Martin Retires After Nine Years on GISD Board

By Greg Ritchie

Messenger Reporter

GRAPELAND – With the recent elections, the Grapeland Independent (GISD) school board got quite a makeover, with three new board members joining the team. One of the positions of that race was that of long time board member James Martin who, after nine years serving on the board, decided it was time to focus on other activities and give someone else the seat. 

Martin moved to the area in 2007 with wife Carole from the Spring area. The pharmacists came to the Grapeland area and the two put their four kids into Grapeland schools. About nine years ago, Martin was approached to serve on the school board. 

“It wasn’t like this year where there were a lot of contested races,” Martin said. “Back then, nobody wanted the job. So I signed up, nobody ran against me and I got on the board that way. I had no experience in education, at all. I just got on the school board to help the community and to serve.”

With the best intentions in mind, Martin figured out quickly he had a lot of learning and catching up to do. 

“I think most school board members, when they get on, think they’re going to change the world. And you quickly find out the local school boards do not have as much control as one would think, or one would like,” Martin explained. “The board, of course, hires the superintendent, which is a big hire. But that’s your only employee, your only direct report as a board is that superintendent so that’s an important choice to make. I was mostly there just to see what was going on and try to make a positive impact in the ways I could.”

It has been a busy year for GISD, the departure of one superintendent and the naming of a new one, the adoption of a revised “four-day week” calendar and the recent elections have put many new faces on the board, all with their own ideas and best intentions. 

Martin said this can be both positive and somewhat of a challenge. 

“The board was very experienced when I got on. We had a lot of people that had been on the board for a very long time, when I was a rookie. Since that time, the board has gotten younger and younger, which some people could say, ‘That’s bad, because you’re losing experience.’ But I like the fact that most of those coming in are young parents. And so they’re getting involved. And so it’s better, in my opinion, to have a mix,” Martin said. “It took me a good two years to figure out all these rules. The school business is very different than regular business. It takes your first term, almost, just figuring everything out and learning the lingo.”

The Messenger caught up with Martin at his family business in downtown Crockett where he was on a conference call before our interview. Lingo, indeed – this reporter heard both sides of the conversation and still could not make out a word. For someone who has been in business for 30 years, the lingo of a school board must be easier than the abbreviations, latin names for pills and other Greek-sounding phrases of the pharmaceutical industry. 

Martin is proud of his nine years on the board which included building the elementary school and expanding the district, adding over 100 new students in one year alone. 

Martin believes in term limits and, “getting new blood in there,” so imposed the nine-year limit on himself, figuring he would step back and let others take the reins. Martin had some sage advice for those new board members, though. 

“My advice to them is to pay attention to changes in law. There’s a lot going on in the legislature this year around schools. As a school board member, we should always be looking down the road into the future and it’s much easier to do that if you’re paying attention, because they can change laws in a heartbeat,” Martin cautioned. “Be very careful to committing to dollars coming from the state that are unfunded mandates, because at the end of the day, the district is going to end up paying for that. We built a healthy fund balance and were sound financially, but if you start making poor decisions or get suckered into unfunded mandates, you can lose that in a hurry.”

Still committed to his business, family and local issues – and soon another endeavor into helping with local education – Martin is certainly not done making an impact on the community. He enjoyed his time on the board and learned and grew from the experience. 

“We had a good time and I made some good friends there. Everybody in Grapeland was so welcoming to us when we moved here and as a board member, everyone was very cordial to me, even if they didn’t like some of the things I voted for,” Martin concluded. “It’s been an enjoyable time. I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”

Greg Ritchie can be reached at [email protected]