Monday, April 4, 2011

The Role of a School Board Trustee

       In an effort to prepare for my new role as a school board trustee, I have been hitting the books! So, why am I studying the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution of the United States, plowing through pages upon pages of federal, state, and local laws and policies concerning education, and actively enlisting the thoughts of the people who, by the way, appear at the top of the "Administrative Organizational Chart" of our district?

     What it comes down to is the meaning of the Oath of Office for school board trustees, which reads:

OATH OF OFFICE
“I, __________________________________, do solemnly swear (or affirm), that I will faithfully
execute the duties of the office of School Board Trustee for the
______________________________ School District of the State of Texas, and will to the
best of my ability preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution and laws of the United
States and of this state, so help me God.”
Tex. Const. Art. XVI, Sec. 1(a)

     This very short oath is loaded with all kinds of duties and responsibilities. It is a serious oath defined by the word "solemnly".  "Faithfully" tells me I need to get busy preparing for the job, preparing for every board meeting, and preparing for the future of our district, our state, and our country.  This preparation is ultimately to lead to decisions that will "preserve, protect, and defend" (a string of specific, strong action verbs) the "Constitution and laws of the United States and of this state" (the heart and soul of our country). Last but not least in any sense of the word is "so help me God."  This tells me that I need to seek His wisdom in the decisions that I make as a board trustee. 

     I cannot as a person entrusted with the education of our children take this lightly or fail to do my homework.  Through this blog site I hope to educate all people who are stakeholders in our district and, likewise, be educated by them.  Dr. Benjamin Rush, signer of the Declaration of Independence, said: "[Education] is favourable (sic) to liberty.  Freedom can only exist in the society of knowledge.  Without learning, men are incapable of knowing their rights, and where learning is confined to a few people, liberty can neither be equal nor universal." (1786)

     

    
    

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