Superintendent Search
Dr. Jeff Arnett
At its Feb 22. meeting, the Eanes ISD Board of Trustees voted unanimously to name Dr. Jeff Arnett as the next Superintendent of Schools. Dr. Arnett will succeed retiring Superintendent Dr. Tom Leonard.
“Tonight marks the culmination of our search process to name the next Superintendent of Schools,” said Eanes Board President John Havenstrite. “This Board is extremely excited by the reaction of our community, faculty and students at the naming of Dr. Jeff Arnett as the finalist for this position.”
Dr. Arnett has served as Eanes ISD’s Deputy Superintendent since 2016, overseeing district leadership, operations and committees such as Envision Eanes and the District Leadership Team. He has been instrumental in leading a cohesive strategic plan for the district, including all departments and operations.
“I am grateful to the Eanes ISD Board of Trustees for its trust in me, and to our community of outstanding students, staff and families who are so invested in the success of our schools,” said Dr. Arnett. “I am humbled and honored to represent and support you in this role. I also want to thank Dr. Leonard, my long-time colleague and mentor, for his leadership over the past eight years and the example he has set for so many.”
Dr. Jeff Arnett joined Eanes ISD as Deputy Superintendent in August 2016. Prior to that, Dr. Arnett served as Chief Communications Officer for Barrington School District in suburban Chicago for six years. Before serving in the Barrington School District, Dr. Arnett was Director of Communications, Education & Public Programs for the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. He began his career in public education in Missouri, where he served various school districts as Director of Communications, Director of School and Community Relations and as a first grade classroom teacher. He still holds his K-8 teaching certificate and is certified to teach high school journalism.
Dr. Arnett holds bachelor’s degrees in both education and communications, master’s degrees in education and corporate communications and a doctorate in educational leadership. His endorsements include Certification in Administrative Leadership with a superintendent’s credential in Texas, and Accreditation in Public Relations (APR).
Retiring Superintendent Dr. Leonard, who will assist with the transition, echoed the Board’s confidence in Dr. Arnett. “You are getting an excellent educator and person,” said Dr. Leonard. “I couldn’t be happier for Jeff, his family and the Eanes community. This is an incredible team of professionals who I know will continue to lead our District to even greater success.”
A Message From Newly Appointed Superintendent, Dr. Jeff Arnett
Executive Search Firm
At the Oct. 25 Eanes ISD Board Special Meeting, the Board of Trustees interviewed and voted 7-0 to hire Thompson & Horton LLP to conduct the search for the next Superintendent of Schools. Based out of Houston but with an office in Austin, Thompson & Horton LLP has a wealth of professional experience and work in public education and is very familiar with Texas school superintendents and national school leaders. Families, staff, advocates and the community will have an opportunity to give input into the desired leadership characteristics for a new school superintendent.
Timeline
October 19 - Dr. Tom Leonard announced his intention to retire as Eanes ISD Superintendent
October 25 - At the Eanes ISD Special Board Meeting, the Board of Trustees voted to hire Thompson & Horton LLP to assist with the search for the next Superintendent of Schools
December 7 & 8 - Thompson & Horton LLP held focus groups with parents, community leaders, students and teachers
December 8 - Eanes ISD Board Meeting – Thompson & Horton reviewed focus group feedback with Board of Trustees
December 9-15 - More than 1,100 members of the Eanes community provided feedback to superintendent search survey
December 16-31 - Board of Trustees reviewed survey feedback
January 13 - At this Special Meeting, the Board of Trustees will meet with the Thompson & Horton search consultants to debrief the community feedback received, including the survey results. Trustees will also review potential candidates with the consultants in closed session.
January 14 - The Board of Trustees will conduct initial interviews of qualified candidate(s). This meeting will begin in open session, but the interview(s) will be conducted in closed session.
January 18 - The Board of Trustees may conduct additional interviews of qualified candidates.This meeting will begin in open session, but the interview(s) will be conducted in closed session.
January 25 - At the Board of Trustees' Regular Meeting, the Board will announce whether a lone finalist for the position of Superintendent will be named, or whether interviews will continue.
Community Input
The search process includes parent, staff, student and community feedback to assist the Board of Trustees in sharing expectations for leadership characteristics and skills for Eanes ISD's next superintendent.
Survey
From December 9-15, more than 1,700 members of the Eanes ISD community provided input via the superintendent search survey. This feedback included expectations for leadership characteristics and skills for the next superintendent. We greatly appreciate this input. More information on the results will be shared in January.
Focus Groups
Thompson & Horton and the Board of Trustees identified parents, community leaders, advocates and students who participated in focus groups. These focus groups were attended by 72 members of the Eanes community who shared their opinions on the leadership characteristics and skills they seek for the next superintendent. We thank them for their time and input!