Former Dallas schools superintendent Michael Hinojosa is the lone finalist to lead the district, the nation’s 14th largest.
The school board voted Tuesday to name Hinojosa as its lone finalist. As required by law, the school district will wait 21 days before making Hinojosa’s appointment final. He has been serving as the district’s interim superintendent since late June.
If all goes as planned, Hinojosa will replace Mike Miles, who resigned as the superintendent of the Dallas schools this summer, Miles’ departure ended a three-year tenure marked by near-constant clashes with his school board and community members. Miles, who took the Dallas job in July 2012, was about to begin his fourth school year at the helm.
Hinojosa previously led the Dallas schools from 2005 to 2011. During his tenure, the district graduation rate improved for five consecutive years and voters approved a $1.35 billion bond program.
After leaving Dallas, he served as superintendent of the Cobb County, Ga., school system. He retired from that district in May 2014 and had worked as an educational consultant prior to his appointment as interim school chief in Dallas.
“Our board is pleased to have Dr. Hinojosa back in a permanent capacity. In just a brief time since his return, he has proven to be the steady and experienced hand needed to guide Dallas ISD,” school board President Eric Cowan said in a statement.