Dallas ISD Superintendent Hinojosa’s Last Day is July 5

Michael Hinojosa’s last day with Dallas ISD will be July 5, following his previous plan to stick around until December 31 as emeritus superintendent.

Hinojosa’s plans were announced during the June 23 school board meeting, the last meeting before the district breaks for summer. The agenda originally had an item that would’ve turned Hinojosa into a consultant but that item was removed, and an item calling for an executive session to discuss the resignation of the superintendent, as well as another to vote on said resignation, were added.

Following the executive session, Hinojosa gave his superintendent report and thanked the district for giving him the opportunity to serve the second largest district in Texas after two stints.

“I want to thank you for your support, thank you for your courage, and there’s been a lot of great work done,” Hinojosa said. “I want to thank you for having the wherewithal to go through some difficult times to now be able to help our students improve their success significantly.”

The school board approved his resignation unanimously.

The district’s new superintendent Stephanie Elizalde officially starts July 1, right before Hinojosa’s exit. However, Hinojosa told the Dallas Morning News that while he and Elizalde worked closely together during her 10-year tenure as chief of school leadership, she’s ready to take on the job alone and he has been working to transition her in the meantime. 

Community members have been hinting at a potential mayoral run for Hinojosa against incumbent Mayor Eric Johnson. His original agreement with the district’s board of trustees said he couldn’t run for office while an employee of the district, and if he wanted to do so, he’d have to leave earlier. However, Hinojosa has not confirmed any plans to run.