Major elected to TASB Region 13 Board of Directors

By Rachel Madison

If you know Kathy Major, you know exactly where her passion lies: public education. Major has dedicated most of his life advocating for students and ensuring they have the chance to get a great education.

She spent more than three decades in the Liberty Hill Independent School District, where she worked as a teacher, vice-principal and finally principal of Liberty Hill Intermediate School from 2000 to 2017. In 2018, she was elected to the board. administration of LHISD. Trustees, where she is now vice president, and in 2020 she joined the Liberty Hill Education Foundation as a board liaison.

Now Major has also been elected to a three-year term on the Texas Association of School Boards (TASB) Board of Directors for Region 13. A position was opened earlier this year and Major has decided to apply. She was endorsed by her fellow LHISD board members and conducted an in-depth interview with the TASB nominating committee members. There are 55 school districts in Region 13, and four applicants have applied for the position.

“We all had to go through the same interview and answer the same questions, and somehow I came out as the recommended candidate,” Major said. “The four of us had the opportunity to speak at this year’s delegate assembly [in September]. From there, I was elected on the basis of majority vote.

TASB has been in existence since 1949 and is a statewide, nonprofit, voluntary educational association that serves and represents school boards in Texas. The main goals of the organization are to share information through publications and training to help school board members serve their communities more effectively and to speak with a unified voice to decision makers to chart the best future for them. public schools. In his new role with TASB, Major is eager to do so.

“What is best for [Liberty Hill] may not be the best elsewhere, but in the end, what’s right between districts doesn’t change much like accountability, treating people well, making sound decisions, and working for excellence, ”she said. “TASB offers training on all of this, as well as legal, financial, security and personnel aspects. I want to do the same things – fight for things that are suitable for public education. I truly believe that public education is the backbone of a strong country.

Major said she wanted to help Texas school boards, as well as the Liberty Hill community, learn to communicate effectively without anger.

“I want to be strong enough to do this,” she said. “I want to be part of the solution to listen to people who are different from me. Most people have something relevant in their argument that you need to address. I also want to help keep education strong in our state. We must maintain our high standards and simply continuously grow in excellence. Good enough is not good enough. We should always aim for more.

Major added that she would not have applied for the TASB position if it had not been for her feeling that the LHISD school board was strong.

“Our board is extremely strong and very functional,” she said. “People won’t always agree with us, but we work as a team. This is all tied to TASB. If we want our state to be the best then we have to have people who model it at all levels. “

Major said that at the end of the day, nothing makes her prouder than the students at LHISD, and the opportunity to serve with TASB would give her another way to help her make the best local decisions possible for them.

“It’s a huge privilege and an opportunity, and I want to do it right,” she said. “I hope that after three years people can say they are proud. As long as I can work for the children, I will.