Montgomery Independent School District

Montgomery ISD Board of Trustees

Position	Name & Email	Term Began	Term Expires	Biography
1	Mike Hopkins	2020	2023	Biography
2	Shawn Denison	2020	2023	Biography
3	Laurie Turner	2020	2023	Biography
4	Trey Kirby	2021	2024	Biography
5	Linda Porten (Secretary)	2021	2024	Biography
6	Matt Fuller (President)	2019	2022	Biography
7	Gary Hammons (Vice-President)	2019	2022	Biography

Regular School Board Meetings are held on the third Tuesday of each month at 6:00 p.m. These meetings are held in the Board Room of the Education Support Center, 20774 Eva St. Montgomery, TX 77356.

Montgomery ISD is governed by an elected seven member board. Individual trustees, serving without pay, are elected for three-year terms on a rotating basis. Elections are held on the first Saturday in May annually. Although elected to numbered positions, trustees represent the District as a whole, not specific geographic areas.

The seven member board, while composed of individuals, acts officially only as a group. No member or group of members acts in the name of the Board unless authorized by the Board. A majority of the Board constitutes a quorum for the transaction of business.

School board members are guardians of the public trust and, through the policies they make, are ultimately responsible for the success or failure of local public education. The board serves as the advocate for educational excellence for the community’s youth and puts those interests first. The policies school boards make dictate the standards and philosophy by which schools are run and the criteria used to judge whether they are being run well.

The key roles and responsibilities of the school board members are:

Hire and evaluate the superintendent and delegate all administrative responsibilities
Approve the school district’s budget
Establish goals and evaluate outcomes
Adopt and evaluate policies
Communicate with the community

The Board functions according to state and federal laws, the rules and regulations established by the State Board of Education, and the Texas Education Agency. The board powers and duties are listed in MISD Policy BAA(LEGAL) and board ethics are listed in MISD Policy BBF(LOCAL), both available as part of the online MISD Board Policy Manual.

Mike Hopkins

Mike Hopkins is a small business owner in Montgomery. Previously in his career, Mike held management roles with Schlumberger and United Airlines prior to retiring and starting his own company. Mike is also a retired U.S. Air Force veteran with over 23 years of service on both Active Duty, and on the Reserves as a Senior Non-Commissioned Officer

Mike has an MBA from Texas A&M, a Bachelor of Science Degree in Aeronautics from Embry Riddle Aeronautical University, and an Associate of Applied Science from The Community College of The Air Force in Aerospace Systems Maintenance Technology. Mike is also a Licensed Federal Aviation Administration Airframe and Powerplant Technician.

Mike lives with his wife Linda in Woodforest and are members of The Church at Woodforest. Mike and Linda have two children in MISD, son Christopher and daughter Ava.

Shawn Denison

Shawn Denison grew up in Spring, Texas and graduated from Klein Oak High School in 1988, where he participated in FFA, various vocational programs and also earned a rank of Eagle Scout. He worked while attending college until his acceptance into the police academy in 1992. Shawn holds a Master Peace Officer license and has 27 years of law enforcement experience with Harris County. Throughout his career he has held positions in Patrol, Traffic, Animal Cruelty, Environmental Crimes, and was an Incident Management Coordinator for HCTRA (Harris County Toll Road Authority). He is currently a Lieutenant over the Toll Road division with Harris County PCT. 1 Constables Office.

Shawn and his wife Kelly have lived in Montgomery since 2004 and have three sons, two that are MHS graduates and one currently attending OHJH. Kelly has been an educator in the district since 2005 and is currently at Lone Star Elementary.

Shawn and his family are avid outdoorsmen and enjoy hunting, fishing, competition archery, and backpacking the high country.

Laurie Turner

Laurie Turner grew up in Tulsa, Oklahoma. She graduated from Harding University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Elementary Education. She continued her education to earn a Master of Education in Reading in 1999. Laurie taught for 4 years before coming to Montgomery, TX. in 2003. She previously taught in both public and private schools as well as in Guatemala for a year as a missionary teacher. After moving to Texas, Laurie earned her certification in Special Education. She taught Language Arts under Special Education at Montgomery Junior High for 3 years. After staying at home for some years while her children were young, Laurie came back to teaching in MISD as a Dyslexia Interventionist. She was trained on the Neuhaus program, Basic Language Skills, and taught on many campuses in the district. She is currently tutoring students privately in the Montgomery area.

Laurie has been married to Jeremy Turner since 2003. Jeremy is an alumnus of Montgomery High School and is a 13 year veteran of the Houston Police Department. Together they have two children, Levi and Avery, who attend school in MISD.

Outside of work, Laurie loves being involved at her church. She and Jeremy have attended Conroe Church of Christ for most of their marriage. She has been a Sunday school teacher, camp counselor, youth group mentor, and a praise team member. She has helped organize a group for young mom's called First Steps of Faith and she and her husband work as a team to be Life Group leaders.

Laurie is excited to bring her knowledge and experience as an educator to the board. She is a strong advocate for each and every student receiving the education and tools needed to succeed in life and an advocate for MISD teachers receiving the support they deserve.

Trey Kirby

Trey Kirby moved to Montgomery, TX in 1987 after being born in the city of Richardson in north Texas. After graduating from MHS and getting his college education, he returned to continue his career and start his family in the community he calls home.

Currently, Trey serves as the Texas Regional Manager for DRC Emergency Services, owned by Sullivan Interests out of Galveston, TX and has been with the company for five years. He attended both Texas A&M University and Sam Houston State University receiving his Bachelor of Science Degree in 1994.

Being a proud graduate of MHS in 1989, Trey felt it was time to give back to a community that has given him so much. Prior to being elected as an MISD trustee, he served on multiple committees and campus advisory boards throughout the district. Along with this, he is very active as a volunteer and member of local organizations. He is a member of the Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce, Lake Conroe Area Republican Women, volunteer coach for North County Football League, and former board member and coach for Montgomery Soccer Club. His priority is his service to his Lord and church as a member and volunteer at Fellowship of Montgomery. When not volunteering, his free time includes fishing along the Texas coast, hunting ducks in the marsh, golfing with friends and traveling with his family.

Trey is married to Mallory, who has been employed by MISD since 2003 and currently serves as the principal at Keenan Elementary School. Married since 2004, they have two children, daughter Kati-Grace and son Kannon.

Linda Porten (Secretary)

Linda Porten grew up in Dallas, Texas graduating from Hillcrest High School prior to graduating from Texas Tech University in 1973 where she was president of the Speech and Hearing Honorary Fraternity her senior year. She worked as a speech therapist at Pine Tree Elementary in Longview, Texas while in graduate school at ETSU in Commerce. She relocated to San Antonio, Texas where she worked in Northside ISD and San Antonio Christian School before moving to Montgomery. She began her work in 1990 as a part-time speech therapist at Montgomery Elementary and retired in 2014 as speech therapist, resource reading teacher and science co-teacher.

While serving the district for the last few years as a substitute teacher in the upper grades, she recognized an opportunity for utilizing the community in supporting potentially at-risk students. Project Impact began in November of 2017 with about 18 committed individuals and currently has over 60 adult participants. This volunteer program continues to expand in order to support and encourage staff and students in the rewarding but challenging work public schools endeavor to do.

Linda and her husband Jim share twelve grandchildren and six children (two of whom were Montgomery Bears, Eric Crabb and Carrie Fulham). They worship at Walden Community Church where she has served the church board as secretary for the last seven years.

Matt Fuller (President)

Dr. Fuller grew up in Sealy, Texas and was active in sports, band, UIL competitions, and Boy Scouts, where he earned the rank of Eagle Scout. He graduated from Texas A&M University with degrees in Biology and Educational Administration. Matt earned his doctorate in Educational Administration and Foundations from Illinois State University.

Matt is an Associate Professor of Educational Leadership at Sam Houston State University where he teaches classes and conducts research on educational law, finance, history, ethics, educational research methods, and safety. He currently serves as the Director of the doctoral program in Higher Education Leadership at Sam Houston State. He is a Fellow with the Institute of Higher Education Law and Governance Roundtable and the National Data Institute at the National Center for Education Statistics in Washington, D.C. Matt is a member of the American Threat Assessment Professionals Association and the Education Law Association. He is the author of numerous articles and books on educational leadership, legal issues, safety, and ethics.

Matt is also the owner and operator of a small family farm in Montgomery where they raise fresh produce, eggs, and honey. He also helps on his family’s farm in Weimar, TX with cattle and honey bees. He is an Advanced Master Beekeeper and volunteers with local schools, churches, and organizations teaching the public about the benefits of honey bees. He is a member of the Texas Farm Bureau and the Montgomery County Fair Association.

Matt and his wife, Kerri, have two sons, both of whom are students in Montgomery ISD. Kerri is an educator as well and works for MISD. Matt is excited to see what is next in Montgomery’s future and play a vital part in shaping the future for our children and our community.

Gary Hammons (Vice-President)

Gary Hammons has been a licensed Certified Public Accountant since 2008. Gary currently holds the position of Chief Financial Officer for QES Directional Drilling LLC, an oilfield services company and division of KLX Energy Services. Prior positions held include: Senior Auditor for WeinsteinSpira PC CPA firm and as a senior non-commissioned officer in the US Army/ Army Reserve Military Police Corp. He is a graduate of the Texas A&M University System earning a Bachelors Degree in Business Administration Majoring in Accounting. Gary holds a Professional Membership with the Texas Society of CPA’s and serves on several financial advisory committees that include the Quintana Energy Services 401k Plan and First Montgomery Baptist Church.

Gary and his family have lived in Montgomery since 2006. His wife Christina was employed by MISD from 2009 to 2019 and she is currently an Assistant Professor at Sam Houston State University. They have been married since 2001 and have two children in MISD, son Jacob and daughter Audrey.