CFISD BOARD ANNOUNCES FINALIST FOR NEW SUPERINTENDENT

Following a nationwide search to find the next superintendent of schools for the Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District (CFISD), the Board of Trustees announced during its March 8 meeting that it had chosen current McKinney ISD (MISD) Superintendent Dr. David G. Anthony as the sole finalist for the position.

The announcement made by Board President William O’Brien came on the heels of an extensive search process that included input from the Cy-Fair community and district employees to develop a candidate profile that reflected the characteristics and qualifications desired of the next CFISD superintendent.

With assistance from Bracewell and Patterson, L.L.P.— the firm contracted to conduct the search for highly qualified superintendent candidates, trustees narrowed their quest from a field of 39 applicants and conducted a series of interviews with the top candidates to choose the person that would best serve as the district’s lead administrator.

According to Dr. O’Brien, “Dr. Anthony is confident, intelligent, and has a strong sense of mission. He recognizes the strengths of this district, our culture and the Cy-Fair community and wants to build on our success. As a superintendent of schools, he is experienced in addressing the challenges of rapid student enrollment growth, changing demographics, and rising academic standards.  The Board was in agreement in naming Dr. Anthony as the district’s sole finalist.”

As per state guidelines for hiring a superintendent, the district must now wait three weeks before officially naming the finalist as superintendent of schools. Texas law requires the Board to give public notice of the name or names of the finalists being considered for superintendent at least 21 days prior to the date of the meeting at which a final action or vote is to be taken on the employment of the person.

“ When researching the district, I talked to graduates, former teachers, and former administrators and there were common threads expressed about Cypress-Fairbanks. One was excellence and the other was a strong sense of pride.” And he went on to say that he was looking forward to working with one of the best staffs ever assembled in the state if not the nation.

Dr. Anthony, 51, earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Secondary Education from East Texas Baptist College in 1974 and a Master of Education in Administration and Supervision from Northwestern State University in 1977. He completed the requirements and received his Doctor of Education degree in Secondary Education with emphasis on Administration and Supervision from NSU in 1986.

He began his career as a teacher at Florien High School in Florien, La. in 1974 and later became principal of Converse High School in Converse, La. in 1978. Dr. Anthony accepted his first job as superintendent with the High Island Independent School District in 1987 and served as superintendent for Mt. Pleasant ISD and Texas City ISD before he was named as superintendent for McKinney ISD in 1999.

With an enrollment of nearly 17,000 students, the McKinney school district is located near Dallas and is currently among the fastest growing school districts in Texas. Having to deal with similar issues in MISD that have significantly impacted CFISD— rapid student enrollment, rigorous accountability standards and the increasing financial demands associated with those challenges, Dr. Anthony is no stranger to critical status of the public education system today and how those challenges affect students, teachers and staff.

During his time in MISD, Dr. Anthony led the district to achieve its first “Recognized” rating from the Texas Education Agency and successfully rallied community support for a $298.5 million dollar bond election that passed in February 2000. In the last four years, he has overseen the planning, construction and opening of eight new campuses with two more schools currently under construction and scheduled to open in August 2004.  In addition, the district completed a comprehensive renovation project under his leadership to ensure that the oldest schools in MISD supported and facilitated an equal educational opportunity for all students district-wide.

His successes in MISD has gained Dr. Anthony a respected reputation with many public education officials from across the state. In her endorsement of Dr. Anthony for CFISD superintendent, Texas’s new Commissioner for Education Dr. Shirley Neeley said, “He is a man who is not afraid to do the right thing. He is honest and candid.” She added that Cypress-Fairbanks is a “premier district in the state” and considered Dr. Anthony an outstanding candidate to lead the district.

Professionally, Dr. Anthony is a member of the American Association of School Administrators (AASA), the Texas Association of School Administrators (TASA), American Association of Supervision and Curriculum Development, Texas Association of Supervision and Curriculum Development, as well as the Phi Delta Kappa fraternity. He was chosen by TASA to serve as a mentor superintendent as part of the organization’s Learning for Leadership program. In 1993, he was named president of the Northeast Texas Educators Club while also serving as TASA district membership chairman.

Dr. Anthony is actively involved in community projects and organizations as well. He is currently a member of the North Texas Medical Center, The Chamber of McKinney and Volunteer McKinney board of directors and also serves as director with the Rotary Club of McKinney. He previously served as chairman of the City of McKinney External Affordable Housing Committee in 2001 and served a two-year term on the board of directors for the Heard Science Museum. Additionally, Dr. Anthony has been a member of The Crosspoint Church of McKinney since 1999 and enjoys participating in church activities.

Dr. Anthony and his wife Jane have been married for 31 years and have two adult sons, Derek, 28, and Jared, 25. The couple currently resides in McKinney, Texas.