Cobb picks ‘battle-proven' leader as next super

Texan Michael Hinojosa, by various accounts, is a ‘battle-proven' leader, experienced at working with contentious school boards, credited with academic gains and also responsible for mishaps in his more than 30 years in education.

And he's also next in line to head up Georgia's second-largest district, Cobb County Schools.

Thursday night, the Cobb board announced Hinojosa as the sole finalist for superintendent, putting to end a months-long search to replace retiring Fred Sanderson. Hinojosa has been school chief of the 158,000-student Dallas Independent School District since May 2005. He will be the first Hispanic superintendent in Cobb County.

"Dr. Hinojosa has the experience to lead our schools and address the tough issues facing a large and diverse school district like Cobb County," Chairwoman Alison Bartlett said. "He's an innovative leader with a proven record of success."

Reached after the announcement, Hinojosa said he wasn't looking to leave Dallas when he was approached about the job two weeks ago. But after learning about the district and clicking with board members, he became interested. He said his son lives in the Atlanta area and is about to have his first grandchild.

"I wasn't looking and I was flattered to be considered," he said. "It's a compliment to the progress we've made here in Dallas."

By Georgia law, the board must wait 14 days before finalizing the contract. Cobb can only offer a two-year contract because of the school board election cycle.

Board members would not comment Thursday about Hinojosa's potential contract, but he is one of the highest paid urban school superintendents in the country, with a base salary of $328,000, according to The Dallas Morning News. Cobb’s current superintendent has a base salary of $208,000, is one of the lowest in the metro area.

Bartlett said he will retire from Texas and will be able to claim his retirement while earning his Cobb salary.

Hinojosa has been an educator in Texas for more than 30 years, starting as a teacher and coach in Dallas, according to his online biography. He worked his way up the administrative chain and has been a superintendent since 1994. He’s been recognized as Superintendent of the Year by two Texas organizations and earned all of his higher education credentials in Texas schools, including a doctorate from the University of Texas at Austin.

But his tenure in the state hasn’t been without controversy. A defining moment came in 2008 in Dallas when an unexpected budget shortfall led to hundreds of teacher layoffs and raised questions about the district’s accounting practices.

In news reports, Hinojosa called it the most difficult time in his career.

But Hinojosa maintained support among a majority of board members, even after an attempt to depart the district in 2010. In September of that year, he was a finalist for a job in Clark County Schools in Nevada, the nation’s fifth-largest district. He didn’t get the position, but a divided Dallas board voted to offer him a contract extension until 2015 and Hinojosa said he would not apply for other superintendent jobs.

Dallas board trustee Lew Blackburn said he was surprised by the news of Hinojosa’s exit, in light of the contract extension.

“He’s a good man,” he said. “He feels strongly about what he wants to accomplish and he does not apologize for trying to do what’s right.”

When Hinojosa takes over Cobb Schools on his expected start date of July 1, he'll assume control of a system of more than 106,000 students and the county's largest employer. Recently, board members have been under scrutiny for governance practices and for voting to ditch the so-called balanced school calendar one year into a three-year stint.

Board members were divided during the search process as well. Post 5 representative David Banks said he sat out the last three superintendent selection meetings because he wanted the district to select an in-house candidate. He ultimately voted with the other six members to unanimously name Hinojosa the finalist.

Ron Price, a former trustee for the Dallas Independent School District, said Hinojosa is “definitely battle-proven.”

“We definitely haven’t had a honeymoon here,” he said. “He’s been baptized by fire. ... From what I’ve been reading about your board, he’ll fit in perfectly.”

The school system’s nine-member board has never had a 9-0 vote, said Price, who served on the board from 1997 to 2009. But Hinojosa has staying power, Price said, outlasting the six other superintendents in the school system during his tenure on the board.

Marcia Page, former President and CEO of the Foundation for Community Empowerment, served on a committee to try to transform the district and said Hinojosa was passionate about his work and children. He is credited with pulling up some struggling high schools.

Asked about his ability to deal with a difficult board, she said Dallas was a good training ground.