Nominees Announced for 2008 Superintendent of the Year Award

For Immediate Release: June 30, 2008
Contact: Barbara Williams, 800.580.8272, ext. 6418

(AUSTIN)—Superintendents from 15 public school districts have been nominated for the annual Superintendent of the Year (SOTY) award sponsored by the Texas Association of School Boards (TASB). Since 1984, the SOTY program has recognized exemplary superintendents for excellence and achievement in educational leadership.

Regional superintendents of the year and nominating education services centers (ESCs) are Roel Gonzalez, Rio Grande City CISD, ESC 1; Sam Atwood, Goliad ISD, ESC 3; Abelardo Saavedra, Houston ISD, ESC 4; Mike Cargill, Bryan ISD, ESC 6; David Fitts, Pewitt CISD, ESC 8; Tom Woody, Vernon ISD, ESC 9; Ted Moore, Lovejoy ISD, ESC 10; Stephen Waddell, Birdville ISD, ESC 11; Dennis Hill, Llano ISD, ESC 13; Ronny Collins, Snyder ISD, ESC 14; Matt Underwood, Mason ISD, ESC 15; Frank Belcher, Canadian ISD, ESC 16; Doug Harriman, Seminole ISD, ESC 17; Ricardo Estrada, Clint ISD, ESC 19; and Dan Troxell, Kerrville ISD, ESC 20.

Candidates are chosen for their strong leadership skills, dedication to improving educational quality, ability to build effective employee relations, student performance, and commitment to public involvement in education. Superintendents from any of Texas’ 1,031 local school districts are eligible for nomination by their school boards. Local nominees are submitted to a regional selection committee, which chooses one nominee to send to the state selection committee.

The state committee will interview regional winners August 22-23 in Austin and select five state finalists. The Superintendent of the Year will be announced September 28 at the TASA/TASB Convention in Dallas. The winning superintendent also receives an award from Balfour.

TASB is a nonprofit association established in 1949 to serve local public school districts. School board members are the largest group of publicly elect