Cade Taylor will soon be filling the seat on the Pampa Independent School District Board of Trustees that Lance DeFever leaves behind in his run for the Mayor’s office.
Taylor, who is the agency manager for Texas Farm Bureau, said filling that seat is reaffirming his commitment to Pampa and the community.
“I am invested in Pampa both as a business and all parts of the community,” Taylor said. “My children will be going through that process. My son is a student in Pampa ISD. My passion is in serving and it doesn’t matter what form or fashion. It’s to give what I can and to help.”
Taylor and his family moved to Pampa in 2017 and instantly fell in love with the community.
“The idea to be a permanent, long-term resident of Pampa was up in the air,” Taylor said. “It took us being here a week before we realized we would never leave Pampa. Pampa was where we were going to establish the deepest roots we have.”
A 2006 graduate of Childress High School, Taylor taught for five years as an agriculture science teacher in four different school districts. Having been involved with several different types of school districts, Taylor has seen a variety of inner-workings.
“I got to see how four different school districts ran every program at the school,” Taylor said. “From athletics, to math, to science, career-tech department, etc. I was able to see schools that had boards who were progressive and, in turn, the impact was felt in the community and the success of the school district.”
Taylor said one of the biggest challenges school districts face is how education is adapted to fill the needs of the community and surrounding areas.
“Ultimately we want children to graduate and be successful in their future,” Taylor said. “That does not necessarily mean going to college.”
The son of an electrician, Taylor has a masters and bachelors degree from Texas A&M in College Station.
“Honestly, today I don’t know who is going to fill his (father’s) shoes when he decides to hang his hat,” Taylor said. “The hardest thing a kid has to do when they graduate high school is to figure out what they want to do. It’s how we prepare those kids (to make that choice). The job market changes every day and Covid highlighted that.
“Covid highlighted the changes school districts are going to go through because we have to make sure that the ultimate goal with those students is when they graduate they can go forth and make Pampa proud in what they decide to do.”
Taylor emphasized that it is important for school district’s to give students the tools they need whether it is going to college, trade school, workforce or military.
“We still want to encourage kids to pursue their dreams,” Taylor said. “If that dream is at a junior college or a large division one school, we need to give them the opportunity to do that. The whole thing is about opportunity.”
Taylor’s dream was to go into the military. He went to Texas A&M University and joined the Corp Of Cadets, signing a commission with the United States Army.
“When I graduated, I would be a Second Lieutenant,” Taylor said. “I spent time in Ft. Benning, Ga. in airborne school, Ft. Louis, Wash. and even Beijing, China.”
A knee injury derailed Taylor’s hopes of serving in the military, but he had a back-up plan: education. That didn’t mean it wasn’t hard on him personally.
“The hardest thing to do was to know you could not follow your dream, serve with your buddies you had been living with for four years,” Taylor said.
“Those guys are now senior officers in the military. But what it gave me was training and discipline to take into a career that was my backup plan: teaching children.”
After seeing other school district’s, Taylor said Pampa ISD’s strength is having the right people in the right place. Pampa has also become a hub for new teachers coming out of college.
“We have a great attraction for new teachers out of college,” Taylor said. “It’s obvious that it’s a great school district when you have as many applications as we did for a new head football coach. What’s that say about your town and school? Things are moving in the right direction.
“The goal isn’t to make massive changes, but to continue success and make those changes/impact so the school district continues to adapt.”
Taylor would like to help PISD forecast business and workforce opportunities around the District to give students the tools necessary to fill those needs.
“Not only for the workforce but for business opportunities and business owners in the future,” Taylor said. “That’s the biggest deal. Why are our kids going through school to begin with? Are they going just to fill a schedule? Or are we going to have them leave with the tools they need to be successful?”
Taylor added it is important to make sure students are versatile should something like the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 happen again.
Taylor would like to see the “college or bust” narrative change to stressing what students are good at and how it affects a student’s goals.
“We don’t need 100 percent acceptance rate for college,” Taylor said. “We need 100 percent acceptance rate for what they choose to do. If they don’t know, we want to give them the tools they need so they do know. If they don’t know what Cabot does, we want to give them the opportunity to see what Cabot does.”
Taylor said his vision is to continue the trajectory of the school district.
A first-generation college graduate, Taylor has been married to his wife, Taylor, for six years and the pair have a son, Cale, and a daughter, Haley.
For more information or to contact Taylor, e-mail ctaylor@txfb-ins.com.
Early voting in this election begins on April 19 through April 27 and will be held at the Pampa ISD administration building. Hours will be 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., except on April 26-27 when voting will be from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
