DUNCANVILLE, Texas — Duncanville ISD's new superintendent Dr. T. Lamar Goree is ready to make an impact on the district.
WFAA caught up with him as he made his rounds at Bilhartz Elementary.
“What I've charged our staff with this year is finding your place of impact,” said Dr. Goree.
Dr. Goree was born and raised in Louisiana and served as a teacher, principal and superintendent there.
“I'm very optimistic, and I tell you that this work is not for someone that does not have optimism. I think that the world is going to throw so many hurdles at our school system,” said Dr. Goree.
Watch the full interview with Dr. T. Lamar Goree here:
One hurdle has been funding which Texas has not increased since 2019. Like many other districts operating in the red, Duncanville has an $18 million deficit.
“We have this year to now not look at how do we just cut things, but to look at what is the impact, to look at what are those things that we can cut so that we can live within the dollars that our tax base provides for us,” Goree told WFAA.
Adding to that is the state mandate for armed officers in every school. Duncanville has met that requirement with 32 police and security members; however, those positions require a $115,000 salary that includes training and equipment.
“We do have a fund balance, which is our savings account so that we could utilize those dollars at a time such as this,” said Dr. Goree. “If we're going to be the very best we can be, we must create a safe environment for children.”
Goree has also been reorganizing their academic team function with a focus on social-emotional learning and targeting key grade levels.
“Literacy in third grade is a great predictor of student success throughout the trajectory of their school year. We're looking to formalize our literacy program so that we are even looking at students being literate by second grade,” Dr. Goree said.
They are also addressing the nationwide teacher shortage with outside resources and programs.
“We have to grab the situation that we're in and make the absolute best of it for children,” Dr. Goree said.
Duncanville is also known as the “City of Champions” largely for its success in sports, but Dr. Goree plans to expand that.
“If you want to make sure that everyone in your school system leaves as a champion, you have to create that champion environment in the classroom. The one field, the one court that everyone will cross in a school system is a classroom,” Dr. Goree told WFAA. “I want them to say that I was a champ and not only on the football field, not only on the basketball field, but that Duncanville created champion academic opportunities for me.”
To do that, his mission is for everyone to lead with impact.