Jan
9
Thank a School Board Member this Month
January 9, 2012 | | 2 Comments
Texans benefit every day from the tireless work and countless hours dedicated by a group of more than 7,300 men and women in communities across the state. As public servants, they are elected to serve by local constituents and receive no compensation for their efforts. These men and women are the school board members of Texas.
January is School Board Recognition Month and Pine Tree ISD took an opportunity at the regular meeting January 9th to thank these local leaders for devoting time to support public education and serve our local schools. Special recognition events are planned for the entire month where each board member will enjoy a special event on one of the eight Pine Tree campuses.
One example of a campus experience planned for Dr. Craig Meek’s visit to the Pine Tree High School is for him to take a Points of Pride tour of the campus: After enjoying a light breakfast provided by the students in the Culinary Arts classes, he will visit the band hall for a musical performance, and then on to the science lab for a demonstration of an animal dissection. Next, he will visit an English class where students will present him with a poem written specifically about him and then to a Government class where he will be given an award that shows they have voted him, “PTHS Favorite Board Member”.
At the board meeting Monday night, Dr. Meek was presented with two portraits created by students in the PTHS computer graphics class. Students from each grade, Pre-K through 12th, provided the board members with special creative writing projects and an invitation to visit their campus during the month. A student at the Intermediate School campus created the following recipe for the Vice President of the School Board:
5 cups of Intelligence
8 cups of Heart
9 cups of Pirate Pride
4 Tablespoons of Experience and
5 cups of Hard Work.
The Pine Tree ATPE local chapter provided dinner for the board members prior to the meeting, and the Education Foundation sweetened the pot with a specialized chocolate bar wrapped in a personalized wrapper.
“Even though we are making a special effort in January to show appreciation to our board members, we realize their contributions reflect a year-round commitment,” said Dr. TJ Farler, Pine Tree ISD Superintendent. “They selflessly give of themselves to ensure that decisions directly affecting our local schools are made by representatives of this community. In these challenging times, they face difficult choices and shoulder critical responsibilities. Their ultimate goal is always focused on the future success of every student enrolled in the district,” Farler said.
The PTISD Board of Trustees consists of seven board members elected to serve, without compensation, for overlapping terms of three years each. While candidates run for specific places, they do not represent specific geographical areas; rather, each represents PISD at large. Elections are conducted annually in May.
School trustees voluntarily tackle the enormous job of governing a school district; they donate their time to focus on the crucial role an elected board of trustee plays in our community and school. Many hours are spent researching, monitoring and making all final decisions regarding school district priorities, policies, personnel, textbooks, expenditures, and growth management. Their actions and decisions affect the present and future lives of our children.
Trustees adopt an annual budget, which is necessary to maintain and operate the schools, levy taxes to support the budget, and submit bond issues to the citizens of the district to finance construction projects, and must operate within the legal parameters of the state and federal constitutions, statutes, courts, and administrative agencies.
Among the major district achievements and honors accomplished this past year under the board’s leadership include the recognition for the ninth consecutive year of a “Superior Achievement” rating through the Schools FIRST rating, (Financial Integrity Rating System of Texas) earning a top honor for East Texas.
Board members presently serving Pine Tree ISD are:
Melinda Burns, President:
Term: 2009-2012
First elected 2003 – 8 years of service
“I count it a privilege to have a voice in making decisions which will impact our students in Pine Tree for years to come. Providing quality education for young people is one of life’s most worthy callings.”
Terre Dunn, Vice President
Term: 2010-2013
First elected 2007 – 4 years of service
“Being on the Pine Tree Board of Trustees offers a tremendous opportunity to serve the children, staff and community members of the Pine Tree District. Education plays a significant role in the lives of individuals and in the community. I hope that by working on the Board of Trustees I can help strengthen and support the mission of the Pine Tree schools.”
Pat Noon, Secretary
Term 2011-2014
First elected 2005 - 6 years of service
“Since 1964, I have been a part of Pine Tree Schools as a teacher, parent and now as a school board member. Pine Tree has always been a leader and I am very proud of our students, teachers and community.”
Charley Peck
Term: 2010-2013
First elected 2007 – 4 years of service
“I consider it a high honor and distinct privilege to serve the students, employees, and voters of Pine Tree. Our job as parents is to provide the best education possible for our children. I will work with my colleagues to make the quality of education, value to the tax payers, and work environment for the employees the best it can possibly be.”
Linda Davis
Term: 2010-2013
First elected 2007 - 4 years of service
“Throughout my past, people have sacrificed their time to insure that I had the opportunity for a great education. Serving on the Pine Tree School Board gives me the chance to ‘Pay it Forward.’ Striving to provide every child with the means to achieve an excellent education not only is an asset to our community, but also the world.”
Kerri Daugbjerg
Term: 2009-2012
First elected 2009 – 2 year of service
“My focus as a School Board Trustee is simple, to ensure that at each level of schooling we as a board are working towards defining and accomplishing goals that truly serve children first. We are charged with creating and providing the best quality education, which enables the success of all our students. I am honored to serve and hope with your honest input, I can be an effective voice for continuing to strengthen a great school district.”
Craig Meek, M.D.
Term: 2011-2014
First elected 2011
“I believe the task is clear: to be known as the premier school district and community in Texas, and to achieve excellence by every measure. The road before us will be challenging. We will have many triumphs and maybe a few set backs along the way, however we must take on this task as a community. Working together we will reach all of our goals.”
Read more about PTISD Board Meetings
Comments
2 Comments so far
Thank you for all you do for us, students and faculty. I appreciate your dedication to continue the tradition of excellance at Pine Tree.
The Pine Tree Elementary Custdians would like the thank you for all you do for us everyday.