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By MATTHEW HAAG and TAWNELL D. HOBBS
Staff Writers
mhaag@dallasnews.com; thobbs@dallasnews.com
Published 19 May 2011 08:58 PM
Related itemsBoard caught off guard by Hinojosa's pursuit of new job
Ragland: Hinojosa's word apparently not worth much
Blog: Dallas ISD
Get local, state education news
Dallas ISD Superintendent Michael Hinojosa, whose six-year tenure has been marked by budget woes, political division and improved academic scores, was named the sole finalist Thursday night to lead a suburban Georgia school district.
The surprise announcement by the Cobb County School District, northwest of Atlanta, shocked board members in Dallas, now left with a departing leader during a crucial time in the district.
It also comes just months after Hinojosa vowed to stay in his hometown of Dallas after his failed bid for the Las Vegas-area school superintendent job in September.
“I’m certainly flattered and honored that they would seek me out for this position,” Hinojosa, 54, said shortly after he was named the finalist. “I was not seeking a position when they contacted me two weeks ago.”
After a two-week wait period, Cobb County board members could approve Hinojosa as the district’s next superintendent in early June. Hinojosa said he plans to stay in DISD to see a new budget approved in June and has discussed a July 1 starting date in Georgia.
He said Thursday he was interested in the job because the wife of his oldest son, who lives in the Atlanta area, is expecting a baby. He’ll become a grandfather for the first time.
“This situation just came out of nowhere, literally,” Hinojosa said about the short courtship for the job. “The fact that they were interested in me is a compliment to the Dallas Independent School District.”
The Cobb County school board unanimously approved Hinojosa as the finalist. Board members lauded Hinojosa’s energy and engaging personality and said he could be the catalyst to improve the county’s schools.
“He has the experience to lead our schools,” board chairwoman Alison Bartlett said. “He’s an innovative leader with a proven record of success.”
The news comes at a precarious period in Dallas ISD as officials brace for possible state-funding cuts of at least $120 million each of the next two school years. Hinojosa approved layoffs of 200 employees last month and was in Austin on Wednesday urging lawmakers to spare deep cuts to public education.
Fewer kids, less pay
Hinojosa will exit Texas’ second largest-school district for a school system in a middle-class area of Atlanta, with far different demographics, about 50,000 fewer students and a considerably smaller superintendent salary. The district is Georgia’s second largest.
He will step into a school district with its own political controversies. The current Cobb County school board members are all in their first terms and have come under scrutiny of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, the agency that accredits the school district.
Cobb County, which began a superintendent search in February, contacted Hinojosa two weeks ago about the position. He flew to the Atlanta area Sunday for an interview.
Hinojosa appears to have informed no one within Dallas ISD about the job.
“It totally took me off guard,” said Adam Medrano, DISD board president. “I was surprised.”
Medrano said he first heard of the possibility of Hinojosa being named a lone finalist from a Dallas Morning News reporter Thursday morning. A DISD spokesman laughed when asked Wednesday night whether Hinojosa had interest in the position, dismissing the idea as far-fetched.
On Thursday afternoon, Hinojosa called Dallas school trustees and told them the news. Some trustees said they didn’t have much to say to Hinojosa during the call.
“By Dr. Hinojosa’s actions, on two separate occasions, he has communicated to the community and the citizens and children of Dallas that he no longer wants to be superintendent of the Dallas Independent School District,” trustee Bernadette Nutall said.
Hinojosa’s departure means DISD will have lost three top leaders in a matter of a few months. Former chief financial officer Larry Throm, who had guided the district following a 2008 financial crisis, left in December. Former chief of staff Arnold Viramontes, considered Hinojosa’s right-hand man, left Dallas ISD in April for a Houston ISD job.
It’s not clear who will run the district on an interim basis. A search for a full-time replacement can take up to a year. Medrano said he will have individual discussions with trustees to decide the next steps.
Hinojosa, who became DISD superintendent in May 2005, lost his bid to lead Las Vegas-area schools in September and quickly signed a three-year contract extension in Dallas and vowed to stay. Trustees, some upset about his decision to look elsewhere for a job, approved the extension with a 5-4 vote.
At the time, Hinojosa promised that his heart remained in Dallas, where he grew up in Oak Cliff.
“Now, I get to focus my energy for the next five years on the Dallas ISD,” Hinojosa said after losing his bid for the Las Vegas position. “Our best days are still ahead.
“My name is off the market,” he said in September.
Medrano said he supported Hinojosa’s decision to stay in Dallas.
“I was one of his supporters to keep him here,” Medrano said. “He did tell us that he would not be looking for a job elsewhere.”
Hinojosa said he knows some people are disappointed by his decision. But he said he was proud of his accomplishments in the district, having served for six years, longer than any superintendent in recent years.
“I’ve served this community I believe well for six years,” he said. “I feel like I’ve put a lot of effort in my position. Things do change. This is different. I happen to have some skill sets they’re looking for.”
Some Dallas community members say the district needs new leadership.
“The last two years … the troubles that are besetting the district are clearly a lack of direction and a lack of leadership from senior management,” said education activist Mike MacNaughton, a member of the district’s Citizens Budget Review Commission. “I wish the superintendent the best of luck in his new position.”
Hinojosa was not the Cobb County board’s first choice. The group was poised to hire Georgia’s 2010 school superintendent of the year, Samuel King, but couldn’t decide on a contract, the Atlanta Journal Constitution has reported.
A state law unique to Cobb County limits the length of a superintendent’s contract, which must expire six months after new board members are elected. Four board members’ terms end in 2012, so that means the next school chief’s contract would have to expire by June 2013.
Bartlett said that Fred Sanderson, the current superintendent, receives a base salary of about $208,000 but also gets a retirement check from the state.
Hinojosa currently makes $328,000 in Dallas, but he said he would retire, which allows him to collect about $200,000 a year from Teacher Retirement System of Texas.“We are very fiscally conservative county,” said Bartlett, adding that Hinojosa might make somewhere around $208,000 annually.
Cobb County clashes
Concerns from Cobb County residents about the board’s governance and handling of the superintendent search led the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to direct board members to get more training on open meeting laws and to use data and evidence in decision making, the Atlanta Journal Constitution has reported.
“A lot of controversies are out of personality clashes, turf wars between the superintendent and the board, out of ego,” Kerwin Swint, a political science professor at Kennesaw State University and Cobb parent, told the newspaper. “A lot of it is personal, differences in philosophy about governing.”
Cobb County board member David Banks wasn’t aware Thursday morning who would be named superintendent finalist, but he said the person considering the job should do some research.
“Once he finds out what’s really going on, he might want to rethink that,” Banks said.
mhaag@dallasnews.com;
tdhobbs@dallasnews.com
Sept. 16, 2010: The school board for Las Vegas-area schools names Michael Hinojosa one of three finalists for its district’s superintendent.
Sept. 23, 2010: The Dallas school board votes 5-4 to extend Hinojosa’s contract by three years to 2015.
Sept. 29, 2010 Hinojosa loses bid for Las Vegas-area job.
Nov., 2010: Chief financial officer Larry Throm announces he is leaving the district.
Feb., 2011: Dallas ISD begins rolling out the first of many plans to cut millions of dollars because of expected state budget cuts. A final budget must be completed in June.
Feb. 18: Former Dallas ISD chief of staff Arnold Viramontes announces he is leaving.
April: Trustee Jack Lowe, a key Hinojosa supporter, leaves the school board.
Thursday: Hinojosa is the sole finalist for the Cobb County school district in Georgia.
Staff Writers
mhaag@dallasnews.com; thobbs@dallasnews.com
Published 19 May 2011 08:58 PM
Related itemsBoard caught off guard by Hinojosa's pursuit of new job
Ragland: Hinojosa's word apparently not worth much
Blog: Dallas ISD
Get local, state education news
Dallas ISD Superintendent Michael Hinojosa, whose six-year tenure has been marked by budget woes, political division and improved academic scores, was named the sole finalist Thursday night to lead a suburban Georgia school district.
The surprise announcement by the Cobb County School District, northwest of Atlanta, shocked board members in Dallas, now left with a departing leader during a crucial time in the district.
It also comes just months after Hinojosa vowed to stay in his hometown of Dallas after his failed bid for the Las Vegas-area school superintendent job in September.
“I’m certainly flattered and honored that they would seek me out for this position,” Hinojosa, 54, said shortly after he was named the finalist. “I was not seeking a position when they contacted me two weeks ago.”
After a two-week wait period, Cobb County board members could approve Hinojosa as the district’s next superintendent in early June. Hinojosa said he plans to stay in DISD to see a new budget approved in June and has discussed a July 1 starting date in Georgia.
He said Thursday he was interested in the job because the wife of his oldest son, who lives in the Atlanta area, is expecting a baby. He’ll become a grandfather for the first time.
“This situation just came out of nowhere, literally,” Hinojosa said about the short courtship for the job. “The fact that they were interested in me is a compliment to the Dallas Independent School District.”
The Cobb County school board unanimously approved Hinojosa as the finalist. Board members lauded Hinojosa’s energy and engaging personality and said he could be the catalyst to improve the county’s schools.
“He has the experience to lead our schools,” board chairwoman Alison Bartlett said. “He’s an innovative leader with a proven record of success.”
The news comes at a precarious period in Dallas ISD as officials brace for possible state-funding cuts of at least $120 million each of the next two school years. Hinojosa approved layoffs of 200 employees last month and was in Austin on Wednesday urging lawmakers to spare deep cuts to public education.
Fewer kids, less pay
Hinojosa will exit Texas’ second largest-school district for a school system in a middle-class area of Atlanta, with far different demographics, about 50,000 fewer students and a considerably smaller superintendent salary. The district is Georgia’s second largest.
He will step into a school district with its own political controversies. The current Cobb County school board members are all in their first terms and have come under scrutiny of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, the agency that accredits the school district.
Cobb County, which began a superintendent search in February, contacted Hinojosa two weeks ago about the position. He flew to the Atlanta area Sunday for an interview.
Hinojosa appears to have informed no one within Dallas ISD about the job.
“It totally took me off guard,” said Adam Medrano, DISD board president. “I was surprised.”
Medrano said he first heard of the possibility of Hinojosa being named a lone finalist from a Dallas Morning News reporter Thursday morning. A DISD spokesman laughed when asked Wednesday night whether Hinojosa had interest in the position, dismissing the idea as far-fetched.
On Thursday afternoon, Hinojosa called Dallas school trustees and told them the news. Some trustees said they didn’t have much to say to Hinojosa during the call.
“By Dr. Hinojosa’s actions, on two separate occasions, he has communicated to the community and the citizens and children of Dallas that he no longer wants to be superintendent of the Dallas Independent School District,” trustee Bernadette Nutall said.
Hinojosa’s departure means DISD will have lost three top leaders in a matter of a few months. Former chief financial officer Larry Throm, who had guided the district following a 2008 financial crisis, left in December. Former chief of staff Arnold Viramontes, considered Hinojosa’s right-hand man, left Dallas ISD in April for a Houston ISD job.
It’s not clear who will run the district on an interim basis. A search for a full-time replacement can take up to a year. Medrano said he will have individual discussions with trustees to decide the next steps.
Hinojosa, who became DISD superintendent in May 2005, lost his bid to lead Las Vegas-area schools in September and quickly signed a three-year contract extension in Dallas and vowed to stay. Trustees, some upset about his decision to look elsewhere for a job, approved the extension with a 5-4 vote.
At the time, Hinojosa promised that his heart remained in Dallas, where he grew up in Oak Cliff.
“Now, I get to focus my energy for the next five years on the Dallas ISD,” Hinojosa said after losing his bid for the Las Vegas position. “Our best days are still ahead.
“My name is off the market,” he said in September.
Medrano said he supported Hinojosa’s decision to stay in Dallas.
“I was one of his supporters to keep him here,” Medrano said. “He did tell us that he would not be looking for a job elsewhere.”
Hinojosa said he knows some people are disappointed by his decision. But he said he was proud of his accomplishments in the district, having served for six years, longer than any superintendent in recent years.
“I’ve served this community I believe well for six years,” he said. “I feel like I’ve put a lot of effort in my position. Things do change. This is different. I happen to have some skill sets they’re looking for.”
Some Dallas community members say the district needs new leadership.
“The last two years … the troubles that are besetting the district are clearly a lack of direction and a lack of leadership from senior management,” said education activist Mike MacNaughton, a member of the district’s Citizens Budget Review Commission. “I wish the superintendent the best of luck in his new position.”
Hinojosa was not the Cobb County board’s first choice. The group was poised to hire Georgia’s 2010 school superintendent of the year, Samuel King, but couldn’t decide on a contract, the Atlanta Journal Constitution has reported.
A state law unique to Cobb County limits the length of a superintendent’s contract, which must expire six months after new board members are elected. Four board members’ terms end in 2012, so that means the next school chief’s contract would have to expire by June 2013.
Bartlett said that Fred Sanderson, the current superintendent, receives a base salary of about $208,000 but also gets a retirement check from the state.
Hinojosa currently makes $328,000 in Dallas, but he said he would retire, which allows him to collect about $200,000 a year from Teacher Retirement System of Texas.“We are very fiscally conservative county,” said Bartlett, adding that Hinojosa might make somewhere around $208,000 annually.
Cobb County clashes
Concerns from Cobb County residents about the board’s governance and handling of the superintendent search led the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to direct board members to get more training on open meeting laws and to use data and evidence in decision making, the Atlanta Journal Constitution has reported.
“A lot of controversies are out of personality clashes, turf wars between the superintendent and the board, out of ego,” Kerwin Swint, a political science professor at Kennesaw State University and Cobb parent, told the newspaper. “A lot of it is personal, differences in philosophy about governing.”
Cobb County board member David Banks wasn’t aware Thursday morning who would be named superintendent finalist, but he said the person considering the job should do some research.
“Once he finds out what’s really going on, he might want to rethink that,” Banks said.
mhaag@dallasnews.com;
tdhobbs@dallasnews.com
Sept. 16, 2010: The school board for Las Vegas-area schools names Michael Hinojosa one of three finalists for its district’s superintendent.
Sept. 23, 2010: The Dallas school board votes 5-4 to extend Hinojosa’s contract by three years to 2015.
Sept. 29, 2010 Hinojosa loses bid for Las Vegas-area job.
Nov., 2010: Chief financial officer Larry Throm announces he is leaving the district.
Feb., 2011: Dallas ISD begins rolling out the first of many plans to cut millions of dollars because of expected state budget cuts. A final budget must be completed in June.
Feb. 18: Former Dallas ISD chief of staff Arnold Viramontes announces he is leaving.
April: Trustee Jack Lowe, a key Hinojosa supporter, leaves the school board.
Thursday: Hinojosa is the sole finalist for the Cobb County school district in Georgia.
I would love to retire from one job and collect 60% of what I make and then work for another job making more than what I currently make.
Nice.
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