The Eanes school district named a finalist for the superintendent position, and the Leander school district's top leader is a finalist for another position.
Two Central Texas school districts could soon see changes to their top leaders.
The 42,000-student Leander school district's Superintendent Bruce Gearing was named earlier this month as one of four finalists for the top job at 10,200-student Conway Public Schools in Arkansas.
This came as a surprise to the Leander school board, according to a statement released Nov. 14 from board President Anna Smith, Vice President Sade Fashokun and Secretary Nekosi Nelson.
"The Board remains dedicated and focused to our purpose -- serving students, supporting staff and continuing the important work happening across our classrooms and campuses every day," the three trustees said. "The Board will continue to ensure stability, transparency and progress for our district regardless of any outcome."
The district did not return a request for comment.
The Arkansas Times reported Jason Black, Conway's interim superintendent, Jennifer Barbaree of Pine Bluff in Arkansas and Tamekia Brown, an administrator at the Waco school district, as the other three finalists.
Gearing has been the superintendent of the Leander district since 2019. He oversaw the passage of a voter-approved tax rate increase in 2022 and a $762.8 million bond in 2023 that built two new elementary schools.
Separately, the Eanes school district in Westlake named a lone finalist for its superintendent to replace Jeff Arnett, who retired in June.
On Nov. 18, the district named Kirk Koennecke as its choice for the top district official after a national search and review of 35 candidates, according to a statement from the district.
A former teacher, coach, advisor and principal, Koennecke is CEO and superintendent of the 2,200-student Indian Hill school district near Cincinnati. He also served as superintendent of the Graham school district, also in Ohio, and was the National Association of School Superintendents' Superintendent of the Year in 2023. He has been a superintendent for 10 years.
"I am deeply honored and humbled the Board of Trustees has selected me to lead the finest public schools in Texas, and one of the elite districts in America," Koennecke said in a statement.
Texas law requires a 21-day waiting period between naming a finalist and signing a contract with a finalist. The Eanes school board is scheduled to vote on the selection of Koennecke as superintendent on Dec. 9.
Last week, the Bastrop school district named Kristi Lee, who has been interim superintendent since Aug. 1, as lone finalist for its top leadership post. Lee has 20 years of experience in education, including 10 with the Bastrop district as deputy superintendent and executive director of communications and community relations.