Cleburne ISD board of trustees Place 7 candidate, Eric Jobe, 43, moved to Cleburne at age 11 after growing up in what he calls a rough part of Fort Worth.
And Cleburne, he said, changed his life.
“I got here and something came to me,” he said. “It was just an entirely different life. I didn’t start growing before I came here; didn’t know anything before I came here.”
Jobe graduated from Cleburne High School in 1998. He has worked in retail for 27 years has been self-employed for most of that time in the telecommunications and automotive fields. He currently owns an online car leasing business.
Jobe and his wife, Allison, have for many years been community volunteers. Some of their involvement includes the Cleburne Athletic Booster Club and the Cleburne Baseball/Softball Board and visits to their sons’ — Makane and Major’s — schools.
In deciding to run for the CISD board, Jobe sites the desire to make sure all students have equal learning opportunities.
“I try to be motivational to every kid,” he said. “I’ve always done that in coaching and I enjoy trying to help children.”
Jobe said one of the main ways he would like to serve the students of CISD is through focusing on technology in the classroom.
“I see the kids with heavy backpacks, just leaning over,” he said. “Not many kids want to carry heavy books [etc].”
Jobe said he believes students would be more compelled to do their homework assignments if they don’t have to lug so many heavy items around.
Part of the problem, he said, is that students are always in a rush — be they headed to sports, band, choir or other extra-curricular activities — and a big backpack is no longer the best way to keep track of assignments. However, something like an iPad that can store all textbooks, email and contact information is easier to work with, he said.
And while he understand costs of such electronics are prohibitive, he feels his background in business can help find the best way to purchase instructional materials.
“In order to do what you need to be doing, you have to listen to your customers,” he said. “The taxpayers are the customers.”
Among other things, Jobe believes facility improvements and security are at the top of the list of needs, two things which should be addressed if a proposed $10 million is approved by voters on May 11.
Jobe’s sons, who are in eighth and sixth grade, are another reason for Jobe wanting to help shape the future of the district, he said.
“These kids are going to be small one time and that’s it,” he said. “It’s a labor of love ... for the students in general.”
For more information on Jobe, visit his election site at www.jobeonboard.com.
