Regional Winners Announced for 2024 Superintendent of the Year Award

Austin— The Texas Association of School Boards (TASB) is pleased to announce that 18 education leaders from across the state have been named regional nominees in the annual Superintendent of the Year (SOTY) awards competition.  

The regional winners were selected by committees at each education service center (ESC), which review the nominating applications from their area. The process to select a Superintendent of the Year begins when local school boards that are active members of TASB decide to nominate their superintendent, who must be a member of the Texas Association of School Administrators.   

“On behalf of TASB, we’re grateful for all of the member school boards that took the time and effort to nominate their superintendent, which includes a lengthy application,” said Dan Troxell, TASB executive director. “We also appreciate the hard work and dedication of the ESCs, which set up committees to review every nomination and to select a regional winner. We could not have such a successful Superintendent of the Year program without the participation and commitment of these regional committees.” 

To nominate their superintendent, school boards must pass an official resolution endorsing their superintendent in addition to completing a lengthy application. These nominations are then reviewed by a committee from each ESC, which selects a regional winner based on leadership skills, dedication to improving educational quality, student performance, and commitment to public involvement in education.  

These regional winners will advance to the next phase of the competition in August, when a committee of the TASB Board conducts interviews to select five state finalists. Those finalists will then undergo another round of interviews before the winner of the SOTY award is announced at txEDCON, scheduled this year for Sept. 27-29 in San Antonio.   

This year’s regional superintendents of the year, in order of ESC, are listed below:

• Region 1: Gonzalo Salazar, Los Fresnos CISD 
• Region 2: Michelle Cavazos, Gregory-Portland ISD 
• Region 3: Bill Chapman*, Palacios ISD 
• Region 4: John Moore, Galena Park ISD 
• Region 5: Mike Kelly, Bridge City ISD
• Region 6: Nicole Poenitzsch, Bellville ISD 
• Region 7: Carnelius Gilder, West Sabine ISD 
• Region 8: Sarah Dildine, Hughes Springs ISD 
• Region 9: Brad Owen, Burkburnett ISD 
• Region 10: Justin Terry, Forney ISD 
• Region 11: Kimberley Cantu, Mansfield ISD 
• Region 12: Darryl Henson, Marlin ISD 
• Region 13: Steven Snell, Liberty Hill ISD 
• Region 15: Joe Young, Brownwood ISD 
• Region 16: Wade Callaway, Gruver ISD 
• Region 18: Brent Jaco, Pecos-Barstow-Toyah ISD 
• Region 19: Oscar Troncoso, Anthony ISD 
• Region 20: Eduardo Hernandez, Edgewood ISD-Bexar County 

 *Nominated by Palacios ISD but now serving in London ISD.