For a little over 35 years, Tim (Timmy to his friends) Ramirez was in the trenches of education at the Brownsville Independent School District.
He started out as a teacher at Clearwater elementary, then move up to Central Middle School, and then Cummings.
Cumming since has become a technical training center for the BISD, and Ramirez says his years of experience as teacher, coach and department head and his participation in the various committees that make the BISD work can bring insights from the classroom to the policy-making board.
"I am a strong advocate of proving a strong curriculum," he said recently. "That's why I want to run for the board and share the experience I have accumulated over that time and help our district regain its status as one of the best in South Texas."
There are three trustees whose election terms are expiring this November. They are Cesar Lopez, Carlos Elizondo and Joe Rodriguez. So far, two candidates – Erasmo Castro and Mark Cortez – have filed their treasurer appointments. Ramirez says he will file his shortly. And, unlike the trustees whose terms are expiring, he says he does not do business with the district and has no plans to become a vendor.
Although he has not said what place he will seek, Ramirez says that the the competition from charter schools to the BISD has resulted in lower enrollments that are costing the district attendance funds.
For example, during a recent budget presentation, the administration said this year – 2017-2018 – the district will have the lowest enrollment in the last 10 years with 45,578 students. The peak year during that time was $49,800 in 2010-2011, he said. The average daily attendance (ADA) which is used by the State of Texas to provide school districts funds dipped downward as well, with 41,578, also the lowest in the last 10 years. That trend, Ramirez said, must be addressed.
"I believe that if we offer our students a meaningful curriculum we will retain the," he said. "As it is, the BISD can offer students in our district much more than the charter schools can to prepare them to compete in the global market place. We just have to let them and the people know what we have to offer."
Ramirez has also worked with college-bound students in the University of Texas' Brownsville Kids College Program. A Sunday School teacher, he has also volunteered his time as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) which assists minors going through the local courts. A father of two, he has a daughter who graduated from Hanna and a son currently attending there.