Spring Branch ISD Featured News

 

Chris Gonzalez

President

 

What inspired you to run for a position on the board?

I have always been inspired by students. They are inquisitive, creative, and uniquely brilliant. As a teacher, students gave me faith in our future. There is no greater joy than seeing our students thrive in our schools. It is an honor and a privilege to serve our community.

What is a fun fact about you that other board members and employees don’t know?

I love foreign languages. I was born in Germany on a military base and grew up learning languages while living internationally. I’ve only taken two weeks of Spanish classes but love to bridge the language divide just by trying.

 

Karen Peck

Vice President

 

What inspired you to run for a position on the board? How long have you served?
 
I was inspired to run for the board by the leadership of former trustees, and by the opportunities both to advocate for SBISD in Austin and to work within our district to support achieving our T-2-4 goal for Every Child in our system. I have served since May of 2013.
 
What do you enjoy most about serving as a Trustee?
 
There are so many things I love about being a Trustee, but I have two favorites: 1) visiting our schools, and meeting with our students, teachers and school leaders, to see the progress being made in our schools as well as the challenges they face, and using that information at the dais to inform our decision-making on how best to move the needle to meet our T-2-4 goal, and 2) monitoring and having oversight of our 2017 Bond program and seeing the incredible new construction taking place all over the District.

 

Minda Caesar

Secretary

 

What do you love about SBISD?

I love how much time and energy our community invests in our kids and in working together to make Spring Branch the best it can be. Everyone from parents to community members to partners to our faith community come together to help make our community strong.

What do you enjoy most about serving as a Trustee? 

One of my favorite things to do as a trustee is to go out and tour the schools. I enjoy listening to principals talk about their work -- their successes and their challenges. I love watching our classroom teachers in action and seeing the magic that happens in our classrooms every day!

 

Josef D. Klam

Trustee

What inspired you to run for a position on the board? How long have you served?

I have served since 2016. I initially expressed interest in serving as a mid-term appointee to fill Position 1 after Wayne Schaper Sr. retired from a distinguished career. I wanted to serve our community in a meaningful way that could result in significant impact for all children.

What do you love about SBISD? Why should families choose SBISD?

I love that SBISD is small enough to maintain a tight-knit community feel while at the same time carrying a large voice in our region and across the state to influence the future of public education. Families should choose SBISD because as a system, we are committed to doing what’s right for all children regardless of how difficult the work may be.

 

Chris Vierra

Trustee

 

What do you enjoy most about serving as a Trustee?

Three things rise to the top…

1) Meeting and working with incredible people. There are so many caring individuals both in the system and in the community that will give their dedication, energy, time, etc. to support our schools, and it is an amazing thing to experience and be a part of…serving as a Trustee is definitely one of the best jobs I have been privileged to have.

2) Learning about all the different aspects of running a school and district. Prior to becoming a Trustee, as a parent, school meant teachers and academics. But now I understand so many more factors such as the school community, leadership, policies, facilities, transportation, athletics – there are too many to list – and how all of those impact the school experience for students, parents, and employees.  

3) Lobbying on behalf of SBISD. I started my involvement with the district building Spring Branch Speaks with two Trustees during the 2011 Legislative session to defend funding for Texas public schools. I continue to work with people in Austin and our Legislators to influence laws that impact our schools and students.

What is a fun fact about you that other board members and employees don’t know?

I am very competitive (I think those that know me well would agree) but I’ve had a few random experiences competing... I learned to amateurly race cars on a road-race track in Rockford, Illinois the summer after my college graduation. I was a curiosity for both for my age and being the only girl, and then competed in two race weekends before starting a “real job”. I am also a “professional” competitive lumberjack: I made $15 once competing in a “Jack & Jill” sawing competition in Louisiana. No, my team did not win, we got second place (out of two teams!).

 

J. Carter Breed

Trustee

 

What inspired you to run for a position on the board? How long have you served?

I grew up in Spring Branch and had a great childhood and great educational experience. When I was in high school (Stratford), a family friend served on the board and I had a great deal of respect for him. I always thought that was great work and admired his dedication to our district and community. I wanted to move back and have my children have the same experiences I had so we moved into the district first chance we could. I got involved with different committees and the SBEF in the ‘90’s and then was encouraged to run a long time ago and did, and was defeated, but stayed involved. Then again, a number of years ago, one of my friends and former board member encouraged me to run again as it was my time. I was elected and have served since 2016. 

What do you enjoy most about serving as a Trustee?

I thoroughly enjoy the time I have served the district and can’t praise my fellow board members enough. They are engaged and open minded to ideas that they may not thought of or liked, but they listen, and we typically vote together for the best for the SBISD Family. I have been so impressed over the years as I have had the opportunity to be with and work with staff and teachers on different aspects of education. This is truly a one-of-a-kind district that cares about Every Child and I am grateful to be involved.

 

Pam Goodson

Trustee

 

What inspired you to run for a position on the board? How long have you served? 

As a former educator in SBISD, I was inspired to run for the Board of Trustees in an effort to bring an educator's perspective to the team. First elected in May of 2010, I am currently in my 11th year of service. I enjoy advocating for our students, employees, parents and taxpayers. Our community expects greatness and I work hard to deliver on that expectation. 
 
What do you love about SBISD? 

SBISD is like a tight knit family. Many of our graduates return to the district to work and raise their families. The personal investment in our community runs deep. I challenge a family to find a better community than SBISD.  We have a proven track record of taking care of and supporting each other in the darkest of times and in times of great celebration.