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SISD sets superintendent search timeline; conservators meet with public [1]

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Date: 2024-05-16  

The Socorro Independent School District expects to hire a new leader by late August to replace former Superintendent Nate Carman, who was set to leave the district for a new job in June and was placed on paid leave through the end of his term.

The SISD Board of Trustees discussed a timeline to find a new superintendent on Wednesday after hiring the Texas Association of School Boards to conduct the search in April. TASB is a nonprofit organization that provides assistance and training to Texas school boards.

The search comes amid a series of controversies in the district, including a $33 million deficit this year and a $41 million deficit for the 2024-25 school year, the arrests and indictments of two of its trustees on charges related to their official duties, and being placed under conservatorship by the Texas Education Agency.

TASB Executive Search Services Officer George Kazanas advised the board against setting an official timeline for the search in case of scheduling issues.

“We do not recommend that you formally adopt a timeline because there could be changes coming up in the future, there could be emergencies that come up for individual board members; things of that nature,” Kazanas said during Wednesday’s meeting.

Kazanas recommended the district set the deadline for receiving applications on June 17 and conduct its first round of interviews sometime after July 4.

“These are assuming that you have at least six finalists that you would like to interview,” Kazanas said.

The board will then select the best three candidates for another round of interviews.

The TASB officer said the board could name the new superintendent by the end of July, then vote on their contract on Aug. 19 after the 21-day waiting period required by state law.

Steve Lecholop, center, a deputy commissioner of the Texas Education Agency, appears with Andrew Kim, right, and Michael Hinojosa to take questions on the process of conservatorship at Socorro ISD on May 15, 2024. (Corrie Boudreaux/El Paso Matters)

TEA conservators arrive at SISD

Conservators Michael Hinojosa and Andrew Kim, along with TEA Deputy Commissioner Steve Lecholop, met with the public for the first time during the Wednesday board meeting. Their placement came as a result of a TEA investigation that found widespread failings at Socorro ISD, including improperly graduating students in 2019 and paying unapproved stipends to district staff.

Hinojosa emphasized during a press conference that the conservatorship is not a takeover of the district.

“Socorro ISD voluntarily went into this intervention situation, they were not forced into it,” he said.

Hinojosa told reporters that the conservators will offer guidance to the board and be involved in the superintendent search “at the direction of the commissioner.”

Conservators have the power to overturn the board’s decisions, which Hinojosa said “we will try not to use, but we will use if we have to.”

Though there is no timeline for how long the conservators will be at SISD, Lecholop said he expects them to be there for at least a year and reevaluate to see if they are still needed.

Here is a breakdown of TASB’s estimated superintendent search timeline:

June 17: Application deadline

Second week of July: Board conducts the first round of interviews

Board then invites three finalists for a second round of interviews

Late July: Board names a superintendent

21-day waiting period required by state law when a sole finalist is identified

Aug. 19: Board votes on superintendent contract

Kazanas noted the presented timeline is only preliminary and could change.

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[1] Url: https://elpasomatters.org/2024/05/16/sisd-superintendent-search-timeline-tea-conservators/

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