CLAY GILLENTINE HIRED AS THE NEW BRENHAM SUPERINTENDENT
The Brenham School Board officially hired Clay Gillentine as the next Superintendent at their noon meeting Thursday. Gillentine’s 3-year contract calls for an annual salary of $185,000. His pay falls within the bottom 25th percentile of pay for school districts of Brenham’s size.
Gillentine was named on March 7th as the lone finalist for the position. By law, the board has to wait 21 days after naming a lone finalist before it can move forward with hiring the selected candidate. Gillentine has served as acting superintendent since October, after the departure of former superintendent Dr. Tylor Chaplin. The hiring of Gillentine was the only thing on the agenda besides the public comment period, that no one signed up for.
BRENHAM ISD's PRESS RELEASE:
BRENHAM ISD BOARD UNANIMOUSLY NAMES CLAY GILLENTINE AS SUPERINTENDENT
BRENHAM, TX – March 28, 2024
Today, during a Special Board Meeting held at noon, the Brenham Independent School District (Brenham ISD) Board of Trustees proudly announced the appointment of Mr. Clay Gillentine as the Superintendent of Brenham ISD. The decision was reached unanimously by the board members, marking a significant milestone for the district.
In his remarks during the meeting, newly appointed Superintendent Clay Gillentine expressed his gratitude for the opportunity, acknowledging the significance of the day before Easter weekend and extending his heartfelt thanks to his family, the board, and the community. Mr. Gillentine emphasized his commitment to the district's mission and to prioritizing the well-being and education of all students. He shared, "I'll come to work every day like I'm interviewing for my job. And number two, I'm in the kid business. Kids come first. We are Brenham."
Board President Natalie Lange also addressed the occasion, thanking Mr. Gillentine for accepting the position and recognizing the dedication and leadership he has demonstrated throughout his tenure with the district. She commended his collaborative approach and the positive impact he has already made on the district, expressing confidence in his ability to lead Brenham ISD forward.
Mr. Gillentine, who has been serving as Acting Superintendent since October 2023, previously held the role of Assistant Superintendent of Administrative Services, where he showcased a profound commitment to enhancing the educational experience for all students.
Brenham ISD, with a current enrollment just under 5,000 students, eagerly anticipates Mr. Gillentine's official appointment as Superintendent following the state-mandated waiting period. The board and the entire Brenham ISD community extend their warmest congratulations to Mr. Gillentine on his appointment and look forward to continued collaboration and progress under his leadership.
Exact Quotes from Board Meeting 3.28
Youtube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-dBhcRN4ecBrenham ISD Board Meeting 3-28-2024 Regular Board Meeting
BISD Superintendent Clay Gillentine:
Let me just say a couple of things if I can insist on a couple of notes here. First of all, it's kind of neat. This is the day before Easter weekend. I'm a person of faith. And I want to thank God first and foremost for this opportunity. Secondly, to my wife and kiddo this this job is a family commitment. Wow, is it a family commitment and you know, I thought I knew being at this cabinet-level now for a decade and several school districts and as the superintendent's designee. You think you understand that and until you're you're in that seat and it's a whole other level. So it's a family commitment, and thank you, thank you, to my family, to this board. The way we've come together. Thank you. Thank you for this opportunity to this board in the community you represent. To the community you represent it say thank you. Lastly, to my team, I can't look at them. I can't even I can't even speak to Them. I'll get emotional. So just thank you. Two promises. Number one, my wife hears me say this every morning. I'll come to work every day like I'm interviewing for my job. And number two, I'm in the kid business. Kids come first. We are Brenham. Thank you
BISD Board President, Natalie Lange:
I'm sure I'm not the only one that wants to say something and I'll try not to get emotional too but thank you so much for agreeing to this position. It is so much and thank you to your family because it is a 24/7 365 days a year and it's I think got to be the hardest job in town and and lonely. There's only one superintendent and in the whole town and not that many in the state. So we appreciate you for any organization, especially at this size. Ideally, you promote from within, especially to that top position, and having this interim time you showed the board and the community a pivot that was essential and the job that you've done and the way that you've brought your team together and the community together is impressive, and we appreciate you and we're thrilled that you agree to this position. Let's sign on the dotted line and make it official.
So the Governor of Texas makes $153,750 per year and we pay our local superintendent $185,000 per year? Does that seem a bit off to anyone else besides me? Of note, the $185,000 per year comes before they start doing the 10-15% annual pay increases the school board likes to give out, while teachers earn the tiny little mid-point raises the board is famous for!
The governor also has basically no life expenses that he is paying for directly. Housing paid for by the use of the governor’s mansion… Foods covered…. Healthcare covered completely by taxpayers… Not to mention any speaking fee or lobbying income. This is not a realistic comparison.
In many ways, in this day and age, being a superintendent for a school district is an incredibly difficult job. Everyone is against you and usually never happy. In the private sector, a leader of a similar size organization as BISD would be making a lot more than $185k. I know of many companies where mid-level managers that are still a few levels below the top make more than that.
I appreciate the response, but as they are both public-sector jobs, I believe it to be a fair comparison. I should also note that my comments are not directly related to the new BISD superintendent as he is new to the job, and the salary offer came from the school board that WE elected. Private sector jobs normally have very strict and defined performance standards that create accountability to stockholders or business owners. Sadly, in the public sector and specifically education, we have seen declining test scores, high turnover, facilities that are poorly maintained, rising expenses, campus discipline failing, higher taxes, and an overall decline in the quality of public education. YET, we continue to pay more and more money for these PUBLIC sector jobs. It is time to rethink the entire public education system!
The trends you’ve mentioned are driven by structural demographic change which the school board does not control, lingering problems from COVID-era learning deficits which the school board does not control, inflationary pressures that the school board does not control, and what is now clearly an intentional decision on the part of state leaders to hold back on adjusting their contribution to public schools to remedy inflation. The school board does not control that either.
However, at the same time the school boards must be accountable to the state based on academic and fiscal standards set by the state government. When school districts fail, they get taken over.
State leadership wants you to think that these are local problems but this set of leaders has had a complete lock on political power for nearly a decade. The state leadership is completely in control and according to them BISD is doing just fine. We scored a 98 out of 100 for fiscal accountability. If the state’s accountability metrics are broken, the school board does not control that.
There is only one conclusion that can be made: state leadership has failed us. They feel invulnerable and are complacent and are no longer effectively accountable to the public. We need fresh blood and term limits.
Until that happens, possibly never, locally we need to pay competitive salaries to retain good talent. The new superintendent is in the bottom quartile of superintendent salaries statewide. We did fine on this hire. Staffing levels, job performance, salaries, and incentives should be reviewed for other positions too but BISD’s biggest problems all emanate from Austin.
You clearly have not been paying attention to the public funding going to these “public sector jobs”. There has been no increase in funding, which is why almost every public school district in the state is working on a deficit budget this year, as well as going into next year. Most voters believe the promises by candidates that say they are going to give money to schools, and then fail to do so. Local taxes have to be increased to allow the schools to even function with all the new requirements from the state. So yes it is time to rethink the entire public education system, by actually caring about the public education system. Teachers are working harder than ever and having to not only teach their subject matter, but also basic manners and ethics that are no longer taught at home. The day and school year is only so long, but teachers are forced to teach more than ever. All the while the governor is on an active campaign to further hurt public schools with his “school choice” program. It would be interesting if private sector jobs would be forced to do more with less, as it is with public education. But private sector has the ability to increase revenue or just say they are unable to do something. To put it in terms that makes sense, go to home builder and tell them you want a house build with everything you want, BUT then tell them you are going to only give the same funds needed in 2018 to build the house. After they say you are crazy and it is not possible, tell them they are a failure and need to rethink their whole system. Or see what they can actually do in the current year on that same budget, and you will start to grasp what public education is dealing with. Doing better starts with understanding better.
Great we have a new superintendent, with a nice pay raise! What about everyone else, who hasn’t seen a pay raise in 2 years! I know of about 15 teachers leaving the high school at school yearend!
Enlighten us, please. If things are that bad at the high school—and it’s probably not the only campus—then the public deserves to know.
And I hope that TASB will refund their fee for this search..Dan Troxell.. what do you say?
Sounds like this was an excellent choice and he will do well. Congratulations!
Citizens United for Brenham Schools congratulates and enthusiastically welcomes Clay Gillentine as the new Superintendent at BISD. Collaborative efforts like tutoring by community members including Blinn athletes are underway again at Krause and Brenham Elementary schools. Thank you Mr. Gillentine for your role in making this community collaboration a realty again!