Elizabeth Fagen was unanimously approved as the next superintendent of Humble ISD at a June 14 board of trustees meeting. Fagen will replace retiring superintendent Guy Sconzo in early July. The decision was ratified amid pushback from parents and residents regarding her previous district’s support of a voucher program for charter schools, negotiations with the teacher’s union and a market-based pay structure that changed the starting salary for teachers of certain grades. The board announced three Town Hall meetings in July, where parents can meet and discuss their concerns with Fagen. The meetings will be held at 6 p.m. on July 19 at Kingwood High School, on July 21 at Humble High School and July 28 at Atascocita High School. “We will be able to allow [the community] to meet Dr. Fagen and ask her any questions,” board member Keith Lapeze said. “It is our hope that through these town halls that you’ll understand what we as a board saw in Dr. Fagen throughout the selection process.” Soon after Fagen was selected as lone finalist for superintendent, hundreds of people—including many parents from her previous school district in Colorado—took to social media to voice their displeasure with the hire. A petition urging the district to reconsider its appointment of Fagen has garnered more than 2,000 signatures. The board will not pursue hot button issues that caused pushback at Fagen’s previous district, such as a charter school program or a different teacher pay structure, said board of trustees president Robert Sitton. “The vision of our school board is to continue the culture and climate we all enjoy as part of the Humble ISD family, and we could not be more excited about partnering with Dr. Fagen,” Sitton said. The residential response pushed the district to host a June 8 special meeting to discuss process behind the hire. More than a dozen community members addressed the board at the special session with comments about the selection of Fagen. “We as a board made some mistakes in the announcement and we apologize for those mistakes,” Lapeze said. “Going forward we want it to be a dialogue in our community.” Sconzo urged district residents to give Fagen the same opportunity to succeed that he was afforded 15 years ago, when he moved from Oklahoma to become HISD superintendent. “When I came [to HISD] I could not have felt more welcome by everyone,” Sconzo said. “I was supported by everyone… so I very much appreciate everyone giving me the benefit of the doubt. And I hope and I pray that you do the same for my successor. What we have in this school district is very special, and I don’t expect that to change.” Fagen was offered a five-year contract with a base salary of $298,000 from Humble ISD. Before arriving at HISD, she served as superintendent of the 67,000-student Douglas County School District in Colorado. Douglas County School District, like HISD, is a fast-growing suburban district. Douglas County, which is located between Denver and Colorado Springs, has grown by 8,000 students in the last six years, according to HISD. “[I] really understand the opportunity [to be] in an excellent school district—not only as an educator, but as a parent—that would be a gift for my children,” Fagen said when she was announced as a lone finalist. “I’m honored, grateful, thankful and excited.”