HUTTO – What are the most important qualifications for a school superintendent? Being a community advocate or an experienced educator or maybe the ability to make and defend difficult decisions? These are questions Hutto Independent School District is asking the community in its search for a new top executive.
“We’re all stakeholders in selecting the profile for the next leader for our district, and community input is incredibly valuable to us,” said Board of Trustees President Billie Logiudice.
The board has hired educational search firm JG Consulting to find candidates to replace superintendent Dr. Celina Estrada Thomas, who is retiring after 41 years in education. She has been superintendent of Hutto ISD since 2017.
The consulting firm designed a five-question survey that is posted on the district’s superintendent search web page, www. HippoNation.gov/superintendentsearch. The survey can be filled in anonymously by any community member, not just parents or students.
“We will be using the info from the survey and we’ll also be meeting with different stakeholder groups,” said Logiudice. “We’ll have one-on-one meetings with our city partners and town hall meetings to hear people’s voices about what they think are going to be the skills and background and qualifications needed to create the profile of the next leader.”
Georgetown-based JG Consulting has helped school districts nationwide with executivelevel searches. Taylor Independent School District hired the firm to help them with their most recent superintendent vacancy. Dr. Devin Padavil was hired for the post in January 2021.
“There’s a sense of professionalism and wanting to make a positive impact on education in Texas that you can really feel from this organization,” Padavil said in a testimonial. “What I really appreciated was the whole time I felt like there was somebody who was an advocate for the school district and each of the candidates as well.”
The typical search time for a superintendent can take up to four months. The district has an ambitious schedule to fill the position by Aug. 31, Estrada Thomas’ retirement date. They are planning to hold community input meetings from June 9 – 30, and hope to begin candidate interviews as early as Aug. 4.
Logiudice confirmed that the short time frame was one reason they hired JG Consulting.
“We felt they would be able to help us in the critical timeline we have. They have a team that would solely be working with Hutto and they have the resources and the manpower to meet the timeline,” Logiudice said. “I think it’s important for our community to know that we’re committed to doing our due diligence and finding the very best person that will lead us through the next season of growth, of challenges and celebrations.”
