Just three weeks into her tenure as Humble ISD superintendent, Elizabeth Fagen is trying to change initial perceptions and shed perceived ideological labels from district stakeholders, she said.

HISD is hosting three town hall meetings—including one July 19 at 6 p.m. at Kingwood High School—after hundreds of people took to social media to voice opposition to the hiring of Fagen in May. Critics included parents from Fagen’s previous district in Colorado.

Two other meetings are scheduled for July 21 at Humble High School and July 28 at Atascocita High School.

“I hope that [HISD residents] can see that I bring some expertise to the table,” Fagen said. “But at the same time, I’m open-minded and flexible and willing to entertain a lot of ideas. I think we need to come together and define what it is that students should be able to do. I’m here to help us as a district, as individual teachers, individual buildings, departments [and] move in that direction.”

Complaints online focused on Fagen’s support of a voucher program and market-based pay salary bands she utilized at her previous school district. The pay structure, which she helped implement, changed starting salaries for teachers of certain grades.

Fagen said she is a conditional proponent of school choice and market-based salary bands for teachers. She said the salary bands for teachers were necessary because of pay freezes and a weak economy.

“I think the question that [parents] have is, ‘Are you just a pro-school choice ideologue who wherever you go, that’s what you want?’” Fagen said. “My answer to that is no. I’m not opposed to it. I think that it’s a means to accomplish certain ends if a community embraces it. There are good ways to do it and not good ways to do it. I’m not a person who travels around and says, ‘How do we [implement school] choice?’”

Fagen served as superintendent of the 67,000-student Douglas County School District from 2010-2015. DCSD, a fast-growth suburban district, added 8,000 students over the past six years, according to HISD. HISD is projected to add about 10,000 new students by 2025.

Fagen said she hopes the town hall meetings show the nuance in her views on school choice and allow district stakeholders to gain a new perspective of her.

“I hope they have the opportunity to see that I’m a normal person, I’m a parent, I’m a teacher, [and] I’m the daughter of a teacher,” she said. “I’m very passionate about education for students that prepares them for their lives. I’m very passionate about student engagement and making learning something that’s enjoyable so students want to do it for their entire life.”