Spring Branch ISD Featured News

Spring Branch ISD Trustees met Monday evening to swear in incumbents for new, three-year terms and elect new officers. In a separate but related action, Trustees honored the outgoing president for service during an unusual leadership term.

During a Nov. 16 special meeting, Board incumbents Josef Klam and Chris Gonzalez were sworn in for new office terms. Both were re-elected unopposed. Klam will now begin serving his third full term in Position 1; Gonzalez will also begin serving her third term in Position 2.

In March, the Board’s annual May election was postponed due to health considerations related to COVID-19. The Nov. 3 election was later cancelled after both seats were certified unopposed. SBISD’s seven Trustees serve staggered, three-year terms.

Elected as new officers during the special meeting were Chris Gonzalez, replacing Trustee Pam Goodson as Board president; Trustee Karen Peck, who replaces Gonzalez as vice-president; and Trustee Minda Caesar, who was re-elected as Board secretary.

During the Board’s Nov. 16 regular meeting presentations, President Goodson was praised by many for her “incredible service” as the Board’s top officer during a most unusual school year.

Trustee Goodson, now serving a fourth term, has one of the district’s longest records of Board leadership. Since winning election in 2010, she has been selected Board president three times, while also serving twice in separate roles as Board vice-president and secretary.

SBISD Superintendent Jennifer Blaine, Ed.D., led off the special recognition event by honoring Goodson for “nothing less than amazing” Board leadership during the Covid-19 pandemic and its disruption to traditional school operations beginning this past March.

Dr. Blaine also thanked her for the mentorship provided during the superintendent’s first year, which included many texts, phone calls, and related guidance and advice. “Pam, thank you for always being a champion for Every Child,” Dr. Blaine said.

Goodson’s colleagues lavished praise, noting that her one-year term as president stretched 18 months due to Covid-19. Trustees praised her multiple leadership skills: calmness, compassion, communication, attention to teaching, focus on listening, unflappability, and deep dedication to district Core Values, to name only a few.

“It’s been a privilege to work alongside such a great group of colleagues,” Goodson responded. “Being Board president is not done alone, but all together. And, we do the jobs we do because we have such a great community.”

At the meeting, the district presented her with a gavel to represent her leadership and service.