From Staff Reports
PRESS RELEASE: Corsicana ISD School Trustee Elected Secretary of The Texas Caucus of Black School Board Members Corsicana School Board Trustee Barbara Kelley was recently elected as secretary of The Texas Caucus of Black School Board Members or TCBSBM.
TCBSBM is a non-profit organization that speaks on behalf of quality education for African Americans in the state of Texas.
“It’s an honor to have Barbara represent Corsicana ISD as an advocate for students and staff across the state of Texas,” said CISD Superintendent Dr. Diane Frost. “She has dedicated herself to serving our community for many years, and this is just one more way she positively impacts public schools all across the state.”
Kelley first ran for a three-year term on the Corsicana ISD Board in 2009 and has served as a Trustee now for the past 12 years. She has always been community-oriented and has served on several other Corsicana boards and committees. She is currently the Police Lead Telecommunicator for DART and serves on the Advisory Board for the Navarro County Boys & Girls Club.
Kelley’s roots run deep in Tiger Nation. A 1984 CHS graduate, she has served the Corsicana Education Foundation and the Navarro County NAACP. A Texas A&M Commerce alum, Kelley and her husband Charles Kelley share six children – Kendall, Dewayne, Kayla, Klinton, Kishawn, and Kim.
Kelley says the School Board’s role is to govern the district by adopting goals and priorities and monitoring successes; evaluating the Superintendent; adopting a budget and tax rate; advocating for students and communicating to the community.
“I believe the role of an individual Trustee is to communicate with my constituents and be a voice for our community, our students and staff,” said Kelley. “I hope that I can help along with my team of fellow Board Trustees continue to bring innovative education to our district, and help prepare our students for the future.”
As the TCBSBM secretary, Kelley will be responsible for keeping the minutes at meetings. The election for officers was held during the annual Texas Association of School Administrators (TASA)/Texas Association of School Boards (TASB) Convention in Dallas.
Kelley says she considers herself to be a servant leader. “It is an honor to represent my community and district in this role,” she added. “I will continue to advocate for all students.”
Originally known as The Black Caucus, the TCBSBM organization was established in 1978 under the leadership of Dr. Charles Matthews, Deputy Superintendent at North Forest ISD. He served as President of North Forest Teachers Association and was politically active regarding African American education issues.
While attending the Summer Leadership Institute hosted by the Texas Association of School Boards (TASB), Dr. Matthews met with African American Trustees and proposed a plan to establish an organization where African American Board Members would discuss the issues affecting not only African American students, but also African American teachers and Trustees.
In 1990, The Black Caucus name was changed to The Texas Caucus of Black School Board Members. The name and several other structural changes allowed the organization to be recognized as a supporting school board entity which could grant education credits and reserve rooms at TASB functions.
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