Today Governor Greg Abbott appointed Mike Morath, a member of both the Dallas ISD Board of Trustees and the TASB Board of Directors, to be commissioner of education for the State of Texas, overseeing all public school districts and charter schools.

Morath has served Dallas ISD since his election in 2011. He has served on the TASB Board of Directors since July 2014.“It is with great pleasure that we learned of Mike’s appointment today,” said TASB President Bret Begert, a trustee in Fort Elliott CISD. “He has exhibited creativity and thoughtfulness as a member of the TASB Board, especially as we have worked to broaden our perspective on governance issues to reflect our evolving membership. We applaud the governor’s appointment and anticipate a bright future for Texas schools under the new commissioner’s leadership.”Adding to Begert’s comments, TASB Executive Director James B. Crow noted, 

“During the time we have worked with Mike Morath, we have been impressed with his passion for excellence in Texas schools and his clear thinking on the challenges facing public education in the state. We look forward to continuing our work with Mike and offering our governance, policy, and school law expertise as he takes on his new role as commissioner.”

TASB is a nonprofit association established in 1949 to serve local public school districts. School board members are the largest group of publicly elected officials in the state. The districts they represent serve more than 5.2 million students.