Houston ISD trustees picked longtime educator Pat Allen as the district’s board president Thursday, breaking a stalemate that highlighted divisions on the governing body.
One week after board members deadlocked on selecting a president despite 10 rounds of voting, Allen narrowly emerged with the most support Thursday under a ranked-choice system employed by trustees. Allen, who worked in HISD as a teacher and administrator for 35 years, will take over as the district starts a superintendent search, continues to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic and seeks to stave off a state takeover of the board.
While trustees cordially navigated the impasse in public, the outcome further illustrated the loose factions complicating efforts to reach consensus. Board members sometimes aligned in three groups of three trustees on the most pressing issues in 2020, though the pacts were hardly iron-clad.
Trustees Allen, Judith Cruz and Anne Sung each garnered three first-place votes for board president Thursday.
Ultimately, Allen earned the most second- and third-place votes, securing her victory. Cruz managed only one second-place vote, while Sung garnered four last-place votes. Incumbent Board President Sue Deigaard received the least support among the four candidates.
“I’m honored that I was chosen,” said Allen, who retired from HISD in 2015, and won her seat on the board in 2019. “I know it was a difficult choice with us being tied up for so long. I just expect this will be a year for us to make sure we’re transparent, that we try to build trust between board members, we try to build communication and we make sure we’re doing what’s best for students.”
As board president, Allen has greater power to set meeting agendas, work with Interim Superintendent Grenita Lathan on policy matters and serve as a spokesperson for the board. She will not have additional voting power.
Allen said she does not plan to aggressively wield her authority, saying her role “is to be a moderator.” She does not expect to take on significantly more responsibilities during the district’s superintendent search, which remains in the early stages. HISD has been without a permanent leader since March 2018, when then-superintendent Richard Carranza abruptly left to lead New York City public schools and Lathan assumed the interim position.
Allen largely avoided the spotlight in her first year on the board, maintaining a quiet presence that sharply contrasted with her fiery predecessor, Jolanda Jones. She joined the majority on several key votes in 2020, supporting the reinstatement of Teach For America’s contract with the district, approving a $2 billion budget compromise containing minimal raises and bonuses for teachers, and signing off on starting the District of Innovation process.
However, Allen found herself in the minority when she voted to name Lathan as the district’s long-term leader and opposed the launch of a superintendent search.
Board members also chose Trustee Holly Maria Flynn Vilaseca as vice president and Cruz as second vice president. The selections ensured one member of each of the three tenuous factions are represented among the top leadership positions.
“I don’t think there are deep divisions that can’t be worked through,” Cruz said. “I feel like we have definitely turned a page, a chapter in the history of the board, and so I hope (Allen) continues to build on that, making sure we don’t go backward.”
jacob.carpenter@chron.com
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Houston ISD trustees break deadlock, choose longtime educator Allen as board president - Houston Chronicle
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