[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 11]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 14956-14957]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     IN HONOR OF DR. BILL K. TILLEY

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. DENNIS A. CARDOZA

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, June 16, 2003

  Mr. CARDOZA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Dr. Bill K. Tilley, 
who has served the people of Merced for fourteen years as 
superintendent of the Merced Union High School District. Under his 
leadership, the Merced Union High School District has developed into a 
place where people share a vision that all students have a right to the 
highest quality and most rigorous education possible.

[[Page 14957]]

  Dr. Tilley was born during the summer of 1939 in a small coal-mining 
town in West Virginia, and moved to Washington State in 1953. He 
attended Western Washington State University where he earned his 
Bachelor's of Arts in Education and subsequently his Master's Degree in 
School Psychology and Education in 1967. Dr. Tilley then moved to Iowa 
City where he completed his Ph.D. in Educational Psychology and School 
Administration and spent the most of the next twenty years working as a 
school administrator in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, and Washington.
  In 1989, Dr. Tilley moved to Merced and joined the Merced Union High 
School District as superintendent. Under his leadership, the District 
has forged the first high school partnerships with the University of 
California at Merced, the District's college preparatory and Advanced 
Placement course offerings have more than tripled, disabled students 
are incorporated into the daily life of the school and enjoy a rich, 
meaningful educational experience alongside their peers, and the 
District has achieved one of the lowest dropout rates in the state. Dr. 
Tilley has worked to ensure that the District has acquired and 
developed a top quality faculty, a faculty that is knowledgeable of the 
state standards and is fully committed to assuring that all students 
meet those standards.
  Perhaps Dr. Tilley's most notable accomplishment is that he was able 
to secure the last fully funded state high school in California for the 
people of Merced and then a few years later engineered a successful 
bond campaign that built another. Dr. Tilley's lasting devotion to the 
students of Merced has left a lasting impression on the community, two 
state of the art high schools. In addition, Dr. Tilley's sound 
leadership has left the school district fiscally sound in a time when 
school districts across the state are struggling to survive.
  Through all of these accomplishments, Dr. Tilley sends a clear 
message that our children count, that poverty is not a barrier to the 
American dream, and that our children have a right to the very best 
education.
  As Dr. Tilley's family and friends joined him to celebrate his 
retirement as superintendent of the Merced Union High School District, 
we as residents of Merced County will never forget the lasting 
impression he has made on the education of our youth. I ask all of my 
colleagues to join me and recognize my friend, Dr. Bill K. Tilley for 
his service to the United States as an educator, builder, and citizen.

                          ____________________