MVISD superintendent finalist bows out
Samuel Nix, the lone finalist who was expected to be named the new superintendent for the Medina Valley Independent School District, withdrew his candidacy for the job, according to a letter sent to the community from the board president.
“While Dr. Nix appreciates being named Lone Finalist for the position of Superintendent of MVISD, he has decided to withdraw his name from consideration,” wrote Mario De Leon, the board president, in a letter that was posted on the district's Facebook page.
De Leon said the board will provide updates about their next steps for the superintendent search process on the district website and social media.
On April 13, the school board unanimously voted for Nix — who heads Duncanville ISD, near Dallas — to be the lone finalist.
On May 5, just as the 21-day deadline required by state law was passing, the board consulted its attorney about “contractual issues” involving Nix in closed session, according to the meeting's agenda.
De Leon did not respond to multiple requests for comment. The district spokesperson referred questions regarding the superintendent to the school board.
Nix declined to comment. He has worked as a teacher, assistant principal and principal at the middle and high school level in Arlington ISD and has served as the chief of schools at Duncanville ISD since 2017.
During the public comment section of the May 5 meeting, members of the community said they didn't believe Nix was qualified for the job because he did not have enough experience dealing with district finances, including bond packaging and construction jobs.
One speaker, Terry Beck of Castroville, said that he found a video of Nix online discussing a book called “Courageous Conversations about Race.”
“The author believes both race and racism — both individual and institutional form — plays a primary role in students' struggle to achieve more,” Beck said.
“As a parent, I could not disagree more. Good parenting plays a far more important role in our students' achieving success.”
“I personally have no doubt that racism exists in certain areas among certain people. However, I've been here my entire life, and I can honestly say it does not exist here,” Beck said. “My observations have been that the ones that appear to discuss this topic and filter it towards others are the ones that sometimes make the matters worse.”