Early voting in the School Board Election ended Tuesday and we
had several voters take advantage of the convenience. If you
missed the early voting opportunity, we hope you will make it to
the polls this Saturday at the Community Center downtown Gorman
to vote.
Isn’t it a shame that elections sometimes bring out the worst in
some people. Normal and strange people alike sometimes turn
into the biggest jerks that you’ve ever heard. Sometimes they
even put into print things that are not true or misleading at
best. Should you see or receive any information about which you
have questions regarding the election, the record of the
incumbents running, or anything school related, please call me
or stop by to visit with me. I’ll be glad to discuss anything
about our school and our operations with anyone, anytime. You
are always welcome. There are a lot of great things happening
here at Gorman ISD and we are proud of it!
By the way, I did see some information that has been circulated
around town that contains a lot of information that has nothing
to do with our school, or is misleading, and in some cases
appears to be outright lies. Although I am not allowed by law
to campaign for any specific candidates in a school board
election, I do have a responsibility to the voters of the school
district to respond when I intercept what I perceive to be false
or misleading information being distributed regarding anyone
involved as a candidate. It is for this reason that I am making
the following statement for your consideration: None of the
candidates running for school board, to the best of my
knowledge, owe any back taxes to the school. Also, all
delinquent taxes that are owed to the school by anyone are
collected/processed by the law firm of McCreary, Veselka, Bragg,
and Allen, P.C. who not only collect taxes for us, but for many
government entities in our area and across the state. They
follow a procedure set down by law, not by GISD, to collect all
delinquent taxes. As always, if you would like to know that
process, you may contact them anytime and I’m certain they will
explain it to you better than I. They have an office in
Eastland.
Notices of intent have been given to those companies that were
awarded bids on our new high school/gymnasium project.
Contracts are being written and dispersed at this time. We
extended the day to open bids on items that were not previously
awarded to May 8th at 2:00pm in the Auditorium. Our
regular May board meeting will follow that evening at 6:00pm in
the auditorium. I am also in the process of looking for an on
site construction superintendent for the project. If you know
of anyone qualified, please have them call me
Baseball playoffs went well last week. The Panthers defeated
Meridian in our Bi-District Championship two games to zero in a
best of three series played Friday and Saturday in Comanche.
This week we will face Dawson ISD somewhere yet to be determined
near Austin . We will play one game Thursday afternoon and then
complete the series after the State Track Meet Saturday. This
series will be for the Area Championship. The first game will
be Thursday evening at 6:30pm in Benbrook, Texas at the high
school field. The remaining games will be Saturday evening at
6:30 pm at Little River Academy ISD which is on I-35 between
Austin and Temple. Hope to see you at the game.
Last Wednesday the East End Special Cooperative met in Eastland
to determine if a new fiscal agent for the coop would be
selected. No change was made. A revised shared services
agreement was proposed that had been prepared by the Coop’s
attorney. A friendly amendment was offered to the agreement
regarding hiring COOP employees and it was voted on unanimously
to refer it to the attorney for an opinion prior to presenting
it to the board of each school district individually. I would
also like to add that as a member of the coop, I really
appreciate the good job that Mr. Lee and his crew do for the
children of the member school districts!
Thursday our third graders went to Abilene for a skating party.
I understand everyone had a wonderful time except for one parent
that suffered a broken ankle. I know I don’t bounce like I used
to and have no desire to get on another pair of skates ever. I
am glad the kids had a great time!
This very week end our Gorman Panther Mile Relay Team will
compete in the State Track Meet in Austin. They run on
Saturday. I understand it should be sometime around 3:00pm.
How long has it been since we had any relay team reach state?
How long has it been since any of our track athletes reached
state? That’s right; it’s been a long time. Congratulations to
Zack Fox, Matt Underwood, Orlando Valenzuela, and Tyson Swanner
for this great accomplishment! Good luck and may God bless your
journey to and from the track meet and may God give you the
blessing of doing the very best that you can and to run faster
than you ever have.
Saturday night was Prom night! It was held at Parr Country Club
at Lake Proctor. My date and I had a great time even if we were
the first to leave. It’s a great experience each year to see
these young people put on their finest and have a good time. It
was also great to see how much they enjoy each other. Thanks to
all who work so hard to make the prom a success!
I am reminded daily of the reasons why being in the education of
our children is an important job when I listen to the struggles
and challenges people are facing everywhere. I am reminded by
the hope I see in the faces of your children of all of the
bright possibilities tomorrow can hold in store for them and for
us. Your children are the most important asset this community
has and I appreciate the opportunity for us (everyone at GISD)
to be a part of growing those assets into a wealth on which this
community can build its future. While sitting at the Prom
Saturday night, I was thinking about how blessed we were to be
in Gorman and to have been given the opportunities we have been
given to be what I hope is a positive influence on your
children. We have such great staff, faculty, and principals who
all work together to do what is best for your child. Thanks for
sharing your children with us.
Remember, it takes community involvement for a school to be
successful and you are welcome to get involved at Gorman ISD
anytime. This is your school; these are your children; and
these children are your future! Your input is always welcome.
Come help us shape the future. Thank you for all you do to
support us!
