Trustees also select board officer positions for 2021-22 school year and receive update on district strategic plan
Two Montgomery ISD trustees were sworn into office during the board’s regular monthly meeting on Tuesday, May 18. Montgomery County Justice of the Peace, Judge Wayne Mack administered the oath of office to Trustees Trey Kirby (Position 4) and Linda Porten (Position 5), who were both re-elected on May 1, 2021.
Kirby and Porten will both serve three-year terms. Kirby, a resident of Montgomery since 1987 and graduate of Montgomery High School, begins his third term on the MISD Board of Trustees.
“It’s an honor to have been elected to a third term as a member of the Montgomery ISD Board of Trustees,” Kirby said. I am excited to continue serving with the board and administration as we build upon the momentum we have achieved as a team. We remain committed to improving fiscal responsibility while taking care of our outstanding students and teachers. This community is very dear to me, and I look forward to serving for the next three years as Montgomery continues to grow and thrive.”
Porten, a lifelong educator who spent several years as an employee in Montgomery ISD, enters her second term on the Board.
“It’s a privilege to serve as a member of the Montgomery ISD Board of Trustees,” Porten said. “As a trustee, I’m committed to continuing to build upon the significant progress the board and superintendent have made to support our amazing teachers and staff through increased compensation. There is no doubt in my mind that our commitment to hiring, growing and retaining the best educators will empower all MISD students to achieve even greater academic results.”
After the oaths of office, trustees voted to elect its board leadership for the 2021-22 school year. Trustees selected Matt Fuller to continue serving as Board President. Gary Hammons will continue serving as Board Vice-President and Linda Porten will remain Board Secretary.
“I want to thank our staff, students, and families for their determination, resilience, and flexibility during what has been a difficult, but highly successful school year,” Fuller said. “Through extreme adversity, our students reached new heights in academics, athletics and many extracurricular activities. I’m excited to continue serving Montgomery ISD as President of the Board of Trustees and look forward to an outstanding – and more normal – school year in 2021-22.”
Trustees gave special recognition to the district’s school nurses during the meeting. School nurses were instrumental in supporting students’ physical and emotional wellbeing during a school year with added stresses and health protocols.
“It undoubtedly took a full team effort to safely re-open schools for in-person instruction this year, and the work of our school nurses was especially critical,” Trustee Mike Hopkins said. “They were a primary reason that nearly 94% of our students chose to physically return to school, and we are incredibly grateful for their dedication and work this year.”
During the meeting, trustees also received an update on the development of the district’s strategic plan. The three-year strategic plan is guided the Board of Trustees’ five adopted district goals. The district goals are Academic Achievement; School Safety; Finance & Operations; Human Capital; and Communications & Customer Service.
The development of the strategic plan has included a significant amount of community and stakeholder input. To gather feedback, the district formed five task force work groups in November 2020, each focused on a district goal. The five task forces were led by a senior district administrator and campus principals and included district teachers, staff, parents, students and community members. The district also held three town hall meetings throughout the school year to gather community input.
“We’re thrilled by the high level of community involvement that has been a driving force in the development of the district’s strategic plan,” Trustee Laurie Turner said. “We have made it clear that we truly want this to be the Montgomery ISD community’s strategic plan. Based on the district’s efforts to involve a diverse set of voices during this process, I’m confident that, once adopted by the board, this objective will have been achieved.”
Once approved by the board, the final strategic plan will take effect starting in the 2021-22 school year and contain measurable key performance indicators (KPIs) in the areas addressed by the district goals. The strategic plan will also outline district strategies and initiatives intended to meet or exceed growth targets and measures outlined in the KPIs.
The strategic plan is scheduled to be approved by trustees during the board’s regular monthly meeting on June 15, 2021.
“Since day one of this process, our goal for the strategic plan was to authentically reflect the community’s desires and vision for our school district,” Superintendent Dr. Heath Morrison said. “Our community’s vision is for Montgomery ISD to be ‘The Premier School District in Texas. The strategic plan is our ‘pathway to premier’.”
The MISD Premier Blog 