SCHOOL NEWS
Monte Thacker excited for new post at Gold-Burg
By BARBARA GREEN
editor@bowienewsonline.com
Monte Thacker has no qualms about telling you he was the “kid no one liked” might be called “rotten.” His school experiences were not the best for him, but he thinks it was the influence of a few good teachers that lead him to want to “be like them” in his future.
Thacker is the newest Gold-Burg Bear as he takes over as principal at the rural school district north of Bowie. He is no stranger to the Bowie area after spending fourth-nine grade in the local school district. However, he moved to Wichita Falls after his parents’ divorce and lived with his grandparents attending Hirschi High School, where he graduated in 1984.
At 17 he went right into the U.S. Marines. He was able to test out of school early and graduate a year ahead of time. Thacker served eight years in the Marines in a Stinger Platoon. He laughs and calls it “basically anti-aircraft infantry with a missile.
“Why the Marines, as a kid I thought they were the toughest and the baddest, so you want to be part of that. I led a team into Kuwait City and got out after Desert Storm. I loved the service,” recalls Thacker.
Read the full feature in the Thursday Bowie News.
By BARBARA GREEN
editor@bowienewsonnline.com
Bowie Independent School District Trustees began plowing through the 2026-27 budget at its first workshop on Aug. 3.
The center of discussion was presentation of the salary study commissioned by the district through the Texas Association of School Boards. Laura Wurman of TASB explained how the data was gathered and developed into recommendations for the district.
Purpose of the study is to assess competitive pay levels for common jobs. Wurman said they analyses market data to determine where the district is at risk and identified priorities for pay system improvements.
Read the full story in the Thursday Bowie News.
Diana Calderon will join the Bowie High School staff as assistant principal in the new school year.
She comes to Bowie from Lake Dallas Elementary School where she served as assistant principal since 2024. Her prior positions include administrator at Decatur High School from 2022-2024, and English as a second language director at Ponder High School and Middle School from 2017 to 2022.
Calderon’s educational background began with a bachelor of business management in 2007 from the University of Phoenix. She earned her master degree in bilingual education from Southern Methodist University in 2018 and a master’s in educational leadership also in 2018.
The educator is working on her doctorate of educational leadership.
By BARBARA GREEN
editor@bowienewsonline.com
New Bowie High School Principal Dean Johnson brings 15 years of experience as an educator to the campus and he is looking forward to settling down in his new town.
The 38-year-old comes to Bowie from Farmersville Independent School District where he was junior high principal since 2022 and prior to that he was assistant starting in 2019. In 2023 he was named Texas Association of Secondary School Personnel’s Region 10 Assistant Principal of the Year.
Born and raised in Sherman, Johnson always knew his career path was coaching/teaching. He followed in his mother’s footsteps as she worked 30-plus years as a high school math teacher. His sister is a middle school math teacher and her husband is a teacher/coach both at Bells ISD, along with a cousin who is elementary principal at Burkburnett.
And dad can’t be left out, Johnson said while his father did several jobs, for many years he drove a bus for Sherman ISD, including those athletic team trips.
“I would often go with him on those trips with the football team and at seven or eight years old you look up at the players. I also was a ball boy. My path was set early,” said the new principal.
Read the full feature in the Thursday Bowie News.
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