The gist
Ahead of the board election on May 4, Richter is not running for re-election for PISD board of trustees Position 6. He was appointed last year to fill a vacancy when trustee Lance Botkin resigned from the board in June.
Before that, Richter started his contributions to PISD in 1971 as a classroom teacher and school bus driver, according to the district’s website.
He was later promoted to assistant principal at Pearland Intermediate School, which is now Pearland Junior High East. Richter also opened Jamison Middle School as a principal and continued to serve as its principal for 18 years. After this, Richter was promoted to assistant superintendent for the district, according to the district’s website.
Richter served PISD for six more years until retirement. But it wasn’t long before he returned to work for PISD in several capacities, including administrative positions at every grade level and a stint as the athletic director for the district, according to the district’s website.
What they said
With a long history at PISD, Richter said he is grateful for the experience the district has given him.
“I came here in 1971, drove a school bus, taught school, went to [the] University of Houston to get my master’s degree,” Richter said at the meeting. “With that, I grew to appreciate Pearland’s school district, and I cannot thank everyone enough for that experience.”
Superintendent Larry Berger also recognized Richter at the meeting.
“In my time in Pearland ISD—I’ve been here now 18 years—Mr. Richter has been by my side all of those years mentoring, molding, guiding, leading [and] inspiring,” Berger said at the meeting. “Mr. Richter volunteered to step in ... to make sure that Pearland ISD goes in the right direction.”
What else?
With Richter stepping aside, his position will be taken by the winner of the May 4 election between candidates Jenny Francis and Terrence Campbell.
The winner will occupy Position 6 as part of an unexpired term until 2025, which will mark the end of the original term begun by Botkin in 2022, officials with the district said.
