January is School Board Recognition Month and Ector County ISD is honored to celebrate its Trustees for their dedication and commitment to the ECISD’s students and staff.
“This celebration is even more special this year, knowing our Board is the Region 18 Outstanding School Board,” ECISD Superintendent Scott Muri said in a news release. “School board members are unpaid. They are selfless. They spend long hours working to ensure all of our students have the opportunity to learn, grow, and pursue whatever passion they choose. School Board Recognition Month is the time for our entire community to tell them ‘thank you’ for all they do.”
Serving as a link between the community and classroom, school board members are elected to establish the policies that provide the framework for public schools. The ECISD board is responsible for an annual budget of $350 million, more than 32,000 students, 4,200 employees and 43 campuses.
School boards provide the local governance and oversight that makes it possible for school districts to serve students, including establishing a strategic plan, adopting policies, approving a budget and selecting and evaluating a superintendent.
The ECISD Board of Trustees has provided steady guidance through a historically difficult period of time. Through the twists and turns of the COVID-19 pandemic, the school board kept its focus on health, safety and student achievement through a variety of strategic plan initiatives.
An expansion of prekindergarten services to include 3-year-old children, the rollout of a district-wide K-12 computer science curriculum, high-impact tutoring that is supporting some 6,000 ECISD students as they recover from COVID learning loss, and the continued advancement of work to provide reliable, affordable broadband Internet service are just a few examples of ECISD’s commitment to its students.
Trustees have also pushed for more opportunities for teachers leading to the implementation of Opportunity Culture, Teacher Incentive Allotment and a multi-year partnership giving district teachers the chance to pursue National Board for Professional Teaching Standards certification. This month, trustees will receive an update from the local bond committee to address the long-range facilities plan.
At the board meeting on Jan. 17, district leaders will recognize School Board Recognition Month with special items thanking the Trustees for their service: Tammy Hawkins, board president; Delma Abalos, board vice president; Steve Brown, board secretary; Carol Gregg; Donna Smith; Nelson Minyard; and Chris Stanley.
