TISD Board of Trustees Name Amy Bowers to District 4 Seat and Approve Bond Reimbursement for Capital Expenses

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December 17, 2014 | During the Texarkana Independent School District Board of Trustees December 16 regular session, trustees voted unanimously to name Amy Bowers as the replacement to serve out the remainder of Jerry Chapman’s term for District 4.

Chapman resigned in June due to unforeseen family circumstances.  TISD accepted letters of interest from District 4 residents from December 1 through December 5 with Trustees interviewing all candidates on December 9.

Bowers is the mother of a future Tiger graduate, Madison, who is in the 7th Grade at Texas Middle School.  She served as Director of Human Resources and Risk Management for E-Z Mart Stores, Inc. from 1999 – 2012.  Bowers began work with TEXAR Federal Credit Union in 2012 as Human Resources Manager.  Since that time, she has also held the position of Vice President of Administration and currently serves as Vice President of Innovation overseeing technology vision and leadership for the Information Technology department.

Bowers holds a Bachelor of Business Administration and a Master of Business Administration from Texas A&M University – Texarkana.  She and her husband, Doug, are members of Wake Village First Baptist Church where they teach Sunday school to high school students, are actively involved in Wednesday night youth activities and sponsor countless other youth events.

“I believe in promoting education and know that great possibilities are available to us and to future generations through education” shared Bowers.  “As a member of the TISD Trustees, I will always act honestly, faithfully and maintain confidentiality.  I will strategically examine opportunities and will be mindful of fiscal matters.  I will also be mindful of District concerns and seek out opportunities to further enhance this wonderful District.”

In other business, Trustees approved a resolution for bond reimbursement of capital expenditures.  This will allow the district to reimburse the TISD General Fund for capital expenditures used to acquire, construct and improve facilities with the proceeds of tax-exempt obligations to be issued subsequent to the payment of such capital expenditures.

Taxpayers approved the November 4 Bond Election for $29.9 million that would address current overcrowding due to enrollment increases during the last 12 years of an average 146 students per year.  Enrollment growth within the next five years is anticipated to remain on par with past increases and more classroom space at the elementary and middle school levels are needed to accommodate students and maintain an appropriate student/teacher ratio.  Bond monies will be used to construct a new Sixth Grade Center on the Texas Middle School campus and a new elementary school.  Both are expected to open for the 2016-17 school year.

The final report of the evening was the public report on progress towards highly qualified teachers for 2014-15.  The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) requires public schools to have a target of 100% of teachers in core subject areas meet the federal teacher definition of “highly qualified.”

According to NCLB, a highly qualified teacher is one who:  has obtained a Bachelor’s degree; has demonstrated competency in the subject area assigned to teach; has obtained full State certification as a teacher or has passed the State teacher licensing examination; and has not had certification or licensure requirements waived on an emergency, temporary or provisional basis.

It is the intent and goal of TISD to employ highly qualified teachers and staff to provide the best education possible for our students.  For 2014-15, TISD has 100% of the teachers meeting the definition of highly qualified.

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