Earlier this week, the Canyon ISD Board of Trustees voted unanimously to appoint Mandi Palmer to its vacant Place 1 seat. Palmer and Marty Rowley were the finalists for the position.
The Place 1 seat had been vacant since the untimely death of Canyon businessman Paul Blake in July of this year.
"It was an amazing process; I was so glad they interviewed all 10 individuals that applied for the job. I feel like if it was going to be an appointment, we needed to make sure that anybody interested was heard. I really appreciated being called back for a second interview, with a chance to get to know me a bit more with more discussion-type questions.
“I am so honored to be selected for this position. This community has helped mold and shape me into being able to do the things that I have been able to do professionally. I am so excited to be able to serve and give back to this community. I am truly honored," Palmer said.
CISD Board President Jennie Winegarner said they are excited to have Palmer on the school board.
“As a community, we are incredibly fortunate to have the caliber of candidates apply for this opening that we had. There were several applicants that all could have made phenomenal selections for this position.
"We are excited to have Mandi Palmer join our group. We are excited about her expertise in some areas that maybe some of us have weaknesses. She has lots of experience and expertise in school accountability.
"She helps us to ask the tough questions that continue to push us ahead and make our district better in the opportunities that we provide our students. We are excited to see what she can bring to the table," Winegarner said.
With the appointment of Palmer, Winegarner said she hopes that our community will come together and give us a chance to function and to deliver on some of our vision and goals for this district as a board."
“I am excited about the people that we have in the seats that we have. I understand that our community was split on the appropriate way to handle this.
"As a board, we take the appointment responsibility incredibly seriously, and I think we pursued every bit of due diligence that we could on our candidates and made the best decision that we could for our district," Winegarner said.
Palmer currently serves with Education Resource Center Region 16, which services 61 school districts and includes three charter schools. She serves on the school improvement team and is the regional testing coordinator for Region 16.
A graduate of Canyon High School, Palmer attended West Texas A&M for elementary education and later attained her master’s degree and doctorate, which included principal and superintendent certifications.
“I come with an educational background with an administrative and regional perspective,” Palmer said. “I think that this fills a hole that was in the board, a skillset that might have been needed, and I am happy to help fill that.”
Palmer spoke about her priorities as a member of the Canyon ISD school board.
“My passion is student achievement; I think that’s my academic background. Also marginalized populations specifically - I have a special needs son who has autism.
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