By Shelley Kofler, KERA News
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/kera/local-kera-969683.mp3
Dallas, TX – Dallas School Superintendent Michael Hinojosa says family is the primary reason he is accepting the superintendent's position in the Cobb County School District near Atlanta.
Hinojosa explained why he decided not to complete his three-year contract shortly after the Cobb County School Board voted to offer him the job, as KERA's Shelley Kofler reports.
At 6:00 pm all seven members of the Cobb County School Board voted to offer their superintendent's job to Dallas's Michael Hinojosa. Trustees Allison Bartlett and David Morgan said they like Hinojosa's track record in a big urban district.
Trustee Allison Bartlett: He's an innovative leader with a proven record of success
Trustee David Morgan: He'll be especially beneficial in areas where we've had large disparities in achievement.
Minutes later Hinojosa faced Dallas reporters. Last fall after losing a bid to lead the Las Vegas-area school system Hinojosa signed a contract to stay in Dallas three more years.
He said he'd intended to fulfill that promise but the offer came just as he learned his oldest son is having a baby. His son lives near the Cobb County District in Atlanta.
Hinojosa: This would be my first grandchild so it would be an opportunity to be with my son who I haven't been with closely for a few years since he left the state. And also it's a high performing district with new opportunity and new challenge.
Dallas School Board President Adam Medrano said he was disappointed.
Medrano: He did give us a word of confidence that he would be here for the remainder of his contract and not seek out another position elsewhere.
Rena Honea, president of Dallas teachers association Alliance-AFT says she worried who will now lead DISD through state budget cuts and unavoidable layoffs.
Honea: It is extremely frightful to think about what will happen with someone being an interim leader.
While he says his is primarily a family decision, Hinojosa acknowledged deep cuts in state school funding have weighed on him
Hinojosa: It did contribute a little to the whole matter. If we are going to have less money and lower expectations and we're not going to get flexibility it does make it frustrating.
Hinojosa says he's proud of the improvement in student performance during his six years in Dallas. More students are passing the TAKS accountability tests and more students are graduating.
Hinojosa: The most exciting fact is that we are going to have 7,000 graduates this year that's more than since the early 1980's.
Cobb County cannot officially hire Hinojosa until after a 14-day public comment period. If he gets the job, as expected, he'll move to a slightly smaller district with fewer low income children. Hinojosa describes the district as Richardson, McKinney and Allen rolled into one.
Hinojosa says he'll remain in Dallas at least through June 30, the end of this fiscal year.