Board approves 1 year extension for Bower

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Superintendent going into 3rd year

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Dr. Greg Bower
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CPCISD | Administration

COMO-PICKTON — The Como- Pickton Consolidated Independent School District Board of Trustees voted unanimously Tuesday night to extend Superintendent Dr. Greg Bower’s contract for one year with a $10,000 raise.

“I find it a blessing to work at such a fine school district as Como-Pickton,” Bower said. “It is incredibly humbling to have the support of the community and of the school board who works tirelessly in striving for the best for our students.”

Board President DJ Carr said he was “pleased” with Bower’s leadership of the district, and he added he felt the school “is in good hands.”

Bower was selected in 2017 as superintendent, replacing Dr. Kay Handlin who had been serving for five years. According to Bower, his proudest moment was seeing staff raise testing scores.

“Our district was previously identified as a ‘Targeted’ district by TEA as a result of our scores, and now we are at or above the state average in most of our academic areas,” he said.

Bower also noted the district has raised its fund balance each of the three years under Bower “by careful attention to spending and efficiency.

“Our district is one of the few districts in the state with a tax rate of 97 cents, and we have zero I&S [interest and sinking] tax rate as we have no existing debt,” Bower said.

He added that he is proud of the implementation of the Bible literacy class for the next school year.

As for the direction Bower wishes to take the district, he said his goal is “to continue raising our test scores every year while keeping our district financially sound even as we continue to make improvements on the campus as a whole.

"I want the students and parents to be as proud of the district that they attend, as I am as their superintendent,” Bower said.

The biggest challenges facing the district are, according to Bower, “the uncertainty of state revenue and the continued stresses of an ever-changing testing environment — all this in addition to a state grading system that nobody understands, not even educators.”

Bower previously served as assistant superintendent at Quitman ISD, and before that, he was employed for four years at Crosby ISD as their high school principal. Bower earned his doctorate from Lamar University and graduated with his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from University of Texas at Tyler. He attended Kilgore College before that.