Former TASA President and Honorary Life Member Nolan Estes passed away this weekend at age 94. Estes is known by Texas school leaders for his work as director of the Cooperative Superintendency Program at The University of Texas at Austin, and before that, as superintendent of Dallas Public Schools.
“We have lost one of the greats,” says TASA Executive Director Kevin Brown. “Dr. Estes was an exceptional public school leader who had a tremendous impact on generations of school superintendents as well the entire landscape for public education.”
Estes served as Dallas ISD superintendent from 1968 to 1978. According to the district, he “successfully desegregated the school system and established a network of magnet schools, charter schools and early childhood centers.” He is also credited with establishing various partnerships, an accountability system, and an innovative leadership program.
Estes came to Dallas in 1968 from the U.S. Office of Education in Washington, D.C. Appointed Associate U.S. Commissioner of Education during President Lyndon B. Johnson’s term, Estes worked with Congress to implement the historic Elementary and Secondary Education Act. He also worked with the 26-member-nation Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development in Paris, France, to create an international forum of educators and policymakers.
“Nolan Estes’ work as a school leader is legendary. So, too, was his leadership of TASA,” says TASA Executive Director Emeritus Johnny L. Veselka. “Fifty years ago, TASA leaders asked him to chair TASA’s Legislative Committee and lead the development of the association’s first independent legislative program. He did so, along with a school finance plan that was introduced in the 65th Legislature in February 1977. Five months later, Gov. Dolph Briscoe signed SB 1, a $945.4 million funding bill that was described as ‘strikingly similar’ to the original filing. I will never forget how he was so concerned about the statewide impact of that bill that every time he looked at a school finance run, he always checked its effect on Rio Hondo and Robert Lee before he looked at Dallas.
“When he was TASA president, he set the stage for the association’s strategic planning in the 1980s, focusing on instructional leadership, expanding TASA’s voice across the education community, and establishing TASA’s first headquarters building as part of his 10-point plan. Nolan Estes’ contributions to public education through his various leadership roles have few rivals. It was an honor of a lifetime to work with him and learn from him during my career at TASA,” says Veselka.
Read more about Estes on pages 39-40 of the TASA Centennial Commemorative Magazine. TASA will share service details when they become available.
