HISD's high school chief resigns
David Simmons, Houston ISD's chief officer over high schools, officially has resigned, citing "unforeseen personal circumstances," four months after Superintendent Terry Grier hired him for the $165,000-a-year job. Here's the catch: Simmons' official resignation date isn't until Sept. 24, though he's not expected to work through then.
HISD spokesman Norm Uhl explains that Simmons has accrued leave time from working in other Texas school districts — he abruptly resigned as superintendent of Richardson ISD in August. Uhl wasn't sure whether HISD or the state has to foot the bill for Simmons' salary for the next three months. When former HISD Superintendent Abelardo Saavedra left, HISD taxpayers were on the hook for half-a-million dollars in unused time off.
Uhl asked that I submit a formal open records request to find out how much, if any, HISD will have to pay for Simmons' second abrupt resignation. We hope to get the information soon (hint, hint, HISD).
Simmons submitted a four-sentence resignation letter to Grier dated June 17: