Matias Segura receives a standing ovation Credit: Screenshot via Austin ISD

Matias Segura will soon have the “interim” removed from his job title.

The Austin ISD board of trustees voted last night to name Segura the lone candidate for the permanent superintendent position. The board is expected to offer him a contract early next year.

Trustee Kathryn Whitley Chu commented briefly before the vote. “This board has been up here for a year,” she said, “and in that time we’ve talked to our community, who have told us they want someone who understands and appreciates and is committed to Austin ISD for the long term. Matias is Austin ISD’s first homegrown superintendent, he’s a product of Austin ISD, the son of a beloved Austin ISD teacher, and the proud parent of two Austin ISD students.”

After board president Arati Singh announced the unanimous vote, the members of the board joined the audience of approximately 30 in facing Segura, seated in the third row, and giving him a joyous standing ovation. “Your mom is probably very, very proud of you right now,” Singh said. She closed the meeting and the group rose and applauded again.

The board vote ends 18 months of uncertainty at Austin ISD dating back to the resignation of former superintendent Stephanie Elizalde in June of 2022. Elizalde’s two-year tenure was marked by teachers quitting in record numbers during the COVID pandemic and the district falling behind in its provision of special education services.

Segura’s installment as interim superintendent coincided with the seating of a new board, which extended his contract in March, the same month that the Texas Education Agency announced its intention of sending a conservator to take over AISD’s special education services. Board members say Segura has been an effective communicator with TEA, helping convince the agency to let AISD fix the special education mess itself, rather than appointing a boss from outside the district.

“His personality is one of his strengths,” Chu said. “He’s fun to be with. When we walk into a school, the kids gravitate to him. He’s just a friendly, nice person.”

This article appears in December 15 • 2023.

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Brant Bingamon arrived in Austin in 1981 to attend UT and immediately became fascinated by the city's music scene. He's spent his adult life playing in bands and began writing for the Chronicle in 2019, covering criminal justice, the death penalty, and public school issues. He has two children, Noah and Eryl, and lives with his partner Adrienne on the Eastside.