Maxwell and Jennifer Cozad chose Mansfield as their new home in 2023 for one large reason: the schools.
Now, Mansfield ISD trustees are selecting the next leader of the 35,000-student district as Superintendent Kimberley Cantu retires following 26 years as an educator and seven years as the chief of schools.
A leader’s retirement isn’t a worry for them when thinking of the district’s trajectory, Jennifer Cozad said. She just wants someone ready to adapt to Mansfield ISD and its community.
“My concern is picking the right person, instead of things changing,” she said.
Mansfield ISD is on the road to new beginnings as the board of trustees continues its search for its next superintendent.
With Cantu’s retirement looming in February, school board members and an outside consulting firm are deciding who will shape Mansfield ISD in the future.
A destination district
Pat Linares paced back and forth at the front of the dimly lit auditorium at Mansfield High School. As community members slowly shuffled into the auditorium’s seats, she introduced herself to each one.
The former interim superintendent of Fort Worth ISD from 2014-2017 now works with a nationwide consulting firm that helps school districts find their next superintendent, including Mansfield.
JG Consulting hosted five in-person town hall meetings in November to hear from the community about what residents want from the district’s next superintendent.
Former board president Beth Light and former trustee Terry Moore attended a Nov. 13 town hall meeting in the Mansfield High School auditorium.
Moore said that public education has changed a lot over the past 20 years. He said enrollment has risen from about 18,000 students when he first arrived in Mansfield to nearly 37,000.
While the growth has been tremendous, the district cannot get complacent with marketing tactics growing across the education landscape, Moore said.
“The new superintendent has to be a visionary,” Moore told the audience. “It’s a new game.”
The Cozads also attended the meeting. Both are on the PTA board at Brenda Norwood Elementary where their child goes to school.
Jennifer Cozad said she wanted someone who was not looking out for their career ambitions.
“They need to understand what things the district is doing right, identifying where the opportunities are, and be methodical about those improvements,” she said after the town hall meeting.
Maxwell Cozad said the new superintendent should also not have preconceptions about what can make the district better.
“We really need somebody who’s going to look at the facts of what is here, what has worked, what needs to be better instead of jumping in with a preconceived notion,” he said.
Over the past two years and into the next year, a lot has changed for the district. Last year’s school board election saw plenty of political debate that ended with three incumbents unseated.
Jennifer Cozad said she was less concerned by the changing board and more worried about the district hiring the correct candidate.
“We can’t say, ‘You can’t retire because we need the forever stability.’ It just is what it is,” she said. “If they don’t find the right candidate, I don’t want them to hire somebody to have somebody in that chair in February.”
Mansfield wants a superintendent with experience
Using testimonies collected by parents, teachers, community members and trustees across 30 meetings, the firm created a profile of qualities to look for in candidates for the open superintendent seat.
James Guerra, JG Consulting’s chief executive officer, told board members Dec. 12 that an estimated 164 stakeholders attended in-person and virtual meetings to discuss what they wanted in the next superintendent.
The firm also sent out anonymous surveys to gather information.
JG Consulting received 733 responses to its anonymous survey. These are the qualities parents, staff, students and community members said they most valued for the next superintendent.
- Educator experience
- Accountability and transparency
- Strong communications
- Being a champion of the community
- Ability to make and defend decisions
- Approachability
- Visionary leadership
- Data-driven decision making
- Adaptability and innovation
While much of the feedback from the community made it into the final profile that will be used to parse through candidates, trustees did change sections they said were nonnegotiable.
Key takeaways from Mansfield ISD leadership profile
- Someone who has led a large and diverse district that can be compared to Mansfield ISD before with success.
- Someone who has served as a superintendent, deputy superintendent or a similar role with at least five years of experience overseeing major divisions or systems.
- Someone who has a proven past of improving outcomes for multilingual students, economically disadvantaged students and students in special education services.
- Someone who either has their superintendent certification or is eligible for it, and has a doctoral degree.
- Someone who can build relationships with local businesses and the community.
- Someone with knowledge of Texas school law and finance.
Some board members debated whether or not to require that candidates come from Texas and have a doctoral degree.
Board member Michelle Newsom said she preferred the candidates currently working as a superintendent in the state so they already have an understanding of the Texas public school system and finances.
She also proposed that all candidates must already have a doctoral degree, with which the majority of trustees agreed.
Board member Jason Thomas said the district has had a long line of superintendents with doctorates, and that the degree would align with what the community wants from the future head of Mansfield ISD.
“For our district, the precedent has already been set for the superintendent having a doctoral degree, and it’s on brand for us,” Thomas told Guerra.
Guerra suggested trustees ask the new superintendent to go on a 90-day or 120-day entry plan so the board can monitor the new hire’s alignment with their goals.
He also added that the district should host town hall meetings so the new superintendent builds a connection with the community.
Applications for the role closed on Jan. 9, according to a timeline from JG Consulting.
The final round of interviews will be Jan. 30-31 during closed session meetings, trustees said. They will consider announcing the lone finalist for superintendent Jan. 31, according to a meeting agenda.
Chris Moss is a reporting fellow for the Arlington Report. Contact him at chris.moss@fortworthreport.org.
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