2023-24 Year in Review: At a Glance
As TASB marked its 75th anniversary this year, the Association continued its mission to provide high-quality services, visionary leadership, and skilled advocacy. TASB’s programs and services helped Texas school boards and their districts serve their students on many levels in the 2023-24 fiscal year. Here are highlights of those efforts.
Brand and Web Redesign
TASB unveiled a new brand in January to coincide with the celebration of its 75th anniversary and the debut of its revamped website. The brand was designed to translate seamlessly to the new tasb.org, which includes a simplified design, improved navigation, personalized member dashboard, and refreshed content.
Texas Lone Star History Project
Beginning in January, Texas Lone Star honored TASB’s 75th anniversary with a year-long history project. In each issue, the magazine wrote about the positive impact the Association has had on Texas public schools through high-quality services, visionary leadership, and skilled advocacy.
Regional Grassroots Meetings
During the first months of the year, hundreds of trustees from across the state took part in TASB’s regional Grassroots Meetings, an important aspect of the Association’s advocacy process. At the meetings, trustees heard updates on the Texas Legislature and discussed many of the important issues facing Texas public schools and students as they worked to identify the most critical items to include in their regional lists.
Governance Camp
More than 700 people attended TASB’s Governance Camp in March, including nearly 250 students. The attendees gathered in Galveston to share stories, learn from each other, and make new friends from across the state.
TASB Risk Management Fund 50th Anniversary
This year, TASB Risk Management Fund celebrated 50 years of helping Texas school districts cope with myriad issues, from workplace injuries to severe weather. Launched in 1974, the Fund today provides a range of comprehensive coverage. It also offers loss prevention resources, training, and grant programs, among other services.
Spring Workshops
TASB held its annual Spring Workshops in locations across the state to bring insightful and relevant training opportunities closer to home for school board members. These workshops allow board members to earn continuing education credits, receive critical legislative updates, and expand their networks with other education leaders from neighboring districts.
2024 James B. Crow Innovation Award
In April, Bobby Blount, a longtime Northside ISD school board member and president of the Texas Caucus of Black School Board Members, was named the 2024 recipient of TASB’s James B. Crow Innovation in Governance Award. The award was established in 2022 in honor of its namesake, who retired as TASB executive director in 2021.
Summer Leadership Institute
More than 3,000 new and veteran education leaders attended Summer Leadership Institute in San Antonio, June 12-15, or Fort Worth, June 19-22, to strengthen their governance, leadership, and teamwork skills so they can better serve their communities and improve student outcomes.
HR Services 40th Anniversary
TASB HR Services celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2024. Back in 1984, changes mandated by House Bill 72 impacted many aspects of public school operations, including human resources. New state and federal regulations left schools scrambling to comply, and TASB met this challenge with the creation of a new service — HR Services, which is a respected and reliable HR resource for educational entities across the state.
2024 School Communications Awards
TASB announced in June it earned 25 awards from the National School Public Relations Association in the 2024 School Communications Awards program, including 13 Awards of Excellence. The annual awards recognize its members and communications departments for their efforts and expertise in school-related public relations efforts.
Leadership TASB Class of 2025
The Leadership TASB Class of 2025 of 34 members was approved at the TASB Board’s July meeting. A committee made up of LTASB Alumni recommended the class members and presented the selections to the TASB Board’s Member Services Committee for approval.
txEDCON24
In San Antonio, txEDCON24 attracted 5,000 school board members, superintendents, and other education leaders from across Texas who came together for informative sessions, spirited panel discussions, and inspirational student performances by Tomball ISD during Friday’s general session and by Canutillo ISD on Saturday featuring students from El Paso, Fabens, Socorro, and Ysleta ISDs.
Delegate Assembly 2024
TASB’s Delegate Assembly met during txEDCON24 to vote on the future direction of the Association. About 350 Delegates, who came from across the state and represented the vast spectrum of Texas schools, elected TASB leadership, approved changes to the Association’s bylaws, and adopted the 2024-26 Advocacy Agenda that will direct TASB’s legislative efforts during the 2025 legislative session.
Conference for Administrative Professionals
More than 100 people gathered in Austin for TASB’s Conference for Administrative Professionals in October. The two-day conference, which is also held in February, is designed especially for administrative support personnel at the district level.
