HISD board could name Dr. Grenita Lathan as lone candidate in superintendent search

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — Dr. Grenita Lathan has been shepherding Houston ISD for a while – two-and-a-half years to be exact – as its interim superintendent.

The HISD Board of Trustees appears to be heading towards resolving the job search for the superintendent role. And according to the agenda for the board’s meeting Thursday, trustees are considering whether to name Lathan as the lone candidate for the position.

The board could also consider resuming the search for the position, which was suspended back in February 2019, if Lathan isn’t named permanent superintendent.

Lathan was appointed by unanimous approval to the interim role back on March 22, 2018, in the wake of former HISD superintendent Richard Carranza’s departure.

But later that year, the board replaced Lathan with Dr. Abe Saavedra, who was previously HISD’s superintendent from 2004 to 2009. That decision to Saavedra was short lived. During the same week that trustees voted to replace Lathan, the board reversed the decision and kept her in the role.

Since her appointment, she oversaw the ongoing growth of Texas’ largest school district in the face of multiple issues during her tenure so far. The district was under threat of a state takeover after 21 HISD schools received “F” ratings from the Texas Education Agency.

And in the last year, she worked to manage educational operations during the COVID-19 pandemic, facing the challenges of getting children access to remote learning devices and keeping students, teachers and staff protected from the virus.

Lathan has been with HISD since 2015. She was appointed to interim superintendent from chief academic officer.