Tillie Hickman has filed paperwork to run for place five on the Beaumont ISD board of trustees, the first election she has faced since being appointed to fill a vacancy in August.
Hickman has run for at-large seats in the past.
A Lamar University graduate, Hickman has a master’s degree in English. The 77-year-old was an educator for more than 50 years, including 24 as the principal of Odom Academy.
According to Enterprise file coverage, Hickman has certifications in secondary English, gifted and talented, educational supervision, mid-management and has been named “teacher of the year” at South Park High School, Junior League Sustainer of the Year and served as the president of Texas Association for the Gifted and Talented.
“Tillie is the kind of supporter and advocate that all organizations seek,” Juan Zabala, Lamar University vice president for university advancement and CEO of the Lamar University Foundation said in a statement after she was appointed. “She has been involved in so many areas at Lamar University and has supported her students financially and with her time and community connections.”
Hickman is a member of Friends of the Arts at the College of Fine Arts and Communication at the university and supports the College of Education as well. At a forum during her 2017 campaign, where she gained 22% of the vote, Hickman said that her years of experience in the district put her in a position to make effective changes on the board.
As an administrator, “I live BISD board policy,” she said at the time, allowing her to know what does and doesn’t work on a campus level. Hickman also listed her experience as a leader of statewide educational organizations and community organizations as preparation for the board, according to Enterprise archives.
Hickman is the second candidate to file paperwork for the election after Beaumont Barber Stacey Lewis Jr. announced a bid for place 2 at the beginning of the year.
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