Eanes ISD superintendent Tom Leonard announced his plans to retire at a staff meeting on Oct. 19, following over 40 years of service in education. Leonard’s term as superintendent began in 2014 and his current contract expires 2023, according to a school district press release.
In hopes of filling the position by the start of the 2022-23 academic year, the EISD board of trustees will hold a special meeting Oct. 25 to consider using a search firm to fill the position, according to the district's press release.
“Privately, I contemplated retiring two years ago, but then came a pandemic like we have never seen before, and I wanted to maintain as much stability in our school system as possible,” said Leonard in the district's press release. “My goal was—and remains—to allow the next superintendent the opportunity to take over after the pandemic to the extent possible.”
In his time as superintendent, Leonard achieved the highest level of academic performance in the district’s history. He also developed entrepreneurship programs and negotiated the agreement resulting in the building of the Westlake Athletic & Community Center, a new multipurpose wrestling room, and a robotics and engineering building as well as an aquatics facility that will open this winter.
“Since coming to Eanes in 2014, Dr. Leonard has worked tirelessly for our community,” board President Joe Havenstrite said. “He will be leaving Eanes better than he found it, and these are very big shoes to fill.”
Under Leonard's tenure, EISD gained additional golden pennies from the state of Texas, resulting in $7.2 million in nonrecapturable funds used to hire 130 full-time teachers. Also, $132 million in bonds were supported by the community during his time at EISD, leading to instructional technology and facility updates in the district. Additionally, the overall tax rate decreased from $1.20 to $1.06 per $100 valuation during his tenure due to both local and state action.
“I just want to thank you for your service to our community, not just to Eanes, but over the course of 42 years,” board member Kim McMath said to Leonard during the meeting. “Yours has really been an exemplary tenure. I know we have a lot of work to do, and I think we’re going to do a great job.”
Students, teachers and parents will be invited to participate in the hiring process at future meetings. Leonard will assist with onboarding the new superintendent and will be available during the transition period to provide guidance.
“It is my intent to work as hard as I can until the day I turn in my keys,” Leonard said during the Oct. 19 school board meeting. “I am very thankful and proud to be able to do this in the last part of my career. My goal is to let you find somebody good and to make them as successful as possible.”
