Pat Leatherwood
Pat Leatherwood is running for re-election to the Dublin ISD School Board in the May 7 general elections, announcing he is proud of accomplishments made in his three terms but feels like there is more to be done.
“Over the past 9 years I have had the opportunity to help bring the facilities up to today’s standards,” Leatherwood said. “We had out-grown and worn out many of our older facilities. The improvements have added much for not only our school, but our community. We are able to host district and area events that bring thousands to Dublin each year. We made changes for our students’ safety.”
He also reported seeing rises in student performance in both grades and extracurricular activities and is especially proud of Dublin Elementary being nationally recognized as a Blue Ribbon school in 2019.
Leatherwood feels that this student success can be traced to Dublin ISD’s dedicated staff.
“Our Dublin ISD personnel have gone above and beyond all expectations for our Dublin students,” he said, especially praising the pandemic response of the custodial staff working extra hard to keep facilities clean and teachers providing both in-class and remote instruction.
“This crisis did not come without a toll,” he continued. “Across our country, teachers are leaving the teaching profession. I believe that two of our biggest challenges to come is to retain our current staff and hire highly-qualified teachers. We will be looking for ways to encourage our teachers to continue to pursue their calling to teach.”
If re-elected, Leatherwood would like to find ways to reduce the stress on DISD teachers, replace obsolete systems, and provide opportunities for students to pursue careers through college or technical training.
Leatherwood’s service on the school board continues a long history of community involvement as he currently serves on the Dublin Rotary Club and the First United Methodist Church and has previously served on the Dublin City Council, EDC and Chamber of Commerce.
He comes by service naturally as his grandfather, father and two of his brother have served as mayor of Dublin and his sister was executive director of the Chamber of Commerce.
Pat and his wife, Lisa (a longtime teacher at Dublin ISD), have two grown children and two grandchildren (with another grandchild expected soon).