David Simmons, the former RISD superintendent who abruptly left our district a year ago with a large severance package and was hired as Houston ISD’s chief officer over high schools, has resigned. You can read Ericka Mellon’s story in the Houston Chronicle here.
HISD Superintendent Terry Grier first announced that Simmons was on medical leave, referring to Simmons as “ill,” then a reader commenting to Mellon’s story noted that his job had been posted on the district’s job opening site. Grier then released Simmons’ letter of resignation, citing “unforeseen personal circumstances.” Simmons has been on the job about 4 months.
Simmons resigned effective Sept. 24, causing Houstonites to wonder how much pay he will receive during the summer he does not work and where that money will come from. Then again, questions about Simmons are nothing new. When Simmons left RISD, School Board President Kim Quirk chalked it up to differences in strategic vision while others hinted at alternate reasons. DMN’s Jeffrey Weiss did a masterful, if unsuccessful, job trying to ferret out an answer in this open letter to Simmons.
