[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 89 (Tuesday, June 22, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1356]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               TRIBUTE TO THE HONORABLE BARBARA BOUDREAUX

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. MAXINE WATERS

                             of california

                          HON. JULIAN C. DIXON

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 22, 1999

  Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, my colleague, Mr. Dixon and I, rise today to 
pay tribute to the Honorable Barbara M. Boudreaux, a dedicated public 
servant who is ending her service today as a member and Vice President 
of the Board of Education for the Los Angeles Unified School District. 
We are proud to join her many friends and colleagues today in honoring 
and celebrating her many years of exemplary service.
  Barbara's remarkable record includes not only eight years as a member 
of the Board of Education, but more than thirty years of service as a 
highly respected career educator. During the span of her career she has 
been a teacher, a training teacher, a vice-principal, and a principal.
  She also has served the district as a mentor for teachers, as a 
leader of the district's Academy for Administrators, and as an assessor 
of promotional examinations for principals. She was also an evaluator 
of textbooks, and assisted in development of the district's handbook on 
preventing and controlling anti-social behavior among our youth.
  Barbara always understood that the health of our educational 
institutions is closely linked to the health of our communities. She 
has been, and continues to be, heavily involved in the life of our 
community.
  in 1991, Barbara was elected to represent District 1, on the Board of 
Education. During her tenure, the Board was faced with some of its most 
difficult challenges. One of the most pressing of these were the 
problems of infrastructure and the need to modernize older facilities, 
and build new campuses in under-served communities.
  Barbara realized that these barriers to learning had to be removed. 
Under her leadership, the Board placed a school bond initiative, 
Proposition BB, on the ballot which would address the district's 
infrastructure needs. More important, she reached out to the larger 
community and invested the hard work and persuasive power required to 
obtain the unprecedented two-thirds voter margin required for passage.
  Armed with resources from the bond measure, the Board has set out to 
repair and renovate older schools, build new schools and reduce 
overcrowding. As a result of her tireless efforts, classrooms that were 
once too hot, have been retrofitted with air conditioners creating a 
more conducive learning environment for the school children.
  Barbara understood, however, that more than cooling the classrooms 
would have to be done to help our children succeed. So she marshaled 
the needed funds that will ultimately put computers in all of our 
classrooms. And, when the district's under-achieving schools were 
identified, she made sure that there was a special intervention of 
resources and talent that has resulted in higher test scores.
  As Barbara prepares to leave the Board of Education, she can take 
great satisfaction in knowing that she leaves the district in better 
shape than when she was first elected, and that the foundation for a 
successful future has been built.
  Mr. Speaker, Barbara Boudreaux has made an important difference for 
our children in Los Angeles. We appreciate this opportunity to honor 
the exceptional legacy she leaves, and to salute her distinguished 
contributions to the Los Angeles community. We know our colleagues join 
us in wishing her and her husband Albert and their family a future that 
is full of good health and prosperity.

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