What challenges will Dallas and Fort Worth face finding their next schools superintendents?

North Texas’ two largest school districts will soon look for new leaders after superintendents Michael Hinojosa and Kent Scribner announced their departures Thursday.

Dallas and Fort Worth, among the state’s largest and most influential school systems, will undergo searches for superintendents as many districts across Texas and the country are doing the same.

Education observers fear an exodus of superintendents after two exhausting years upended by the coronavirus pandemic. Political tensions over mask mandates and the way schools examine racism put superintendents’ decisions under a harsh spotlight.

“A lot of the political divisions, the cultural divisions, that are there have become such a distraction to doing the job that it becomes untenable,” said Kevin Brown, director of the Texas Association of School Administrators. “In the current climate, it becomes more challenging to feel like you’re fulfilling the mission that you originally signed up to do.”

Brown expects this new reality will add another layer to already complicated superintendent searches across Texas.

In recent months, leaders of nearby districts also have announced impending departures, including superintendents in Richardson, DeSoto, Mesquite, Lewisville, Castleberry and Hurst-Euless-Bedford.

“There’s a big recruitment challenge, especially in larger districts that have political divisions, or have split boards,” Brown said. “In my conversations with the strongest superintendents in the state, they clearly do not want to go in and work in a district where all they’re going to deal with is adult politics.”

Fort Worth often had its board meetings dominated by heated debates over COVID-19 protocols and how the district has addressed racial equity in schools. Dallas has continued to defy the governor’s ban on mask mandates in schools, putting the district at risk of political backlash from state leaders.

While many have questioned whether the tense political atmosphere is contributing to the ranks of departing school leaders, Hinojosa stressed that it isn’t the reason he’s leaving. But he noted that he’s heard from colleagues across Texas who are concerned about the growing pressure.

“In Dallas County, we have a lot of vacancies for superintendent right now, so I think it has an impact,” he said at a news conference Thursday. “It just doesn’t apply in my case.”

Dallas trustees are likely to conduct a national search for the next leader, though some suggest a strong candidate will come from within the district, several board members told The Dallas Morning News.

DISD last launched a widespread search for a district leader about a decade ago, when Hinojosa left his post for the first time. That search resulted in the hiring of Mike Miles, who came to Dallas from a smaller school system in Colorado.

But when Miles left, trustees passed on the national search, opting to hire Hinojosa back on a temporary basis. A few months later, they made his return permanent. He was a “known known,” as board member Edwin Flores put it at the time.

Trustees expressed a strong desire to look nationally for the next superintendent.

“Obviously, we have very competent people on our senior leadership team — more than one could lead this district,” trustee Joe Carreón said. “I think the temperature of the board is that we are going to do a national search and will do one.”

Board President Ben Mackey expressed similar sentiments, saying the board needs “to see the scope of what is out there” and compare with the existing leaders already working within Dallas.

DISD observers have pointed to Susana Cordova, currently serving as the district’s deputy chief, as Hinojosa’s likely replacement.

Years ago, the board instructed Hinojosa to hire and train up leaders who could replace him, Flores said this week. He was the only board member who told The News a large-scale search is unnecessary.

“When you have an inside person … it makes a lot of folks from the outside not want to apply for very good reason,” Flores said. “And when you have somebody as good as Susana Cordova, [the] bottom line is I’m not interested in doing a crazy search.”

Cordova did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday afternoon.

Meanwhile, Dallas faces competition from other districts also grappling with vacancies in their chief roles.

Fort Worth ISD board President Tobi Jackson declined to comment about the next steps in her district’s search. Trustees will hold a special meeting Jan. 18 to discuss how to proceed. Scribner plans to serve until the next superintendent is selected; his contract goes through August 2024.

The outgoing superintendent wrote on Twitter that the district “deserves a thoughtful superintendent transition process — so infrequent in large urban districts.”

“I bring this news to you now to provide the Board with sufficient time to conduct a search for a new superintendent,” he wrote as part of his announcement.

Throughout the country, other major urban districts are looking for leaders as well. School systems in Philadelphia and Miami are looking for their next superintendents.

The plethora of leadership changes comes at a time when political pressure on Texas school superintendents is at an all-time high over COVID-19 health mandates and how educators should address challenging topics like racism.

Brown said that oftentimes, successful superintendents in small or midsize districts are open to jumping into a bigger role. He’s not sure that will be the case right now.

“What I have found is that superintendents that have stable boards right now are not leaving,” he said. “Even if the pay is better, the status is higher, whatever it may be. What they really want is the ability to serve and do it in a way that’s more collaborative and team-oriented.”

The DMN Education Lab deepens the coverage and conversation about urgent education issues critical to the future of North Texas.

The DMN Education Lab is a community-funded journalism initiative, with support from The Beck Group, Bobby and Lottye Lyle, Communities Foundation of Texas, The Dallas Foundation, Dallas Regional Chamber, Deedie Rose, The Meadows Foundation, Solutions Journalism Network, Southern Methodist University and Todd A. Williams Family Foundation. The Dallas Morning News retains full editorial control of the Education Lab’s journalism.