Board of Trustees Home

Term: 2024-2027
Board Committee(s): Legislative Advocacy, Long Range Facility Planning, Campus Boundary, Technology

Board Trustee
Mr. Carlin Friar is the Place 1 Board Member for Boerne Independent School District, currently serving his fourth three-year term since first being elected in 2015. A Boerne High graduate (1989), he holds a B.S. in Criminal Justice from UT San Antonio and has 40 years of experience in banking and finance. He and his wife Susan have triplet children—all Champion High graduates.

Mr. Friar joined the BISD Board to provide leadership and perspective as a lifelong resident, aiming to help current and future students benefit from quality education amid district growth. He credits Boerne ISD’s successes—including recent statewide and regional honors—to strong community support and a commitment to continuously improving student opportunities.

In his free time, Mr. Friar enjoys family travel, scuba diving, hunting, and fishing.

Term: 2024-2027
Board Committee(s): Technology, P-TECH Cybersecurity Advisory Board, District Technology Advisory,  Communications, Systems of Care/Student Health Advisory, Safety & Security

Board Trustee
Dallas Pipes has been a resident of Boerne since 2001. Dallas grew up in the south Texas town of Dilley where he graduated from Dilley High School. A native Texan and a father of four children, with his two oldest attending Fabra. He has held Boerne football season tickets for over two decades. He retired from the Air Force due to combat injuries, after spending 4 years in Iraq. He serves as a mentor for The Wounded Warrior Project and is involved in the Falcon Fathers program and is also a diamond sponsor of the Fabra PTO. Additionally, he has contributed to various committees within Boerne ISD prior to becoming a board member to include the Long-Range Steering Committee, the Boerne ISD Community Leadership Academy, and the Superintendent Search Community Interview Group. He is also a Boerne Leadership graduate through the Boerne Chamber of Commerce. After his military service, he returned to Boerne, where he pursued a real estate career, continuing a family tradition spanning four generations. He has operated a successful real estate business in Boerne for over a decade participating in multiple boards and leadership positions within the industry. Dallas’ wife, Lacey, spent time growing up in Boerne and attended the original Fabra before moving away to graduate from New Braunfels High School. Dallas' siblings, Mason and Mollie, graduated from Champion High School and still reside in Boerne. His father, Tommy Pipes has been an active community member since 1998.

Term: 2024-2027
Board Committee(s): Finance, Facilities, P-TECH Health Science Advisory Board, Campus Boundary, Policy, Safety & Security

President
Mrs. Courtney Darter-Bruce holds the Boerne Independent School District Board Trustee position for Place 3.

As a proud graduate of Boerne High School in 1998, Darter-Bruce has come full circle. She considers herself blessed to have grown up in this remarkable community and graduated under the leadership of the late legendary Principal Samuel V. Champion, who left a lasting impact. Her four children, who attend or recently graduated from Boerne schools, further strengthen her connection to the community and school district.

Mrs. Darter-Bruce is a bridge-builder who enjoys making meaningful connections with BISD students, teachers, staff, and community members. She desires to foster a sense of unity among all the schools in the district to ensure that each school is pursuing a common goal of providing high-quality education for all students. She believes every child deserves a good education, and teachers deserve our utmost respect and should be supported appropriately. Darter-Bruce is a servant leader with strong morals and conservative values and will listen to the concerns and needs of the community and work to address them in a way that benefits all.

Darter-Bruce is a devoted campus volunteer and an avid supporter of many organizations across the district. She served as a PTO Co-President and a Member of the District Education Improvement Committee, Long-Range Steering Committee, Safety and Security Committee, Strike Force Parent Engagement Committee, Bond Oversight Committee, and Site-Based Committees. She is also a BISD Hall of Honor Board Member and Class of 2016 Hall of Honor Inductee, BISD Boerne's Best Alumni Association Board Member, was a Boerne Education Foundation Board Member, and the Boerne Insider Talk Show Co-Host, along with additional opportunities of service as well.

Darter-Bruce is grateful for the opportunity to further her dedication to supporting our schools as a Trustee. As a parent, she sees how policies affect our students, teachers, and families first-hand and feels we should always ask ourselves: 'Does this decision benefit our students and teachers?' If the answer is no, working until we find a solution is essential. Darter-Bruce is committed to creating a positive impact and leaving a lasting legacy, feels honored to serve in this capacity, and hopes to make a positive difference in Boerne ISD.

Courtney Darter-Bruce has been married to Chris Bruce for 23 years. Together, her family loves to attend sporting events, participating and watching others. They also enjoy time at the lake and the ranch and attending church together.

Term: 2025-2028
Board Committee(s): Finance, Facilities, Program Evaluation, Campus Boundary, Student Centered Scheduling, Boerne Education Foundation, Long Range Facility Planning, Legislative Advocacy

Secretary
Sarah Faulkenberry is the newly elected trustee for Place 4 on the Boerne Independent School District (BISD) Board. She brings 18 years of experience in volunteer management, community service, and organizational support.

Within BISD, Sarah has served on numerous committees, including the DEIC, IGC, Calendar Committee, and various Site-Based Committees. She also held six years of PTO leadership roles at Fair Oaks Ranch Elementary and Voss Middle School, and volunteered on the Executive Committee of the Boerne Education Foundation.

Her service extends beyond the district, including roles on the boards of the Boerne Chapter of the National Charity League, the 8th Grade Cotillion Committee, and as Volunteer Coordinator for a local swim team. She is also the steward of a Little Free Library.

As the proud wife of wounded veteran John Faulkenberry, Sarah supported their family through multiple deployments. Following his medical retirement after losing his right leg in Afghanistan, she became active in caregiving and advocacy roles, volunteering with the Department of Veterans Affairs and Army Community Services to support veteran families.

Sarah has two children currently in 9th and 7th grade. She grew up in a household committed to education, with her mother serving 28 years as a teacher and early childhood specialist.

She holds a Master’s Degree in Public Administration with a Graduate Certificate in Nonprofit Management from the University of Texas at San Antonio, and a Bachelor’s Degree in Restaurant, Hotel, and Institutional Management from Texas Tech University.

Term: 2025-2028
Board Committee(s): Finance, Special Education, Communications, Student Centered Scheduling

Board Trustee
Garrett grew up in Corpus Christi and graduated from Texas A&M University with a bachelor's degree in Finance. Afterwards, he spent many years in the oil field and eventually graduated from New Mexico Tech with a master’s degree in Petroleum Engineering. He currently works for a local community bank in Boerne and is also a proud graduate of the Southwestern Graduate School of Banking at SMU.

He has been married to his wife, Melissa Wilson, for 18 years. She works as an accountant, participates in the Boerne ISD Mentorship program and as a host parent for NUEYO, a part of Still Water Sports Camps Campus Ministry. She also served on the Fabra Elementary PTO, as a children’s leader for Bible Study Fellowship, and is a member of 100 Women of the Hill Country. They have two children in Boerne ISD and are proud members of First Baptist Church - Boerne.

Additionally, Garrett serves the Boerne non-profit community as a member of the Centurions of Kendall County, an advisory board member of the Hill Country Pregnancy Care Center, a member of Boerne 100, and former President of the Hill Country Aggie Club.

In his free time, Garrett enjoys music, serving at church, spending time with his family, and hiking and skiing. “Education is not about obscure facts and little test scores.

Education is about the overall effect of years of slow absorption, concepts, philosophies, approaches to problem solving. The whole process is so grand and all-encompassing that it really can't be threatened by the occasional late night no-hitter.” - Mr. Feeney

Term: 2023-2026
Board Committee(s): Program Evaluation, Special Education, Student Centered Scheduling, District Educational Improvement, PTO Collaboration, Safety & Security

Board Trustee
Born and raised in West Texas, Mrs. Schmidt was the first person in her family to attend college thanks to her incredible teachers and administrators in public education. She was the last graduating class of Southwest Texas, now Texas State, and graduated with a Bachelor’s of Science in Education, specializing in middle school ELA/Reading/SS and minoring in child psychology.

Mrs. Schmidt was hired at Boerne Middle School North where she taught 7th and 8th grade English and coached volleyball, basketball, and tennis. She served as the StuCo Sponsor, Talent Show Coordinator, mentor teacher for emergency certification teacher, and was even a bus driver for field trips and sporting events.

She left teaching to raise Greyhounds of her own, but kept involved by substituting, volunteering as PTO President, serving on site-based decision committees, district education improvement committees, and the district communications committee.

Outside of school, her 3 teenagers keep her and her husband busy with all of their extracurriculars. They have two at Boerne High School and one at Boerne Middle School North; all three attended Curington Elementary. They are all athletes, so they spend a lot of time on fields, in gyms, and at the courts.

Her family has attended First Baptist Church Boerne for twenty years where they currently help to lead the new member luncheons. Mrs. Schmidt enjoyed spending several years in the children’s ministry department, teaching and leading family activities to children and their families. The Schmidt family also enjoys hunting, fishing, cooking, and spending time with their family and friends.

Her passion for serving, combined with her genuine care for the students and staff in BISD is what led her to run for the BISD Board of Trustees, Place 6. Boerne is the best place to live, work, and raise a family and she wants to do her part to help maintain this, especially during growth. She strives for communities to thrive and understand that a great village takes obligation, respect, love, conviction, patience, and example.

“People do not care how much you know until they know how much you care.” - John C Maxwell

“This is life. Learning to deal with struggle and to develop responsibility is crucial. A good parent prepares the child for the path, not the path for the child. We can still demonstrate gentle and attached parenting without raising children who melt away on a rainy day.” - Jen Hatmaker

Term: 2023-2026
Board Committee(s): Facilities, Long-Range Facility Planning, Policy, Legislative Advocacy

Vice-President
Mr. Rich Sena holds the position of board member for Place 7 for Boerne Independent School District.

Mr. Sena is in his 11^th year as a BISD Board Trustee.

After graduating from Pelham Memorial High School in New York, Mr. Sena received a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and International Relations from Colgate University.

Mr. Sena owns his own insurance agency and has two children. His daughter is a 4th-grade teacher at Comal ISD's Bill Brown Elementary, and his son is a sales associate at David Weekly Homes. Both of his children were educated in Boerne ISD for all 13 years of elementary and secondary education. 

When asked why he joined the BISD School Board he said, “Providing a strong education for our children is the most important thing a community can do. I want future generations of Boerne ISD students to have the same excellent experience that my children had.” Mr. Sena added, “I want to use my God-given skills to help plan for a prosperous and beneficial future for our students. 

In his spare time, he enjoys reading, traveling, and studying public policy. 

Mr. Sena’s favorite quote on education is, “Climb High, Climb Far, Your Goal the Sky, Your Aim the Star”.