. After graduating from SMU, he earned his master’s degree in history and political science from UT Tyler. His first job in education was at Brownsboro ISD, where he taught all the social sciences during his tenure — history, government, geography, economics — to students ranging from seventh graders to seniors. Then, in 2001, Risko was hired as a history professor by Trinity Valley Community College, where he happily remains.
He and his wife, Stacey, have three children. John is a freshman at Athens High School; Rachel is a 6th-grader, and Ben is in fourth grade. Stacy is a special education counselor for Athens ISD, where she handles cases at every campus. In short, the Risko family is deeply invested in the welfare of the school district.
“If you’re not in this to help kids, then you’re in it for the wrong reasons,” he said.
Risko’s third term as a trustee expires next year. When he joined the board, nine years ago, he was among those who advocated successfully for the creation of a capital projects fund. “Before that, everything was run out of the fund balance,” he said. “If you’ve been a healthy school district, and you have a fat fund balance, the state wants to know why you’re crying for money when you’ve got plenty in that balance. The establishment of the capital projects fund enabled us to cover things like the improvements [starting this fall] at the intermediate school with the addition of eight classrooms and to have a rainy day fund for air conditioners when they go out.”
Risko is clear about the role of the board of trustees, noting that members have no executive authority. “We take care of the two most precious things to most parents: their children and their money,” he said. “We can either accept, reject or amend policies, contracts and budgets. What we do not do is run the day-to-day operations of the district.”
Risko believes the district is behaving wisely with its funds (“[Chief Financial Officer] Randy Jones and his staff have done an awesome job managing our money”), has excellent leadership under Superintendent Blake Stiles (“I can’t say enough positive things about him”) and is doing right by its students.
“Clearly when you look at how our students do in the classroom and in UIL competition and how they go on to be productive citizens, we’re doing a fabulous job,” said Risko. “We have some room for improvement, no doubt. But the great and challenging thing about a public school is that we take everybody, and how we perform with everybody is tough.
“Austin is trying to impose a one-size-fits-all standard on education, and that’s horrible. … We’re greater than the sum of our parts. I’m not a fan of our standardized testing, and I don’t think you’re going to find many people who are.”
Risko said the seven board members don’t agree on everything, “but we agree on the principle that the kids are the first consideration in all of our decisions.”
“I believe we’re moving in a great direction,” he said. “Policies and spending money are pretty boring stuff, but when you see programs in place that have success, that’s gratifying.”
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More about Rob Risko
- He is an avid deer hunter and “just for fun” occasionally uses a 3-band Enfield Civil War musket replica. “It packs a wallop. It combines history and deer hunting: two of my favorite things.”
- As a member of the Henderson County Historical Commission, Risko wrote the text for the historical marker for the Masonic Lodge posted on Hwy. 175 outside of Athens and the text for an upcoming marker for Clint W. Murchison Sr. at Athens Cemetery.