The often-controversial superintendent of the Fort Bend ISD will be retiring at the end of January, 2013, according to a statement issued by the president of that district’s board of trustees.
In a prepared statement, Board President Jim Rice said Superintendent Timothy Jenny will retire in January in a move that “will serve the board’s future plans for the district.”
Jenny has served as Fort Bend ISD’s superintendent since September of 2006.
Rice issued the statement after the school board approved an amendment to Jenny’s contract that will allow him to retire next January with a one-year contract buy-out. Jenny’s contract originally had him remaining at the district’s helm through at least 2016.
“Although he had no specific date for retirement in mind, after discussions with him, the board and Dr. Jenney were able to agree on a timeline that allows him to retire in January which serves the board’s future plans for the district,” Rice said in the statement.
For his part, Jenny said he was “looking forward to a break in the action” following a 39-year career in education. He also wished the district well.
While both the school board and Jenny called his departure a retirement, a number of district insiders said he was forced out and the negotiated separation followed several years of declining support for the superintendent among school board members.
“He was forced out, pure and simple. When he first got her, Jenny basically controlled the board. They just rubber-stamped whatever he wanted,” one high-ranking district official, who asked not to be identified, said. “With new faces on the board – faces that are a lot more responsive to the community – Jenny just couldn’t accept the style of leadership the current board wants. He’s just far too autocratic for that.”
Others, including a number of vocal parents, said Jenny was too isolated and out of touch with the community.
“It was always his way or the highway. He wouldn’t listen to parents, teachers or the community; he always thought he knew better,” parent Melissa Burke said. “If you disagreed with him, you were wrong. He was never open to what others had to say and surrounded himself with yes-men who told him how right he was. The district will better off with new leadership.”
As the news of Jenny’s retirement spread, those on the FBISD Concerns blog almost uniformly cheered the announcement.
“I hope the recruiting committee to replace him can find someone who respects teachers and parents. That alone would be a 1000% improvement,” Janet Scarborough Civitelli posted.
Fort Bend resident Kevin Tunstall also applauded the move.
“Over 5 years of hard work comes to fruition. How quickly can January get here?” Tunstall said.
Mary Margaret Perez praised the school board for its action.
“I am still shocked. My jar is still dropped. The School Board didn’t play games at all!!!!!” Perez posted on the blog. “Before the year begins and not even a full year to finish. Great job Board. I just c-a-n-n-o-t believe it. New Board found its spheres (balls).”
District resident Richard Lee was more succinct.
“Thank God and Greyhound he’s gone,” Lee said.
The district has not announced plans for selecting Jenny’s replacement.
The district includes much of Fort Bend County, including parts of the Katy area and Mission Bend subdivision just south of the Westpark Tollway.
If you strike through the FBISD and insert KISD I think you could write the same article almost word for word except of course for the happen ending our neighbors will have but not us it seems in the near term.
This type of activity is on the rise. RISD just went through a similar “retirement” of their super, a move I strongly support. School districts are at the center of a community and can only thrive with competent responsive leadership. If the district is not performing to the standards the community wants then fire the leaders and hire ones who will lead the district to sound educational principles and fulfill the inherent responsibility to the property owners who are the tax payers to the disttrict.
This big city supt looks like most with high and higher debt loads brought in by the developers and vendors of that system. CS you are absolutely right, these big spenders have to go, they are killing the schools and the average taxpayers with their non-classroom based over-spending at the local level. This supt. had record debt, only 1 balanced budget in 6 years and ordered 2 RIFs after he declared 2 financial emergencies and supported giving himself two big contract extensions with raises while the school district academic rating dropped…..looks to much like the golden parachute bunch to me. I hope we are through with these crony types (bond stumpers) for awhile.
If I was a board member I would write into the contract specific language that dealt with performance level of the district. I would push hard for a clause that stated if the district got an unacceptable rating the contract would cancel in 90 days with no recourse for either side of the contractural agreement. If the grades dropped below a certain level his employment would become probationary and subject to possible termination of contract. This open ended annual contracts where the board surrenders operation to the super is not a good management technique to me. I get the running of a school is complex and board members may not fully appreciate the complexities but if internal control, such as personnel issues, is to be handed off to a single individual then excellent level of operation is callled for and should be demanded by the taxpayers..
Perhaps the KISD superintendent will give him a job when Jeney can’t find another one (as he has done before for “displaced” superintendents.)
Mary:
I sense a slight twinge of sarcasm in your post. Are you saying that you’re NOT impressed that Big Al is assembling the greatest, most diversified and fully experienced leadership Dream Team ever known to Texas and US educational systems’ history? You should be ashamed – and if you’re not careful, babytiger will take you down on this topic just like he did George on the scholarship money issue (George is probably still licking his wounds after getting clawed by babytiger on that one!).
HIs contract is even better than you might think as our board likes to keep rolling his 5 years forward. Teachers get a one year contract. Some special folks get 2 year contracts, which Alton and the BOT claim are just the same and there is nothing special about being awarded a two year deal. (Do you think any of them actually believe that line???)
Then Alton gets a 5 year deal which our board extends every year. He always has 4 to 5 years remaining on his deal.
Yup, it keeps the buyout levels nearly unattainable.
I hear you, but I suspect a BOT with a “set” can get around that on so many fronts and if all else fails, just start peppering his file and later fire him. Even if there is a buy out provision I suspect he would rather go to the next stop without a termination and lots of negative feedback.
I had a boss years ago who said, “take care of the people who take care of you, and take care of the one’s who don’t.” He also said it was important to have people resign on YOUR schedule, not their’s. A wise man who lives here in Katy and often contributes to these boards for sure.
I’ll ask him to run for BOT next year. Said, “no” this year, but who knows the next time around?
As witnessed in FBISD, where there’s a will there’s a way (And they did it with a BOT “minority” leading the way!). There’s not nearly enough will here to do it with only two members leading the way…..
In many ways we may be closer than you think. It all depends on how honest our two newest BOT members are about following up on their campaign talk.
They said they were no fans of Frailey and they believed he needed more supervision and they would work hard to improve things across the board. They also said they would be the champion of the teachers and the taxpayers.
If they meant only ten percent of this that should be sufficient to get a few items ON the agenda including a discussion of what is going on.
1. Why M&O money for sidewalks BEFORE the salary schedule was set for next year?
2. What happened to the sweat heart deal Alton was pushing through with the crooked law offices for tax collection?
3. Did we lay off special education people THIS year all the time hearing there were NOT going to be lay offs either this or next year?
4. Were these layoffs for anything OTHER than budget?
5. Is the BOT going to stop the mindless rolling extensions of Alton’s contract?
6. Will cats and dogs ever learn to live together?? Sorry that was for another list……………..
JW2:
You are right. I will work as hard to be as naturally optimistic as you are and have been. ;)
I look at it this way: there are 3 “changers” on the FBISD BOT. In the 6 weeks since they took office, the superintendent that seemed impervious to all pressure caved and began working out his “escape”. According to a person familiar with the situation (probably not John’s source, but who knows?), Jenney began making these plans after a single BOT workshop and meeting with the newly-elected members (about 2 weeks total after election).
Perhaps Chuck and Bryan will stand up and follow through on their promises. I haven’t seen it yet, and maybe the FBISD is too extreme of an example, but it’s the only one I know of in a district similar to our demographics and politics (no offense about RISD – Common Sense!).