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Trustees sworn in at Crosby ISD board meeting
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| Crosby ISD swore in board members at its monthly meeting Nov. 17. Pictured are: (from left) Michael Joseph, Gerald Blankenship, John Lindsey, Joann Crawford, Dan Kasprzak, Carla Mills Windfont and Sheryl Shaw. |
By MATT HOLLIS
The votes were canvassed and two board members retained their posts at the Crosby ISD Board of Trustees meeting, Nov. 17.
Sheryl Shaw and Dan Kasprzak defeated their opponents in the Nov. 4 election and were sworn in at the meeting.
Shaw, who ran for Position 4, has served on the board for seven years after spending 17 years teaching at Crosby ISD. She is a graduate from Angelo State University with a Master in educational administration from the University of North Texas and has one son currently attending Crosby High School. Shaw has said that her goal for next year is continue improving the educational experience at Crosby ISD, a goal that she says has already been acted upon with programs such as the New Teacher Academy and teacher workshops that encourage new and better ways of teaching students.
“Connecting with kids is one of the most important things you can do in teaching, but just lecturing doesn’t work as well anymore. You have to switch up the method of delivery,” she said.
She has also expressed interest in exploring ways to better communicate with the community via channels such as the Internet and the district’s automated phone system.
Shaw ran against Kathie Slotter for the position. Shaw received 720 votes while Slotter received 411.
Kasprzak, who ran for Position 6, is a practicing attorney in Houston and has lived in Crosby with his wife and three children for nearly 30 years. He studied law at the University of Houston where he is currently an adjunct professor teaching trial advocacy. Kasprzak has also served as director of the Newport Property Owner’s Association since 1986 and is a former chairman of the nonprofit Be An Angel charity foundation.
Kasprzak says he hopes to continue offering his analytical experience and knowledge of the law to improve the financial stability of the district. He said that the district has managed to adopt budgets with an average surplus of about $300,000 for the past four years despite stagnant state funding.
“We have better than a balanced budget, we have a surplus that is being allocated to our future fund balance and was achieved with no increase or roll-back of the tax rate that many districts have experienced,” he said.
Kasprzak has also said he would also like to push for a greater focus on what he considers underdeveloped sports programs such as swimming, tennis and golf.
Kasprzak netted 2,607 votes while his opponent, William Locke, received 2,561 votes.
The board also voted on its reorganization at the meeting. This year, Carla Mills Windfont will serve as the board’s president and John Lindsey will serve as its vice president. Kasprzak was voted in as the board’s secretary and Joann Crawford was voted as its assistant secretary.
Each member was then sworn in and took their oath of office.
Several students were also recognized at the meeting. Weston Cossey, a Crosby High School student, was honored for receiving Commended Status on the PSAT for the 2009 National Merit Scholarship Competition.
“This is a huge achievement,” said Shelley Guilfoyle, CHS counselor. “About 1.5 million students took the PSAT test on 2007. He made it into the top 50,000 nationwide.”
Jared Anderson was honored for being named an Outstanding Participant in the National Achievement Scholarship Program as an African American Scholar. He has also been accepted to Xavier University on a $12,000 scholarship.
Four former CHS students also were honored for being accepted into the U.S. Navy Nuclear Engineering Program. They are Alvin John Baptiste, Colby Walker, Nick Jennings and Michael Cosek.
Also, winners of the CHS JROTC Competition winners were honored. They are Vada Mathew, Zachary Londene, Vivian Rivas, Lucas Williams and Michael Hannah.
Sheryl Shaw and Dan Kasprzak defeated their opponents in the Nov. 4 election and were sworn in at the meeting.
Shaw, who ran for Position 4, has served on the board for seven years after spending 17 years teaching at Crosby ISD. She is a graduate from Angelo State University with a Master in educational administration from the University of North Texas and has one son currently attending Crosby High School. Shaw has said that her goal for next year is continue improving the educational experience at Crosby ISD, a goal that she says has already been acted upon with programs such as the New Teacher Academy and teacher workshops that encourage new and better ways of teaching students.
“Connecting with kids is one of the most important things you can do in teaching, but just lecturing doesn’t work as well anymore. You have to switch up the method of delivery,” she said.
She has also expressed interest in exploring ways to better communicate with the community via channels such as the Internet and the district’s automated phone system.
Shaw ran against Kathie Slotter for the position. Shaw received 720 votes while Slotter received 411.
Kasprzak, who ran for Position 6, is a practicing attorney in Houston and has lived in Crosby with his wife and three children for nearly 30 years. He studied law at the University of Houston where he is currently an adjunct professor teaching trial advocacy. Kasprzak has also served as director of the Newport Property Owner’s Association since 1986 and is a former chairman of the nonprofit Be An Angel charity foundation.
Kasprzak says he hopes to continue offering his analytical experience and knowledge of the law to improve the financial stability of the district. He said that the district has managed to adopt budgets with an average surplus of about $300,000 for the past four years despite stagnant state funding.
“We have better than a balanced budget, we have a surplus that is being allocated to our future fund balance and was achieved with no increase or roll-back of the tax rate that many districts have experienced,” he said.
Kasprzak has also said he would also like to push for a greater focus on what he considers underdeveloped sports programs such as swimming, tennis and golf.
Kasprzak netted 2,607 votes while his opponent, William Locke, received 2,561 votes.
The board also voted on its reorganization at the meeting. This year, Carla Mills Windfont will serve as the board’s president and John Lindsey will serve as its vice president. Kasprzak was voted in as the board’s secretary and Joann Crawford was voted as its assistant secretary.
Each member was then sworn in and took their oath of office.
Several students were also recognized at the meeting. Weston Cossey, a Crosby High School student, was honored for receiving Commended Status on the PSAT for the 2009 National Merit Scholarship Competition.
“This is a huge achievement,” said Shelley Guilfoyle, CHS counselor. “About 1.5 million students took the PSAT test on 2007. He made it into the top 50,000 nationwide.”
Jared Anderson was honored for being named an Outstanding Participant in the National Achievement Scholarship Program as an African American Scholar. He has also been accepted to Xavier University on a $12,000 scholarship.
Four former CHS students also were honored for being accepted into the U.S. Navy Nuclear Engineering Program. They are Alvin John Baptiste, Colby Walker, Nick Jennings and Michael Cosek.
Also, winners of the CHS JROTC Competition winners were honored. They are Vada Mathew, Zachary Londene, Vivian Rivas, Lucas Williams and Michael Hannah.
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