HOUSTON-With the canvassing and certification of the Nov. 2 Board of Trustees election results and the end of the two-year appointment of the Board of Managers, the NFISD Board of Trustees returned to governance of the district in a special meeting held immediately after what was the last meeting of the NFISD Board of Managers.
“It has been an honor to serve the students of North Forest ISD,” said Board of Managers President George McShan, who has served on the Harlingen CISD Board of Trustees for more than 22 years. “As an elected school board member in my community, I understand the importance of local governance. I am excited about the future of North Forest ISD.”
In Oct 2008, TEA Commissioner Robert Scott appointed McShan, Rev. Dr. Willie Jones and Carolyn Bullard-Williams to serve on the Board of Managers after suspending the Board of Trustees for two years.
On Monday night, members of the North Forest ISD Board of Trustees thanked them for their service and vowed to continue moving the district forward.
McShan’s final official acts as president of Board of Managers included certifying the election results and presiding over the reorganization of the Board of Trustees.
Based on the results of the Nov. 2 election, Henry McGowen, who won 4,613 votes to beat his opponent Bullard-Williams in the Position 6 race, and Horace Williams Jr., who garnered 6,768 votes in an uncontested race for Position 7, joined Silvia Brooks Williams, Charles H. Taylor, Sr., Lois Edwards, Thaddeus Seals and Albert Coleman on the Board of Trustees.
After their reorganization, which resulted in the election of Coleman as board president, McGowen as board vice-president, Edwards as board secretary, and Horace Williams as assistant secretary, each of the trustees briefly addressed the meeting attendees. Coleman thanked members of the Board of Managers for their service.
“If you had not come when you did, we would not have a district,” he said. “If we stay focused and stay together, this district will survive.”
Superintendent of Schools Dr. Adrain Johnson said he looks forward to working with the Board of Trustees and called the occasion an historic moment that speaks to the strength of North Forest ISD.
“This district could have gone a lot of different ways four or five years ago,” he said. “But we are still here.”