HISD to resume search for superintendent
Long-delayed quest for permanent leader restarts with interviews of three search firms
Houston ISD trustees kicked off their long-delayed search for apermanent leader Monday, choosing three superintendent search firms to interview later this week.
The initial move comes as the state’s largest district seeks to fill a position that Interim Superintendent Grenita La than has held since March 2018, when Richard Carranza abruptly left to lead New York City public schools. HISD’s search has been delayed because of the looming threat of state sanctions, a state order that temporarily halted the first search and lingering uncertainty about the trustees’ ability to hire a quality candidate, among other issues.
Trustees are scheduled to reconvene Wednesday and possibly Thursday to select from the three firms: Austin-based JG Consulting;
Illinois-based Hazard, Young, Attea & Associates; and Nebraskabased McPherson & Jacobson. Board members opted against interviewing GR Recruiting and the Texas Association of School Boards’ Executive Search Services.
“I prefer to interview three and give those three more time with us,” Trustee Dani Hernandez said.
HISD trustees have not released a proposed timeline for completing the search. School boards typically take multiple months to choose a lone finalist.
HISD board members are taking
their second swing at replacing Carranza, whose departure preceded cascading leadership issues in the district. Trustees conducted a six-month search in late 2018 and early 2019, but state-appointed conservator Doris Delaney ordered board members to suspend their work as they closed in on naming a lone finalist.
Delaney did not elaborate on her reasons for suspending the search, but her order came as HISD remained under the threat of severe sanctions tied to chronically low academic performance at Wheatley High School and a state investigation into allegations of misconduct by several trustees.
Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath ultimately decided in November 2019 to strip power fromall nine elected HISD trustees and replace them with an appointed board. However, his plans remain in limbo after a Travis County judge issued a temporary injunction stopping the board’s ouster last January and an appellate court upheld it lastweek. The Texas Education Agency has said it plans to appeal the rulings to the Texas Supreme Court.
The injunction didnot explicitly say HISD trustees could resume the superintendent search, leading to uncertainty about the board’s authority. However, trustees are interpreting the injunction as giving them the power to restart their search, and TEA officials have not moved to halt the effort.
“Because of the turmoil, it’s been hard to know what has been the long-term vision (for HISD),” Trustee Holly Maria Flynn Vila sec a said in November. “This process will help provide space to hear that, aswell as the vision of others, as we do what’s best for kids.”
HISD trustees hired Hazard, Young, Attea & Associates to assist their first search to replace Carranza. The agency held public meetings seeking community input and helped trustees with evaluating candidates, among other tasks.
Lathan has not commented on whether she will apply for the job permanently. Trustees voted6-3 in November against naming her the district’s long-term leader, holding the referendum moments before they decided to resume the search. Some board members who opposed her candidacy argued the district should conduct a nationwide search before choosing Carranza’s replacement.