The newest, and youngest, member of Liberty-Eylau Independent School District's Board of Trustees said he is looking forward to carrying on the Leopard tradition of educational excellence during his term.
"Liberty-Eylau is headed in the right direction for the future," Bradley Haugh said. "I grew up in this district from kindergarten all the way through 12th grade. It has seen some good times and has seen some bad times. It's headed in the right direction, and I'm pretty excited to lead it in the right direction by making the right decisions for our district."
Haugh is a 2000 graduate of Liberty-Eylau High School and serves on the District Leadership Team, the board of the L-E Youth Sports Association and was chairman of the Bond Election Support Committee.
He replaces tenured Board Member Christina Walker, who had served on the board since 1993. She was the longest-serving board member in Region VIII and resigned from her position in June.
Haugh said Walker was instrumental in creating positive changes in the district, including the passage of the $20.8 million bond in 2016 and that he has some big shoes to fill.
"I'm sure she wears a smaller shoe than I do, but I won't be able to fill that," he said. "She's an absolutely amazing lady."
In leading the Bond Election Support Committee, Haugh said they did a lot of legwork to get voters to approve the funds for new turf, track and concession stand improvements at Harris Field, a new roof at the middle school, heating and air systems districtwide and a new elementary school on U.S. Highway 59.
"It passed on the first try," he said. "I think a lot of that has to do with my generation looking into the future and wanting more for their children-a lot more than they had."
Haugh is a project superintendent for R.K. Hall Construction, and his wife, Brooke, is the human resource specialist for L-EISD. His son, Triston, will be a seventh-grader at L-EMS and his daughter, Tatum, will be a junior at Texas High School.
He said creating an environment of success within the district is also a goal.
"Definitely successful students and successful teachers," he said. "One of the things I would really like to focus on is retaining teachers and having teachers and faculty want to bring their children to our district as well. I want it to be that kind of school district."
Haugh added that House Bill 3, which was recently passed by the Texas Legislature and gives districts additional funding for teacher raises, is a win-win for both districts and teachers.
"I think it's going to be amazing. We're talking about putting more money in teachers' pockets," he said. "I just think it's well overdue and teachers are excited about it, not in just this district, but all districts."
As far as serving in the trustee seat, he said he was looking forward to helping lead it into the future.
"I'm real excited about getting this opportunity to serve on the Liberty-Eylau Board of Trustees and I intend to help everyone else make good decisions for the district going forward," he said.
He will serve until the next election in May 2020, when he can then run for election to the position.