Odessa, he says, is where love for faith, family and friends is truly a way of life.
As part of his commitment to the community he loves, he took on one of the largest volunteer jobs in the county – school board trustee.
“You can stand on the sidelines of many things inside our city and at some point, you have to decide to get in the arena and try to be a part of the solution and a part of the discussion,” said Thayer.
He’s followed ECISD operations as a taxpayer and as a father and now as a board member, he has first-hand knowledge of the needs.
“There’s a lot of things in our school district that needs to be repaired, from air conditioning units to buses to bus barns, to general facilities such as mainline sewer lines, security features, cameras, PA systems, telephone lines. These things that age out, they have an end of life and have to be replaced.”
Major issues that call for once-in-a-generation solutions.
“Like a new middle school, you build one of those every 40 years and so we have to build a new school to accommodate growth.”
The ECISD 2023 bond calls for a new middle school in far West Odessa – and a new career and technical education center in south Odessa.
It funds a new bus barn and a new transition learning center for special needs students.
The bond prioritizes student safety, facility integrity and regional growth.
“I was doing some research quite a while ago into what school districts should build,” said Thayer. “How much it should cost to build a school or schools and what was fascinating to me was there’s no set number. What it really is, what a school district builds is reflective of what the school, what the city or what the community values.”
Many of the students who walk through ECISD hallways are taking the same steps their parents and grandparents have also taken because Odessa is where you plant roots.
“When I look at bonds like this it’s a way of communicating our values as a community, that we want to put our money and our energies into generational values.”
Passing the school bond package will pave the way for children and grandchildren 30 and 40 years from now.
Written by Shelley Childers.