President’s Message

Hello TASPA! We are back to school for the 2022 - 2023 school year. We hope everyone is doing well and able to get some time off to rest. I am happy to see teachers, administrators, student support staff, clerical staff, auxiliary staff, and bus drivers back at school working together to provide a great learning experience for our students. TASPA would like to say THANK YOU if you were able to attend the 2022 Summer Conference. It was a busy time and we hope the time away from the office was valuable. I would like to recognize the TASPA staff for all their hard work in putting the summer conference together. Thank you Dr. Lolly Guerra, Chandelle Crane, and Jeannie Tomasek for making the Summer Conference a success. Also a big thank you to the TASPA Executive Board and District Representatives for your commitment to making the organization the best it can be. We hope to see everyone at the Winter Conference in December, it will be a great time to collaborate and learn. School has started and many districts are still in the process of filling vacancies. This summer the teacher workforce could not meet the high number of teachers and staff leaving the profession. Human resources professionals answered this critical shortage by getting creative and collaborating. Districts created new practices that will pioneer hiring practices in the future and with the help of universities and teacher preparation programs we will get through this tough time. It was definitely a time to work together and to share resources. These were difficult tasks that required long work days and changes to “normal” processes. Take the time to recognize that you and your staff have pushed through one of the toughest times in education. While it is not over we are headed in the right direction. Remember the factors causing the shortage (pay, school safety concerns, and State accountability to name a few) and continue to advocate for change in public education that will help end this critical shortage. Be a voice when it comes to this issue so that and promote the benefits that a healthy school system can provide to the students it serves. Although this shortage caused many obstacles for Districts, we fought through it and made the necessary changes to get schools started. The collaboration and ideas we shared were important in staffing our schools this summer to allow schools to open as scheduled. It may be time for a change. Change may be tough please know that TASPA will support you and the profession during the challenging times. Your membership and collaboration with TASPA is important during this time of change and will help us succeed in the future. Together we will embrace the change.

I am wishing all my TASPA friends the best 2022-2023 school year from my new home in West Texas. I will see you soon!

Max Flores

Max is the 2022 TASPA President. He is the Executive Director of Human Resources in Lubbock ISD.