AUSTIN, Texas — In the very early hours of Tuesday morning, the Austin ISD school board decided who will be the district's superintendent.
About a month ago, Dallas ISD named Dr. Stephanie Elizalde as its lone finalist for the job. She worked in Austin for just under two years, before that she was the chief of school leadership for DISD.
Just after 1 a.m. on Tuesday, AISD school board members announced their history-making decision over who will oversee the district. Dr. Anthony Mays, the current chief officer of schools at AISD, will be the district's first Black man to serve as interim superintendent.
Dr. Mays has a career history of working in school districts around Texas. He has served as AISD's chief of schools since October 2020.
On Sunday, the district confirmed that Dr. Mays was an applicant for AISD's open superintendent position. It also confirmed that David Kauffman, the district's former executive director of multilingual education, also applied.
The number of superintendent applicants hasn't been revealed. And, at last night's meeting, some people shared their concern for the hiring process. The school board stressed the rush to find an interim superintendent before Dr. Elizalde makes her official departure.
Dr. Mays will serve as AISD's interim leader from July 1 until next summer.
Editor's note: A previous version of this story incorrectly said Dr. Mays was the first African American to hold the position at AISD. Dr. Mays is the first African American man to hold the position.
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