Jim Brown, candidate for Place 1 on the Port Aransas Independent School District Board of Trustees, has released the following statement.

“My name is Jim Brown and I am seeking to serve on Place 1 of the PAISD school board. I have been a resident of Port Aransas since 1994, and currently serve as a volunteer on the city Parks and Recreation Advisory Board and the Port Aransas Little League board. I am also an active member and serve as deacon of the First Baptist Church. My professional resume includes a Bachelor of Science degree from Texas A&M University and over 15 years of managing multi- million dollar operational and construction budgets in the golf industry.

“As a community and a district we all desire to see our local youth attain their personal and career dreams. We all share the common value of seeing our tax dollars used in a manner that reflects the good stewardship and values of our community. And finally, we all share the common goal that a place as special and unique as Port Aransas should have a special and unique school district.

“In many of these areas the district is extremely successful. The financial condition of the district is excellent thanks to the efforts of previous boards and administrative staff. The district is beginning to enjoy both campus and individual accolades for its teachers, students and extracurricular activities.

“ D e - spite the district’s recent suc- cesses, there is a sense in the comm unity that the district can achieve more in many areas. I share this view. If elected to serve on the school board, I would challenge administrators and staff to start thinking outside the box in both the classroom and extracurricular activities. My conviction is that all too often we become so enamored or accustomed to systems that we lose our ability to be creative and innovative. As a board, I think we can also create a culture of change and a can-do attitude instead of focusing on perceived restraints of size or budget or tradition. I would like to empower administration and staff to be creative – to think outside the box.

“In supporting the district as a board member, I would encourage actions that encourage these key components of a quality education:

“• Parents and teachers working in coordinated effort to meet students’ needs. Education is as much a responsibility of parents as the district staff. Holding district staff responsible while not participating in the process is unreasonable. While the district has avenues for this, I believe there is room for improvement in consistent and open communication with parents that can affect the success of the students.

“• Identifying students’ gifts and abilities and providing them with the opportunity to expand their horizons beyond their grade level while also insuring that they are able to meet the learning challenges each has in his/her individual grade level.

“• Creating a dynamic environment in which all stakeholders in PAISD including parents, businesses and local taxpayers share a clearly defined mission of excellence and a measure for meeting those standards.

“While quality education will always be based on the effective interaction between a student and teacher, I believe the future success of our district is directly related to our ability to incorporate the technological advances of our society into the classroom. From laptops to iPads, and Internet-based learning, we have an opportunity to expand and efficiently improve student education in ways that are literally limitless. As a board member, I would actively pursue both the district investment in incorporating these technologies into our campuses and providing teacher training on the effective use of these innovations.

“Finally, I would like to extend my appreciation for your time in considering my candidacy for the PAISD school board.”