Pflugerville and Hutto are the districts with the newest recruits. The Pflugerville ISD board of trustees hired Quintin Shepherd from Victoria ISD in April, and Hutto ISD trustees hired Jeni Neatherlin from Granger ISD in August.
Superintendent turnover is relatively common in Texas, and there are a variety of reasons these leaders leave one district for another, said George Kazanas, executive search and field services officer for the Texas Association of School Boards.
“Some districts are still attracting quite a few applicants just because of their location,” Kazanas said. “... Candidate pools can range anywhere from 15 to 20 [to] up to 60 [applicants], it just depends. ... I would say geography is huge of where the district is.”
Pflugerville’s and Hutto’s new leaders are putting their vision for the district in motion, with Shepherd hosting a listening and learning tour, and Neatherlin working to implement the strategic plan, Inspire 2028.
The big picture
Kazanas said current superintendent turnover rates in Texas are “pretty close to average” of what is seen every year.
With 1,100 school districts in the state, turnover rates are typically around the low 100s in a given year—around 10%—but could hit the upper 150s.
Superintendent tenure also used to be more of a “revolving door” but has increased through the years, Kazanas said, going from the two-and-a-half- to three-and-a-half-year range to four or five years.
“Change is inevitable, and it’s not always necessarily negative,” Kazanas said. “Oftentimes superintendents feel they’ve done what they can in a district ... or they also feel like it’s a good opportunity for the district to get new blood, new ideas ... things like that.”
The role of a superintendent involves leading the board of trustees, managing the day-to-day operations of running a school system and being a good builder of community, Kazanas said. Some of these responsibilities can look like:
- Ensuring the district has the appropriate curriculum and academic programs in place
- Understanding the school finance system to balance multimillion-dollar budgets
- Overseeing the safety and security of students and staff, and the general upkeep of campuses
- Establishing community relations and building trust
- Having a strong relationship with the board
- District size: Some superintendents want to take on a larger school system that offers more challenges or responsibilities.
- Relationship with school board: Elections can bring new board members to the dais that have a different vision for the district than the superintendent.
- Quality of life: Some superintendents seek an area that offers more opportunities for their spouses or children.
- Benefits and pay: Larger districts can offer higher compensation packages or more benefits for retirement purposes.
Kazanas said TASB’s search process, which Hutto ISD utilized, averages between 90 to 120 days. Not every school board will utilize TASB—some will hire independent firms or conduct the search themselves, he said—but the association has completed over 900 searches to date. TASB’s superintendent search process involves several steps, including:
- Step 1: Post positions on job boards throughout the state and with partner school board associations across the country.
- Step 2: Help districts develop a leadership profile with the qualities and qualifications wanted of a superintendent.
- Step 3: If requested, conduct in-person community forums to discuss the district’s strengths and challenges, and the personal and professional characteristics wanted of a superintendent.
- Step 4: Guide board members through the application review process and how to select which candidates to interview.
Pflugerville ISD’s search began in December 2023, following the resignation of Doug Killian, who served the district for six years.
The PfISD board of trustees partnered with firm Thomas & Horton to conduct the search. Three focus groups were held in February to gauge the community’s thoughts throughout the process.
According to feedback, the community’s priorities included a superintendent who:
- Has boots-on-the-ground experience
- Is community oriented
- Doesn’t see Pflugerville ISD as a stepping stone
- Is a strong communicator
Shepherd has nearly two decades of superintendent experience, most recently serving as superintendent in Victoria ISD for six years. He also worked as an elementary and high school principal, and as a pre-K-12 music teacher in both rural and urban communities.
“Each of those experiences have taught me something,” Shepherd said. “I’ve learned something [and] drawn something out from each of those communities ... in each of those school districts, and I see bits and pieces of everything in Pflugerville.”
The cornerstone of Shepherd’s new role is his 100-day entry plan, Discovering Pflugerville, to listen and learn from community members, assess current systems and programs in place, and build a “community-centric culture.”
Looking ahead
Part of Shepherd’s ongoing 100-day entry plan is an online thought exchange. Over 4,000 participants had shared 2,300 thoughts on the exchange as of Aug. 19. Because participants can react to each other’s thoughts, the exchange has had over 61,000 points of interaction.
Shepherd said the entry plan will wrap up this fall, which is when a community group will be formed to reflect on the exchange, put the results into groups of “findings” with a series of directions and then send the results to administrative teams who will begin to build out the strategic plan. Shepherd’s next steps include:
- September 2024: Community members will continue to participate in online thought exchange.
- October 2024: Listening and learning tour will culminate, and the strategic plan will begin to be built out.
- February-March 2025: Basic draft of strategic plan will be shared.
Hutto ISD’s superintendent search was its second search in less than a year. In April, Superintendent Raúl Peña resigned after seven months in office.
After previously partnering with third-party firm JC Consulting, the district selected TASB to conduct its most recent search. The board named Neatherlin as the lone finalist and officially hired her Aug. 27.
While the search only took a few months, HISD board President Billie Logiudice said the process can stall a district’s workflow.
“People just don’t know what a new person is going to come in with that will be their nonnegotiables or the direction they want to go,” Logiudice said. “... Naturally, people are just kind of on pins and needles, waiting to see, ‘Is my role going to still be relevant here with a new person?’ I know the biggest thing you always hear is, ‘Are they going to come in and just want to bring their own people and get rid of all of us?’”
Neatherlin has over 23 years of educator experience in executive, administrative, coaching and classroom roles, most recently serving as superintendent in nearby Granger ISD for three years.
“There’s a lot of educators in the area that I have worked with previously, or I’ve worked with somebody that they know,” Neatherlin said. “I feel like even though I’m coming in new, I’m familiar. So they’re going to recognize the work that we have done in the past and the work that we’re ready to do, and everybody’s just excited.”
Logiudice said Neatherlin’s track record of “moving student achievement forward” made her a great fit for Hutto.
“I think our district [was] in a place where we really needed a galvanizer,” Logiudice said. “We have good people in place doing the work that we, as a board, have given them through our strategic plan to do, so we wanted somebody who was going to be able to just wrap that up with a bow and move us forward.”
Quote of note
“When you have somebody new that’s coming in, there’s always an opportunity for things to just truly start launching in the right direction. Boards and superintendents get an opportunity to work as a team and move forward,” Neatherlin said.
Going forward
Hutto ISD’s new strategic plan, Inspire 2028, is broken into four components: success, talent management, engagement and stewardship.
The plan includes objectives, such as increasing grade-level literacy; attracting and retaining talent; engaging with the community; and addressing capital needs to accommodate growth and maximize student success.
“Like any good strategic plan, all of those things are living documents, so you’re constantly doing the work as you look at the goals and you’re addressing them, Neatherlin said.”
According to district officials, areas Hutto ISD will focus on moving forward include:
- Attendance: Rates are lower since COVID-19 pandemic.
- Growth: The district needs to stay ahead of the curve to find land to build new schools.
- Staff retainment: Find innovative ways to bring educators to the classroom and prevent burnout.
- More state funding: The district is facing a $3.5 million shortfall for fiscal year 2024-25.
