With a baritone and energetic voice that defies his age, and inspired to do the best job that he could, Ralph Pfluger has provided a lifetime of public service to the people of Hays County and to the students of the Hays CISD in particular.
Pfluger Elementary School is named in his honor, but Pfluger himself is a selfless and humble man. Pfluger is much more interested in serving the community than being honored by it.
Pfluger was born in Pflugerville, but has lived in Hays County since 1953.
Pfluger met his wife Lois back in 1950, at church in Austin. They went on a hay ride, got caught in a thunderstorm and have been together ever since. They have been married for 64 years. Pfluger has 5 children, 14 grandchildren and is waiting on great-great grandchild number 18.
It was in 1967 that Pfluger was tabbed to become one of the founding members of the new Hays Consolidated Independent School District.
Prior to that, Pfluger was serving on the board of trustees of the Buda School district when he was selected to serve on the first Hays CISD board.
“A lot of people across the state predicted that we would fail, but we did not,” Pfluger said.
While he said those who started the district “didn’t know exactly what it was that we were building,” their goal was to get the district started in the “right direction financially and educationally.”
“I think we did that. We built something that could be built upon,” Pfluger said. “We knew it would grow but we did not know that it would grow to be what it is today. We can be proud of the school district that we have today.”
Pfluger’s message to current and future Hays CISD board members is that they should “take an interest in our schools and work with them.”
“Parents in our schools are extremely important. This is something that has not always been done in our schools,” Pfluger said. “We have a new principal here that is amazed at the support that she is getting from parents.”
Improving parental involvement in schools is key to providing children with a well-rounded educational experience.
For students at his eponymous school and in the district in general, the message is to “apply yourself as best as you can.”
Pfluger feels that school should be fun, but students need to get the education that they need to succeed in life and beyond. Students of all ages need to realize how important these years are in their lives, he said.
