The Kerrville Independent School District Board of Trustees heard plans for its search for a new superintendent laid out by two consultants from a Houston-based law firm on Tuesday afternoon.
Trustees hired Thompson & Horton, LLC last week as part of its plan to replace Mark Foust as superintendent. Consultants Mike Moses and David Thompson provided a timeline where the district would begin advertising the position starting Wednesday, with a hiring decision slated for May 1. Moses, a former Texas Education Agency commissioner, laid out a straightforward plan for trustees to digest.
It could be June before the new superintendent is hired.
The consultants plan to meet with community members on Feb. 1 and then with trustees during a closed-session meeting on Feb. 27 to review candidates who have applied for the position, which could pay more than $200,000 per year.
Moses and Thompson said they want to meet with about 60 members of the community to define what they see as the best qualities to lead the school district. While Kerrville feels the pinch of growth, the school district’s population is steady — in some years declining — but recovered in 2022 to pre-pandemic levels.
Foust’s last day was Monday, and he left to become superintendent of the Fort Worth-based Northwest Independent School District, which serves three North Texas counties and has more than 25,000 students.
Board President Rolinda Schmidt wanted to know how difficult it would be to find candidates. The consultants said they do see candidate pools shrinking, but they considered the Hill Country and KISD an attractive landing for a new superintendent.
One consultant said a decade ago that the KISD job could attract about 50 applicants but that it might be 30-35 people this year. Moses told the board that he believes there are many well-qualified candidates for the KISD job.
