Alief ISD Newly Hired Superintendent DOES NOT have a Superintendent Certification

Student outcomes here in Alief won’t improve until the adult behaviors of our leadership changes. 

Greetings, Damon Barone, Alief ISD parent, taxpayer, and alumnus.

From March 01, 2022 until November 08, 2022 Trustee Lily Truong ran for a Texas House of Representative District 149 position for the second time while sitting on Alief ISD’s school board. 

After losing her election on November 08, 2022 to Hubert Vo, Alief Board Trustee Ann Williams nominated Lily Truong to serve as the Boards Vice President, which the board unanimously voted yes to. 

I question how trustees who do not want to serve on Alief’s School Board continue to be lifted into board leadership positions on the board. There is no formalized contingency plan if those who have no desire to be here and quit during the middle of their school board term, or were to become elected to other public positions which they campaigned for while seated on Alief ISD School Board.  

8 months after signing a 3-year contract (August 24, 2021) for nearly $400,000 per year, Superintendent Henry David Chambers Jr. abruptly announced on April 19, 2022 that he would be retiring on December 31, 2022, from being the district’s superintendent. Four months after his April 19, 2022 announcement, Superintendent Chambers quit on August 31, 2022, in the middle of the 2022-2023 academic school year. 

To add fuel to the fire on November 09, 2022 Alief ISD’s School Board voted to hire Anthony T. Mays as Alief ISD’s next Superintendent to replace HD Chambers. I did an open records request on Mr. May’s superintendent application and resume, and found out that he does not even possess a superintendent certification yet. Mr. Mays indicated to the Alief ISD School Board that he is in the process of earning his superintendent certification. 

How is Anthony Mays the best qualified candidate to be Alief ISD’s next Superintendent if he is still working on obtaining his certification? Then to find out from JG Consulting (the district’s superintendent search firm) that Alief ISD’s School Board did not require applicants to have a superintendent certification as a minimum qualification, and are posed to approve a certification waiver for Mr. Mays during the December 13, 2022 school board meeting, in closed executive session. 

I question if Anthony Mays being selected by the board as the lone finalist is because he worked at the Harris County Department of Education (HCDE) with School Board President Darlene Elizabeth Breaux, and Board Vice President Lily Truong?  

Or maybe Mr. Mays was selected because he is the Vice Chairman of the Texas Alliance of Black School Educators (TABSE) with immediate past School Board President Ann Williams and current Board President Darlene Elizabeth Breaux? 

I think the public should know who is capable of serving as the districts next superintendent, Alief ISD’s very own Gina Tomas, Kathy Jahn, Charles Woods, and Ava Montgomery who already has her Superintendent certification, and doesn’t need a waiver to do the job here in Alief.  

The School Board is always talking about growing our own teachers but the district insists on importing all of our leadership positions, or cherry-picking leaders who in turn are indebted to owing favors, and kickbacks. 

Student outcomes here in Alief won’t improve until the adult behaviors of our leadership changes. 

Damon Barone, Alief ISD parent, taxpayer, and alumnus.