Linda Floerke The Board of Trustees of the Lampasas Independent School District opened its meeting with a moment of silence in memory of Bill Haisler, a trustee who died Aug. 31.

A short agenda and a closed session followed.

After coming back into open session, trustees unanimously named Linda Floerke to fill Haisler's seat. Mrs. Floerke will remain on the board until May, at which time she said she plans to run for the remaining one year of the term.

James Briggs, president of the board of trustees, said nine residents offered to fill the board vacancy. "We appreciate their willingness to serve in a time of need. Any one of them would have made a good board member."

Mrs. Floerke, who will be sworn in Wednesday, was a good choice by the board, Briggs said. "She is well-respected in the community, and is tireless and organized. She sees a problem and quickly comes up with a solution."

She has four years of school board experience, having served as a Jarrell ISD trustee until the family moved to Lampasas 17 years ago.

Mrs. Floerke is a member of the finance committee of the Girl Scouts of Central Texas Council, has served on various committees and taught Sunday School at First United Methodist Church, and is active in the Oran Milo Roberts Chapter of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas.

She is a past president of the Lampasas County Chamber of Commerce and was a member of the political action committee that pushed for bonds to build new Lampasas ISD schools.

"I am honored to fulfill the position that Bill (Haisler) had," said Mrs. Floerke. "We all owe our gratitude to his family for his long commitment to our children. I respect what he did for our kids, and I would like to finish his term to honor him."

Mrs. Floerke and her husband, Benton, have two children -- both Lampasas High School graduates. Sarah graduated from Texas Tech University in Lubbock and works at the Capitol in Austin, while August is a student at the Lubbock college.

Haisler also represented the board as a non-voting member of the Lampasas Economic Development Corp. Briggs recommended that one of the trustees volunteer in that capacity.

In other business, Superintendent Dr. Brant Myers gave an overview with photos of progress on the new Lampasas High School and Taylor Creek Elementary campuses, as well as renovations at the current high school facility and Kline Whitis Elementary.

Myers said the site at Taylor Creek will be change quickly as the building begins to go up.

Also Monday, trustees recognized the Lampasas FFA program, which was named a "Tri-Star-Gold Emblem Chapter by the national FFA organization. The organization was ranked on its 12-month program of activities in community development, chapter development and student development.

Along with that, the board approved travel for five LHS students to attend the national convention in Indianapolis in October where the Lampasas chapter will be recognized for its accomplishments.

Students who will make the trip are Reese Vann, Kelsie Ray, Sara Jackson, Jordan Cantrell and Jeyde Kelly. They will be accompanied by LISD ag science instructor Wes Harris and parent chaperon Diana Jackson, who will cover her own expenses.

More than $5,600 was raised in the community to send the students on the trip.

In his enrollment report, Myers noted LISD's attendance decreased by six students from Sept. 2 to Sept. 8. Attendance numbers are fairly good for the first week, he said.

"Hopefully we will gain some kids and our attendance will remain good, and that will help our average daily attendance numbers," the superintendent added.

Administrators gave an overview of the first few weeks at each of their campuses, and many posted small increases in enrollment. All agreed it was a good start to a new school year.

Trustees approved Brad Barnett and Jamie Smart, Lometa ag science teachers, as adjunct staff members of the Lampasas ISD. Lampasas ag instructors Dr. Steve Forsythe and Harris serve in the same capacity for the Lometa ISD. This allows all four teachers to supervise students at major livestock shows during the 2008- 09 year.

In final matters, board members agreed to submit Dr. William Cofield as the school district's nominee for a seat on the Lampasas Appraisal District Board of Directors.

A vacancy was created when Evan Stubbs resigned to fill a vacancy on the Lampasas City Council.