The Hawkins ISD has named the lone finalist for the Superintendent position. Jeff Hutchins has a 29-year career in education that includes leading a basketball team to a state championship. He served as principal of Van High School for 12 years before becoming director of operations last year. view article

The board of trustees of the Needville Independent School District has contracted with Arrow Educational Services, Inc. to assist them in their search for a new superintendent. Arrow President/CEO Dr. Russell Marshall and Lead Consultant/COO Jim Dunlap will conduct the search. Information and the application process are available on arrowsearchinc.com and the TASA website. view article

Residents of Mart left Monday’s special school board meeting both angered and wanting answers after the district’s superintendent, Betsy Burnett was suddenly terminated from her position. Later Mart ISD posted on Facebook explaining the reasons for her termination and revealed they have communicated this decision with Burnett since January of 2024. view article

Livingston ISD announced the appointment of a new interim superintendent Wednesday. The Livingston Board of Trustees elected Janan Moore during a special meeting on Tuesday, according to an online release. “I am pleased to announce Janan Moore as our Interim Superintendent,” said Board President Andrew Boyce. “Mrs. Moore has a wealth of knowledge and experience in our district, which will lead our staff as we search for the next superintendent of Livingston ISD.” view article

The Mercedes Independent School District named Benjamin Clinton, the current deputy superintendent for Raymondville ISD, as the lone finalist for superintendent. Clinton was named the lone finalist during a special meeting held on Saturday. view article

The Humble ISD board ushered in a new era Wednesday night, appointing Roger Brown as superintendent, even as the verdict on a termination appeal filed by former superintendent Elizabeth Fagen remains pending before the Texas Education Agency commissioner. Brown was confirmed in a 6-1 vote, with trustee Robert Sitton opposing. The lone opposition drew frustration from some board members who felt that Sitton’s rationale was “disingenuous.” view article

Dayton ISD Superintendent Dr. Jessica Johnson has announced her plans to retire at the end of the 2025 school year, bringing to a close a 37-year career in education. After serving as superintendent for the past 11 years, Johnson recently informed the school board and her staff of her decision. A lifelong resident of Dayton, Johnson reflected on her time with Dayton ISD as both a leader and a proud member of the community. view article

Utopia Independent School District trustees named Joshua Ham, a principal in San Saba ISD, as the lone finalist for its superintendent seat. Should all go according to plan in the coming weeks, Ham would be the third person to take former Superintendent Michael Derry’s seat since his Oct. 31 resignation. Derry, who joined the district in July 2020, resigned after accepting an offer as a field service agent for Region 20’s education service center. view article

The Utopia ISD board of trustees named Joshua Ham as the lone finalist for the superintendent position on December 9, 2024. The board anticipates that Mr. Ham will be officially hired in January, 2025. In his introduction, Mr. Ham says, "I come to Utopia ISD with 20 years of experience in public education, 14 of which were spent serving as an administrator in Killeen ISD and San Saba ISD. My educational credentials include a Master’s degree in Educational Administration from Sam Houston University and a Bachelor's degree in Economics and Business with an emphasis in Accounting from Hendrix College. I served in the United States Army, where I completed the Special Forces Qualification Course and earned the Ranger qualification and Combat Infantry Badge. view article

Nine of the 15 are from Greater Houston area school districts The number was higher than usual because two of the largest districts in the state, Cy-Fair and Fort Bend ISD, had superintendent changes in fall 2023. Cy-Fair's longtime leader Mark Henry retired and Fort Bend ISD's former Superintendent Christie Whitbeck resigned. Both districts had new leaders by February 2024, meaning salaries for the former and current superintendents appeared in the top 15 highest-paid superintendents in Texas last year. view article

After launching an extensive state and national search, the Granbury ISD Board of Trustees voted unanimously on December 16, 2024 to name veteran educator Courtney Morawski, Ed.D., as the lone finalist for GISD superintendent of schools. view article

Mysterious misconduct allegations and mid-year moves are spurring a flurry of superintendent shake-ups within Texas school districts. view article

Just over Superintendent Jim Chadwell’s shoulder, a scene played out that encapsulated his time leading Eagle Mountain-Saginaw ISD. To his left, neat rows of newly constructed homes extended past the windows of his conference room. To his right, a crew crisscrossed a swath of dirt, flattening the ground for even more future homes. view article

Monte Alto ISD announced a lone finalist for the superintendent post Wednesday evening, following Isaac Rodriguez’s resignation in September. The board of trustees have tapped Rashad Javed Rana for the position, who is currently serving as the assistant superintendent of educational services at Donna ISD, during a meeting on Tuesday. view article

A former superintendent at Carroll ISD sued the district Monday after alleging it paid him lower retirement benefits than what was agreed upon in his contract. David Faltys, who served as superintendent for 15 years before stepping down in 2021, claims in the suit the district breached its voluntary retirement agreement with him. A district member at the time told Faltys an issue with his retirement payout was made by the Teacher Retirement System, not by the district, according to the suit. view article

Bonham ISD has named a new interim superintendent. Starting January 6th, Keith Boles will take over as interim superintendent until further notice, according to School Board President Chance Robert. The former superintendent, Dr. Joy Wilson, was placed on paid administrative leave last month. view article

On Friday, the Hawkins ISD board voted unanimously to approve a lone finalist for the position of superintendent. Jeff Hutchins has been named as the candidate for the position, and the board said they anticipate he will be officially hired at a regular meeting on Jan. 6. view article

WASKOM — Waskom ISD recently named Nichole Smith, the district’s assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction, as interim superintendent effective Dec. 1, following Rae Ann Patty’s departure to lead Gladewater ISD. view article

Former Fort Bend ISD Superintendent Christie Whitbeck filed a lawsuit against one former trustee and two current trustees Wednesday, alleging defamation and breach of contract. The suit comes just one year after Whitbeck signed a voluntary retirement agreement with the district. view article

Eagle Mountain-Saginaw ISD will ring in 2025 with a new superintendent. Trustees unanimously approved Dec. 2 the hiring of longtime educator Jerry Hollingsworth as the northwest Fort Worth and Tarrant County school district’s next superintendent. He officially starts leading the district Jan. 1. He was given a two-year contract. “My family and I are honored to have the opportunity to serve the students, staff and families of Eagle Mountain-Saginaw ISD and get involved in the community,” Hollingsworth said in a statement. “We have already received such a warm welcome and we look forward to calling EMS ISD our home.” view article

The Grand Prairie ISD School Board voted 5-2 Monday night to terminate the contract of embattled Superintendent Jorge Arredondo just shy of the school chief’s six month anniversary in the role. Arredondo joined the district after previously leading Pharr-San Juan-Alamo ISD. He has spent more than two decades in public education. view article

Gladewater ISD now has an official full-time superintendent. Rae Ann Patty, who has worked at both Texarkana and Waskom ISDs, was named GISD's official leader after the district has had an interim leader since the resignation of Sedric Clark in July. Clark, who was with Gladewater ISD for seven years, resigned to work for the Texas Education Agency. Former Superintendent Mike Morrison served as the interim officeholder until Patty was chosen. view article

During a Monday board meeting, Grand Prairie ISD voted 5-2 to fire Superintendent Jorge Arredondo. After a closed-door session, board members moved to terminate Arredondo's contract with the district. The two opposing votes came from Trustee David Espinosa and Trustee Gloria Carrillo, who have both publicly supported Arredondo in previous meetings. view article

Gladewater ISD has appointed Rae Ann Patty as the new superintendent. In an announcement on Monday, the ISD said Patty has dedicated 28 years to the field of education. “Throughout her career, she has held a variety of roles, starting as a teacher and progressing to positions of leadership, including assistant principal, principal, curriculum coordinator, assistant superintendent and ultimately superintendent,” the announcement said. view article

The superintendent alleges in a lawsuit that the firing resulted from a "witch hunt." view article

Residents of Mart left Monday’s special school board meeting both angered and wanting answers after the district’s superintendent, Betsy Burnett was suddenly terminated from her position. Later Mart ISD posted on Facebook explaining the reasons for her termination and revealed they have communicated this decision with Burnett since January of 2024. The board said they acted in the best interest of the district based on the information they have been discussing with the Superintendent for almost a year. view article

Trustees confirmed the termination of Humble ISD Superintendent Elizabeth Fagen in a 6 -1 vote Tuesday, but Fagen and her attorney plan to appeal the hearing examiner's recommendation. Fagen, who was present at the hearing with her attorney, Kevin O’Hanlon, said that she felt the hearing examiner’s recommendation that the board based its decision on was flawed. view article

Less than a day after being fired by the Humble ISD board, former Superintendent Elizabeth Fagen said that she plans to appeal the decision in hopes of clearing her name. “I've always been a person who just believes the sort of Martin Luther King Jr., the law of the universe 'bends towards justice.’ That you just do the right things and the right things happen,” Fagen said, as she sipped from a yellow coffee cup at a cafe in her Kingwood neighborhood. “The unfortunate side of (not speaking out) is people tend to only have one set of facts that are being pushed.” view article

Bonham ISD Superintendent Dr. Joy Wilson was placed on administrative leave Tuesday. view article

The Grand Prairie ISD school board could discuss possibly firing its superintendent now that his order blocking them from doing so has been voided. Jorge Arredondo was put on paid leave in early September amid unspecified allegations that he violated board policy. He had been on the job for about two months. view article

Waskom Independent School District has named Nichole Smith, the district’s assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction, as interim superintendent effective Dec. 1, following Rae Ann Patty’s departure to lead Gladewater ISD. Smith, who joined Waskom ISD alongside Patty in 2019, has led key initiatives in curriculum development and instructional leadership. view article

After a 28-year career in public education, Splendora ISD superintendent Jeff Burke announced he would retire from his role at the end of the 2024-25 school year. Serving in the district northeast of Houston for eight years as superintendent, Burke's tenure includes several achievements, including expanding the Career and Technical Education programs, successfully passing a $201 million bond in 2022 and enhancing community involvement in key district decisions, according to a release by the district. view article

Tension mounted during the last day of Superintendent Elizabeth Fagen’s proposed termination hearing, as four Humble ISD trustees defended their grievances against the beleaguered administrator. Fagen and her attorney, Kevin O’Hanlon, however, continued to dispute the complaints and allege that trustees and their counsel did not treat the superintendent fairly. The four trustees who voted for Fagen’s termination, Board President Chris Parker, Robert Scarfo, Mike Grabowski and Ken Kirchhofer, all testified as witnesses and spoke of Fagen as someone who had lied, broken trust and failed to do her job. view article

The Santa Rosa Independent School District has opened applications for a new superintendent, according to a job posting. The application packet for the position states, “The Board of Trustees is conducting a confidential superintendent search.” Eden Ramirez Jr. of the law firm O’Hanlon, Demerath and Castillo, said Monday evening that the board approved and opened the position earlier this month during the first week of October. view article

The Fabens Independent School District announced Dr. Rogelio Segovia as the lone finalist for the Superintendent of Schools position. The Fabens ISD Board of Trustees went through a thorough selection process with multiple candidates for the position. view article