Published: May 19, 2008 11:39 pm      

Peters ‘positive’ addition to New Waverly ISD board

Huntsville resident Jackie Peters was officially appointed to Position 7 of the New Waverly Independent School District board of trustees during a regular meeting of the board Monday night.

The position was formerly held by Peters’ husband, David Peters, who died on April 4 in a car accident on state Highway 90 in Grimes County.

According to NWISD Superintendent Clay Webb, Jackie Peters has strong ties to the school district, and the board believes she will have a positive impact.

“I think Peters will be a great board member,” Webb said. “She’s been highly involved with the district, and she’s held leadership roles with booster organizations. She’s a hard worker, a true contributor, and I’m looking forward to serving with her.

“I know she has the best interests of both the district and the students in mind.”

New Waverly residents Joey Pavelock and Sharon Allen also applied for the position and participated in short interviews during a short executive session.

Webb said Peters had a personal connection to the work being done on the board because of the work her husband had started during the first year of his three-year term.

“I think she feels a need to do this to carry on some work she would obviously have knowledge about,” he said. “Even so, she’s a very strong contributor to the district on her own, and I know the board felt this was the right decision.”

Webb said Peters will be sworn in during next month’s board meeting.

In other action, the board accepted the resignations of Erin Thompson, a math teacher at New Waverly Junior High School, and Michael Lilley, one of the district’s agriculture teachers.

“Thompson was an absolutely excellent teacher who we’d like to have the opportunity to get back,” Webb said. “However, she had a baby and has an option to raise her child right now, so we’re happy for her.

“Lilley has taken a position in a larger school district in Commerce.”

Webb also presented the board with a report on efforts being made throughout the district to conserve energy.

“Representatives from Entergy stopped by a couple of weeks ago and gave us a report for each district meter,” he said. “We had started a process that included keeping doors closed, and by doing so we saved a significant number of kilowatt hours.

“In fact, these simple processes have saved us more than $13,000 this year since we checked those meters last year in May.”

Webb said energy costs will only rise in the next year, and the district plans to continue to implement strategies which will save energy and money.

“We’ve got a lot of savings built into the stadium which are energy efficient,” he said. “We just have to prepare for higher energy costs, and the work we’ve done so far is definitely making a difference.”