Pampa ISD Earns Governance Recognition

For Immediate Release: April 17, 2008
Contact: Bill Nemir, 800.580.8272, ext. 6417

(AUSTIN) – Pampa ISD joins a select cadre of public school districts that has earned distinction for good governance from the Texas Association of School Boards (TASB). The district met specific criteria to be recognized in the Association’s Good Governance Program and will be featured in the TASB magazine, Texas Lone Star.

To be recognized, a district must meet six criteria: undertake the TASB governance audit, notify TASB when the audit is complete, be rated acceptable or higher in the accountability system two of the four most recent years, have rising assessment participation, achieve acceptable or higher in the FIRST rating system, and demonstrate that all board members have met training requirements.

“Undertaking the TASB Board Effectiveness Audit is no small task and Pampa ISD worked diligently to incorporate all of the audit practices into its board work. TASB’s board of directors applauds the efforts of this and other exemplary school boards as they serve their communities on behalf of Texas schoolchildren. The district leadership team is well deserving of state and national honors for its leadership in setting a clear focus for a district that is changing as the Panhandle economy grows,” said Bill Nemir, TASB Leadership Team Services director.

“The Pampa ISD board has worked hard to establish a discrete set of goals for the district that will promote meaningful progress for students, are measurable, and will structure people’s work in the district for the next several years. This is exactly what it means for a district to have ‘working goals’—goals that everyone in the district can get behind, in concrete ways,” he said.

The district’s success in passing a $48 million bond proposal last school year is a testament to the community’s faith in the board and direction of the district.

Previous honorees in the Good Governance Program include Big Spring, Castleberry, Northside (Bexar County), Richardson, San Antonio, and Weatherford ISDs.

TASB is a nonprofit association established in 1949 to serve local public school districts. School board members are the largest group of publicly elected officials in the state. The districts they represent serve more than 4.5 million public school students.