Lane Gulledge is announcing his candidacy for Position 1 on the Tarkington ISD Board of Trustees in the Nov. 6 general election.
Gulledge is a lifelong resident of Tarkington and graduated from Tarkington High School in 2013 before going on to graduate from Texas A&M University in 2017.
“I have the reputation within this community as being a dependable, responsible, hard-worker in any endeavor that I engage in. I knew long ago that giving back to this community was something that I would do. I am ready to serve and help our school district thrive,” Gulledge said.
“One might ask, what qualifies someone as young as myself for this position. First and foremost, I am a sixth-generation Tarkington resident. My great-grandmother, both of my grandmothers, my mom, and aunts on both sides have been educators here at Tarkington,” he added.
If elected, he will be the third generation of his family to serve as a Tarkington ISD trustee.
“My heritage here in Tarkington runs deep. I am a recent graduate of Texas A&M with a degree in Economics. I also serve on the Oak Shade Baptist Church finance committee. My love of this community is sincere, and I am proud that I have grown up in a place that was built upon simple but solid rural values,” he said.
He believes he has a vested interest in the future of the school district. He has many family members enrolled at students and plans to one day have children attending Tarkington ISD schools.
“I am running because I am obligated to the former, but absolutely to the latter. I want to be a part of making TISD the best school district that it can be. What better time to start that process? The time to start making Tarkington ISD the best version of itself is now,” he said.
According to Gulledge, his down-to-earth, common sense approach to the issues related to the community have been a draw to dozens of community members who have encouraged him to seek this position.
His priorities for Tarkington are simple: academics, making sure schools are secured, and making sure money is spent responsibly.
“Given Tarkington’s budgetary limitations, we need to make sure that we are responsibly appropriating funds. It is the role of a school board member to ensure that the utility of every dollar is maximized, and I feel that my education and experience have equipped me with a unique perspective regarding how Tarkington should spend its money,” Gulledge said.
Regarding school security, he believes the top priority has to be making sure that each and every student and faculty member is sent home safely every day. He believes the past and present boards have made great progress, but says that continually making improvements in security is imperative.
“With academics, I would like to make sure that we are appropriating as many resources as possible to the classroom. We must make sure that we, as a district, are fulfilling our number one priority, and that is to educate kids,” Gulledge said. “I would humbly like to ask for your support for Position 1, Tarkington School Board Trustee.”
Early voting for the Nov. 6 election begins Monday, Oct. 22.