Arlington superintendent finalist opts out, decides to stay with current school district
The lone finalist for superintendent of the Arlington school district has decided to stay in her current job.
Michelle Cavazos signed a five-year contract on Tuesday to remain as superintendent of the 4,500-student Gregory-Portland school district near Corpus Christi. Contract negotiations had broken down between Cavazos and the Arlington school board, according to a statement from the Gregory‑Portland school district.
The Arlington school board named Cavazos the lone finalist on May 4 to replace Marcelo Cavazos (no relation), who announced in January that he would retire in August.
The Texas Association of School Boards Executive Search Services had directed the search, which included meetings with staff and residents of the 55,625-student school district, Tarrant County’s second-largest.
“This was an incredibly difficult decision to make,” Michelle Cavazos said in a statement. “As I have previously stated, I was not looking for the opportunity when called to interview with Arlington ISD — yet the chance to positively impact more than 55,000 students is one worth considering for any educational leader. Furthermore, I am grateful that they expressed confidence in my abilities and extended an incredibly generous offer that I have thoughtfully and carefully considered. In the end, I made the decision to accept a five-year commitment from G-PISD.”
The Gregory-Portland school board offered Cavazos $265,000 annually, with fixed annual contributions to the superintendent’s supplemental retirement.
“I am in full support and in debt to both districts and boards for their support. In the end, however, I determined that there are some things of infinite value — none of which have anything to do with compensation,” Cavazos said.
By law, school boards must wait 21 days before voting to make an offer on open superintendent positions.
Arlington board members will discuss their next steps in the search during a board meeting scheduled for Wednesday afternoon.
“We understand the enormity of the position we’re trying to fill and are committed to continuing our search to identify top candidates,” board president Melody Fowler said in a statement.
