MIDLAND, Texas — Midland ISD Board of Trustees President Bryan Murry officially resigned yesterday to give us sons the chance to work in the district.
Murry has served as the president for the last six and half years. It was a job he said he loved very much.
"I will always cherish my time serving the city and community of Midland," Murry said. "But now I'm choosing to provide for my own children with the ability to return them to their alma mater and get back to educating the future of Midland."
Murry’s sons have plans to become teachers and coaches for the school district, but little did they know, there was a problem.
"I found out about two weeks ago that there was a state law that didn't allow my children to go to work for MISD because I was on the school board," Murry said. "We did some checking, talked to some state representatives, [but] there was just no chance of getting out of that law. And so I've got two sons that taught at Greenwood last year that had been offered positions at Legacy high school and I just felt like it was important for them, as my children, to have the opportunity to coach and teach at their alma maters."
So Murry swiftly announced his resignation, putting his son’s and MISD’s futures over his own.
"My youngest son was voted 'Newcomer Teacher of the Year' for Greenwood," Murry said. "We need good teachers at MISD and they [my sons] deserve the opportunity to be back where they live because they both live here in Midland, and my middle son lives right down the street from Legacy High School. So you know there's an opportunity to have a two-minute drive versus having a drive that's 30 minutes."
Murry’s resignation was met with nothing but positivity from his fellow trustees.
"You have been a gift to MISD," Board Member and Secretary Katie Joyner said to Murry.
"I'm appreciate, not just as a Board member but as a friend," Vice President Tommy Bishop said to Murry.
The trustees unanimously voted that they would appoint a new member to fill Murry's seat on June 26th. That appointment will last through December of this year and be officially filled in during the next election in November.
"It was a very big compliment coming from fellow board members," Murry said. "Because we're all elected and even though I was President of the board, we all hold the same one vote for what we do. It's very flattering to hear the board members say that because a lot of times this work is hard and you hear negative, but you don't hear the positive. And so the support from the board is really a pick me up for me at this time."
If you’re interested in the seat, application information can be found at midlandisd.net/board. You have until June 20th to apply and the person selected will be appointed and sworn in at the June 26th meeting.
The board is also proceeding with the process of a special election in November 2023 for a permanent replacement of President through the end of the term in November 2024.
However, this isn’t the end of Murry’s time at MISD, as he has a plan to still be connected to the school district
"I just told Dr. Howard that anything that if there's a community member needed, I will volunteer for that," Murry said.
So even though Bryan Murry’s name isn’t on the “Board President" name plate anymore, don’t expect him to go away anytime soon.