Tracy Ginsburg, continued from page 6
TASBO Board President
Randy McDowell at
Gettysburg National
Cemetary during the
ASBO International
Leadership Conference.
McDowell, Executive
Director Tracy Ginsburg
and other TASBO Board
Members attended the
event, which included a
tour of Gettysburg.
Lincoln’s Gettysburg address by
contrast lasted only two minutes:
“Four score and seven years ago
our fathers brought forth on this
continent, a new nation, conceived
in Liberty, and dedicated to the
proposition that all men are created
equal....
Lincoln was a man of few words who
was deeply troubled by the brutality
of the war. He was also fighting
for reelection. He stood firm and
spoke eloquently of the losses which
impacted families from all walks of
life. He wasn’t threatening, he didn’t
exaggerate the facts, nor did he keep
“lists” to see who was on his side. He
simply governed and cared deeply
about the people he represented –
something I fear we are losing in our
elected officials today.
6
This has been a tough legislative
season. I want to thank all of you
who have responded to our calls to
action and who have made phone
calls and trips to the Capitol to visit
with your elected officials. We still
have a long way to go to move public
education up in the priority list of
many of our elected officials. The
2019 session will be here before
we know it. It is up to each of us
to stand firm and ensure that our
elected officials understand the value
of public education and the needs of
your specific district.
During the interim period before the
86th Legislative Session, I encourage
you to reach out to your elected
officials and share facts about your
district. Perhaps you are the Chief
Financial Officer and you understand
how difficult it is to put together a
balanced budget with an increasingly
inflexible school funding formula or
perhaps you serve in the Maintenance
and Operations area of your district
and you know first hand the
difficulties placed on your department
by HVAC equipment which has long
passed its useful life. Regardless of
your position, you have a story to tell
and a role to play in the long-term
success of public education.
I can’t wait to hear your story. I hope
you will share it with TASBO. As
always, thank you for all that you do
each and every day for the children of
Texas. I’m looking forward to seeing
you soon!
TASBO REPORT | AUG 2017