Portland
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or Tim Flinn, board president at Gregory-Portland ISD, when it comes to governance and the decision-making process, keeping the number one thing the number one thing, means that student achievement is always the primary focus for the district’s leadership team. Flinn credits Superintendent Michelle Cavazos, who began her leadership role at the district in July 2020, with creating processes and dynamics that create a high-functioning team, ensuring her administrative team and the board of trustees each stay in their own lanes, while working collaboratively to meet goals. But it wasn’t always that way, Flinn said. When he was first elected in 2015, he said there wasn’t really an official onboarding process in the South Texas district, which serves more than 5,000 students. As a result, he was uncertain what his role was as a trustee. “If you don’t have a vision or mission statement, you do not have board operating procedures, or if you don’t have board norms, you’re just going from the hip, and you have no structure,” Flinn said. “The structure she’s allowed us to put into place is a strong structure. If I stepped down tomorrow, the board would not miss a thing; they would not flinch because we have all of those things in place.” SHOWING THEY HAVE A PLAYFUL SIDE, THE LEADERSHIP TEAM FROM GREGORYPORTLAND ISD POSES AS A ROCK BAND. ALL PHOTOS COURTESY OF GREGORYPORTLAND ISD.
issuu.com/tasb-org | February/March 2026 |
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