Trustees Parsons, Davis to retire
Longtime Albany ISD board president Betsy Parsons and veteran trustee Pam Davis both announced at Monday night’s regular school board meeting that they do not plan to run for reelection.
They are the senior members of the group, with Parsons finishing her 30th year and Davis her 21st. Parsons has served as president for two decades.
“This decision is made after a lot of prayer,” said Parsons. “I still have a vested interest in this district and stepping down doesn’t mean I’m not going to be here. I just believe it’s time for a change.”
She assured Jonathan Scott, who was conducting his first official meeting as new superintendent, that she and Davis were not “abandoning” him, and that any help they could give would be as close as a phone call.
Davis agreed.
“This is probably the best experience I’ve ever had as an Albany citizen, and I really wouldn’t mind staying on, but I think that’s selfish,” Davis said. “If I don’t move out of the way, it’s keeping someone else from finding out what a blessing this is. There are people out there who want and need to get involved.”
Other board members expressed their appreciation for the two trustees’ service.
“We all strive to say that we leave something better than we find it, but both of you are truly going to leave this district as a much better place,” said Robert Montgomery, himself a 20-year veteran on the board.
MLK Observance
Parsons encouraged Scott and other trustees to observe Martin Luther King Day as a school holiday beginning with the 2019-2020 school year.
“We are the only district around that does not, and frankly, that’s not defendable,” she said. “We take every other national holiday off and this omission needs to be rectified.”
Other Business
•New county judge Bob Skelton was endorsed as a candidate for the Shackelford County appraisal board.
•Interim elementary principal Cindy Madison reported that there have been 10 new students at NSES this semester.
•Secondary principal Edward Morales announced that the prom will be March 23 because of conflicts in April and May.
