Mar 19 – Monthly Meeting With State Rep Polly Thomas

Polly will give us an overview of the upcoming state legislative session. 

We will serve appetizers this evening. The cost is $40.

Polly’s Bio:  ​The second of four children in a middle-class family, Polly Jung Thomas was a National Honor Society student who embraced challenges. She graduated from the University of Southwestern Louisiana and went on to Texas A&M to earn both a Master’s and a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology. She realized that government could accomplish something praiseworthy when she was an Assistant Superintendent in the State Department of Education. It was there Polly proved her business savvy when she unraveled bureaucratic red tape to gain the state $26 million in federal funding. Polly was a policymaking juggernaut who put children first and never let political squabbles impede forward thinking. As an educator and school board leader, Polly Thomas ushered in the state’s first Charter School, a system that has taken root with great success throughout Louisiana.

Polly demanded accountability measures in and out of the classroom. She led the effort to improve a school system that was underfunded and over-extended. Polly devised an effective school-to-career program that promoted jobs for our community. She created a system to provide more instruction and attention to lower performing students inside a tight budget, and in doing so, she changed their lives forever. Many of her programs are still in place today and are models for education reform.

As a state representative, she is tough and fair.  Currently, she is Vice Chair of House and Governmental Affairs.  Serves on Commerce, Retirement, and the House Select Committee on Women and Children.