The youngest PAISD trustee measures his first term
Taylor Getwood, 18, will become the youngest administrator in PAISD history on Tuesday.
His campaign pitch and promise to voters was to bridge the gap between students, parents and administrators and make the board process more transparent and accessible.
“I think it’s really imperative that we have the student perspective,” Getwood told The Enterprise on election night. “Today more than ever, education is constantly evolving. And I think that by being as young as I am, I’ll be able to bridge that gap between our parents and the board and between our students and the board.
Getwood, who has a personal relationship with all current board members, said he was eagerly awaiting the first step in a political career, not far from Mike Floyd, who made headlines in 2017 when he was elected to the Pearland ISD Board of Directors at age 18.
His journey provides a glimpse of what the next few years could look like for Getwood, who graduated from Early College High School last year.
“He should expect his life to be very different from other 18-year-olds,” Floyd told The Enterprise. “He has to be careful. He was elected to a position of responsibility, and it is his job now to live up to that.
Floyd and Getwood join a handful of 18-year-old school board members raising concerns with voters and running successful campaigns across the country.
“Every decision, every vote I took, had that perspective of a student,” Floyd said. “Whether it’s the tiles we’re going to lay on the floor, whether we should expand a certain gymnasium or if it did, are we making a statement about some racial or callous issue that has occurred in our community. “
Floyd, who resigned from an extended term in 2020 after the approval of a $ 300,000 contract with a controversial special needs facility, is now the treasurer of the Texas Democratic Party.
He said bringing a student perspective to the board was a no-brainer as he was so young himself.
“I think that’s going to be true for (Getwood) too,” he said. “Just because of who he is and how young he is, he is shaped by this perspective in the classroom.”
While students, many of whom texted Getwood delighted with his surprise victory, may seem to be the election’s most obvious benefactor, Floyd said teachers stand to benefit the most.
“It’s not necessarily the students; it is mostly the teachers, ”he said. “A lot of high school seniors and high school juniors really get to know their teachers, not just as teachers, but as friends and mentors. And by bringing that perspective, it benefits the whole community.
Viola Garcia, director of Aldine ISD and president of the National School Board Association, said several 18-year-olds have been elected over the years, but it’s still not enough to be a trend.
“There have been a number of them over the years,” Garcia said. “I will say that there has been participation over the years. The best avenue for student participation in ongoing activities in school districts is usually through the Superintendent’s Advisory Committee.
Garcia said any increased participation is good for school districts, adding that virtual meetings during the pandemic have attracted a new layer of participation from parents and students.
“I think it’s absolutely positive,” she said. “Our students and their civic engagement are absolutely important to our future. I think it is important to listen to the voice of the students. After all, they are the ones we belong to at the school board, we are there for the benefit of the students.
The change to the board of directors of Port Arthur ISD is not trivial.
Getwood easily took down Lloyd Marie Johnson, a seasoned director with over a decade of board experience.
Johnson, who will remain involved with the Parent Teacher Organization, credits Getwood’s appeal to young voters with his victory.
“He had a very young audience, and they came out and were good voters,” she told The Enterprise. “I congratulate them for being responsible voters.”
But the influence of young people on the governing body of Port Arthur ISD is not new.
Brandon Bartie, who worked in the district for several years prior to 2015, was 31 when he became the youngest director on the board.
He is now Chairman of the Board of Directors.
“We hear it, and in my generation I’ve been hearing it for years, you know, that we are the future. We are the future leaders of Port Arthur, ”he said. “And you know we’ve stepped up, I would say my generation stepped up and filled some of these places and put on big shoes.”
“And I think, you know, as we get older, we’re going to see that too with the younger generation getting to do the same,” he said.
Although they may have their ages in common, governance methods still vary among the younger trustees.
When Bartie was first elected, he began his term by listening. And when Getwood won, he encouraged him to do the same: “He should learn all he can, do the trainings and make good, solid and wise decisions.”
Floyd, meanwhile, jumped into the race when he was elected and urged the young elected to do the same.
“That’s what people want kids to do is sit back and be quiet,” Floyd said. “Absolutely not. He might be nervous at his first meeting, and it’s important to know how the board works, because you don’t want to step in at a time that breaks the board’s rules. But if there is a problem at that time. of your first meeting that you disagree with or vigorously support, say so. That’s why you were elected – to make your voice heard. Don’t shut it up, speak.
Getwood said he plans to do a bit of both.
“Since this is my first time in office, especially with my age, there will be a lot that I don’t know,” he said. “So my first year, I’m definitely going to sit down a bit and learn the ropes. But I’ll also talk, and if I don’t understand something, I’ll ask.
However, their age is not the only new thing that the young representatives bring to the board.
Many decisions, including the approval of routine purchases and contracts with lawyers, are usually placed on the consent agenda – a list of items on which a vote is voted on without much discussion.
But that seems about to change.
Getwood said in conversations with voters he had heard that long consent programs with short meetings left voters confused and disillusioned.
“I have witnessed this and a lot of people in Port Arthur have seen it before,” he said. “This is honestly one of the reasons we don’t get a lot of board meetings. They come, they get a yes or no, and then they don’t know exactly what the vote was for.
Getwood said the matter is something he hopes to discuss with the board once he gets his bearings.
But whatever issues Getwood ultimately pursues when he sits on the board, he, Bartie and Floyd agree that more young people should get involved in politics.
“I think being elected at a young age taught me to communicate better. It taught me to work hard, ”said Floyd. “Some of these meetings are long … and they can be quite arduous at times to go through, but having that stamina and having the support of the community – which he (by) elected – I think it’s just a revival.” of confidence. he needs to have. It has changed my life and I hope it will bring him the same.
Bartie said that anyone who “is interested in moving government forward and interested in moving our city forward is amazing.”
“Mainly because you really don’t often see where young people want to step into this arena and make things happen for the city and on a different caliber than they normally would,” he said. “As opposed to just going to school and coming back to teach or going to school and coming back and being a principal or superintendent.”
Getwood, who has attended numerous board meetings and other school district activities throughout his school years, is ready to continue working with mentors he has always known, now as than colleagues.
“I know each member of the board personally,” he told The Enterprise. “That’s why I don’t feel like I have a problem. I worked alongside them and they watched me grow up, some of them actually helped me raise me. They all know who I am and I know who they are. I don’t think we’ll have any problems when it comes to making decisions together.
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