Hall resigns as Superintendent

Board begins search for replacement, interim

By LPR Staff
Editor/POST-REGISTER

As the school year winds down and students and teachers prepare for summer break, the Lockhart ISD Board of Trustees is gearing up for the daunting task of replacing Superintendent Dr. John Hall.
Hall, who has served as the district”s superintendent for the last three y

ears, announced his retirement earlier this month. While he noted he has enjoyed working in the district from which he graduated high school, he said it was time for someone else to take the reins.
However, during a special called meeting of the board of trustees on Tuesday evening, Hall pledged to help the board develop a timeline and assess options for finding his replacement.
“You want a “darn good superintendent,” but you have to decide what that means,” he said. “As you start your search, you have to determine what it is you”re looking for, and then you can decide how to go about finding someone that meets those criteria.”
As the search process begins, the board must decide whether to contract a “headhunting firm” to identify candidates or to take on the task themselves.
“If we do it on our own, it”s going to be a serious commitment of time spent by the board,” said Board President Gary Allen. “There could be as many as one or two meetings a week for the next several months, and that”s something we have to seriously think about.”
On the other hand, should the board decide to contract a firm, the cost to the taxpayers could range between $10,000 and $15,000.
After Tuesday”s initial brainstorming session, the board opted to set a meeting during the first week of June to further discuss available options. They also asked Hall to develop a schedule of required notices and postings and to set an informational interview with a headhunting firm.
According to Allen, at least 62 school districts in Texas are actively seeking superintendents this summer for the coming school year.
In other board business, the trustees held their final regular business meeting of the school year on Monday. Much of the conversation was dominated by discussion of Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) testing scores.
Assistant Superintendent James Rabe announced he had received preliminary scoring from the State of Texas, and that it is a possibility that five of LISD”s campuses will earn a “Recognized” distinction this year.
However, the bitter news that the high school campus may receive an “Unacceptable” rating clouded Rabe”s otherwise encouraging report.
“It”s clear in the statistics that something is breaking down at the high school level,” Rabe said. “And we need to figure out what that is and how to fix it.”
He suggested the problems were in instruction, noting that students who do not understand materials taught during class will also not understand the material if it is taught the same way during a tutorial session. He also pointed out that LHS students scored below the state average in every unit of high-school level TAKS testing.
On a more optimistic note, the board recognized dozens of students for their successes during the last several months. Navarro Elementary School”s Science Fair winners, LHS”s One-Act Play team, and participants in the annual Math-A-Thon for St. Jude”s Children”s Hospital were all recognized.
Also, the board discussed and agreed to dedicate the LHS football field to Brig. Gen. H. Gary Bunch, a 1972 graduate of Lockhart High School who has raised himself through the rank and file of the military since he left Lockhart.
The LISD board of trustees has a special-called meeting scheduled at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 24, and meets regularly on the fourth Monday of each month at 6:30 p.m. in the Conference Center of Lockhart High School. The meetings are open to the public and parents, students and other members of the community are encouraged to attend.