Houston ISD trustees are scheduled to consider superintendent search firms this week as the district begins its second attempt at hiring its next permanent leader.
Two months after board members voted to resume their superintendent search, trustees are set to meet Monday to consider potential firms, then reconvene Wednesday and possibly Thursday to interview and possibly select an organization.
HISD has been without a permanent leader since March 2018, largely due to 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.
The meetings are scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. Monday, 5 p.m. Wednesday and 2 p.m. Thursday, with a live stream available online due to COVID-19 safety protocols.
“Tonight we’re just talking about the proposals we received, and how long this goes this week depends on how many of the search firms we choose to have a conversation with,” HISD Board President Sue Deigaard said.
Board members have not released a proposed timeline for completing the search.
HISD has employed an interim superintendent, Grenita Lathan, since the unexpected departure of Richard Carranza nearly three years ago. 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 from all 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 in January 2020 and an appellate court upheld the injunction last week. The Texas Education Agency has said it plans to appeal the rulings to the Texas Supreme Court.
The temporary injunction did not 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 Vilaseca said in November. “This process will help provide space to hear that, as well 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 conducted 12 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 voted 6-3 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.
jacob.carpenter@chron.com
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