Two school districts north of San Antonio are moving forward with searches for new leaders following the retirement announcements of both superintendents.
With the search process already underway, the Schertz-Cibolo-Universal City (SCUCISD) and Boerne (BISD) independent school districts will be the latest with new leadership in a tumultuous period following the COVID pandemic that has seen high turnover of both teachers and superintendents across the region and state.
Clark Ealy, SCUCISD superintendent, will officially retire at the end of January after starting as the district’s leader just months before the pandemic threw education into disarray.
Ealy, who declined to comment Friday, announced his retirement in September.
Jerry Perkins, SCUCISD board president Jerry Perkins said the board has hired the Texas Association of School Board Executive Search Services to conduct the search for its next leader.
“We are now conducting online surveys with our stakeholders to get input as to what kind of superintendent they are seeking, and we will follow up with scheduled community meetings,” he said. “The SCUC school board will then narrow down the candidates until we reach consensus on a finalist for the superintendent position.”
The district has set up an online questionnaire for community members to provide feedback.
Trustees will review applicants at the end of November, with a first round of interviews during the first week of December and another round expected the second week of December.
The board has set a tentative date of Dec. 19 to announce a lone finalist.
Boerne Independent School District’s leader, Thomas Price, announced in June that he will retire at the end of the school year following 37 years in public education, including 17 years as a superintendent, seven of those at Boerne.
“It has been the highest honor of my career working with everyone in this wonderful community, but now I am looking forward to focusing on my family,” he said in a statement. “I enjoy supporting our BISD families, but many times I have missed milestones in my own family. Now, I want to be able to enjoy spending time with my wife, Donna, my children, and future grandchildren.”
The board met two weeks ago to review an initial 30 applicants, and selected six finalists to interview this week. Next, they will call back three finalists on Nov. 7.
A lone finalist is expected by December, according to the district’s website.
Carlin Friar, BISD school board president, said the decisions made so far have been done in alignment with the results of an online community survey and input from in-person meetings.
According to Friar, that criteria included, but is not limited to:
- Their highest level of experience.
- The size of the districts they have worked in.
- The academic performance of their existing district.
- Experience within fast-growth districts and their ability to effectively communicate needs to those communities in passing bonds.
- Their efforts in working collaboratively with other governmental entities within the boundaries of their district.
Friar said the finalists are all strong candidates.
“The final three candidates are all strong leaders in their current district, and our task now is to finalize our choice of the superintendent, who will continue to build on the successes of Boerne ISD,” he said.
