BISD superintendent takes position in Waxahachie

Dr. Jerry Hollingsworth announced last Tuesday, July 20, that he will be taking a position as Superintendent for Waxahachie Independent School District (ISD) and leaving his position as superintendent for Bandera Independent School District (BISD), effective for the coming school year.

“My wife, Ginger, our sons, and I have had the honor and privilege of working and serving in this amazing community over the past three years,” Hollingsworth wrote in a letter addressed to the Bandera ISD Community and shared publicly on Facebook.

In a July 21 letter, BISD School Board President Brittany Hicks said she expects the board to name an interim superintendent on August 9, 2021, which will be Dr. Hollingsworth’s last board meeting.

“I would like to wish Dr. Hollingsworth the best in his new endeavors and thank him for his leadership over the past three years. BISD was fortunate to have him as our superintendent,” Hicks wrote.

Waxahachie ISD is a public school district located in the city of Waxahachie, Texas. which is the county seat for Ellis County, which is located just south just beyond the southern suburbs of Dallas and is part of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex.

Waxahachie’s estimated population in 2019 was listed at 37,988, and records from the Texas Education Agency said there were 9,769 students enrolled in their school district for the 2020-21 school year.

Hollingsworth will replace Bonny Cain, whose 2020-2021 salary was listed in TEA records as $215,000 annually. Hollingsworth made $149,500 at BISD, which TEA listed as having 2,218 students enrolled for the most recent school year.

In his letter, Hollingsworth stated he was the lone finalist for the Waxahachie position.

“As is required in Texas, after 21 days, the Board there plans to act to officially hire me for that role,” he said.

Dr. Hollingsworth started as BISD’s Superintendent in August of 2018, and his contract was ultimately extended by the board to 2023 last January.

That extension also saw a pay raise for Hollingsworth from 145,000 to $149,000.

Before coming to Bandera, Hollingsworth was the associate superintendent for the 12,000-student Burleson Independent School District in the Ft. Worth area.

Before that, he served as executive director of instructional leadership in the Grapevine-Colleyville Independent School District and as the high school principal in both Grapevine and Stephenville.

Hollingsworth has also served as a junior high school and high school teacher.