Forgione to Retire

Breaking news: Pat Forgione, the man who has headed Austin Independent School District through almost a decade of unprecedented growth, has announced today that he will be standing down as district superintendent. This comes after the day after the Board of Trustees finally agreed to get staff to write the language for three bond election propositions, worth $343 million, for inclusion on the May ballot. This may be the last major measure of his tenure: he will stand down on June 30, 2009, just in time for his successor to start implementing any new policy edicts from the next legislative session.

Teacher-turned-administrator Forgione came to the district as a bit of a superstar in 1999, after serving as U.S. Commissioner of Education Statistics for four years, and prior to that as State Superintendent for Public Instruction for the state of Delaware. Whatever else is said about him, he has remained a strong advocate of public education (not a given for people in similar posts) in the face of many political forces and pressure groups that, state-wide, have used school district tax appraisals as a blunt tool to attack government expenditure.

In a press release, Forgione thanked the board, and said he plans to travel with his wife, Kaye.