FORNEY, Texas – The Forney Independent School District's Board of Trustees will hold a special meeting on Thursday, May 15, 2014, to discuss their options for hiring a new superintendent after Superintendent Michael Holland announced his resignation yesterday, May 12, 2014.
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Holland was named the lone finalist for the Executive Director role at the Region VI Education Service Center in Huntsville, Texas, and would not leave the district until late summer – after the 2013-14 school year.
In just three short years with the district, Holland helped restore the financial stability of the district, brought the fund balance to a positive $4 million from a $5 million deficit, guided the district through a flood at Forney High School and a tornado at Crosby Elementary, and was named Citizen of the Year for 2014 from the Forney Chamber of Commerce.
The Forney Independent School issued the following press release on May 13, 2014:
Forney Independent School District Superintendent Michael Holland has been named the lone finalist for the Executive Director position with the Region VI Education Service Center (ESC) in Huntsville, Texas. The Region VI ESC supports 57 school districts in 15 counties in the piney woods region of southeast Texas. School districts serviced by the Region VI ESC include Conroe ISD, Huntsville ISD, Magnolia ISD, Montgomery ISD and Shepherd ISD. In total, more than 150,000 students attend Region VI Schools which employ more than 21,000 educators.
Holland joined Forney ISD in August of 2011. Prior to being named the Superintendent in Forney ISD, he was the Director for Program Improvement with Region VI ESC and the former superintendent with Magnolia ISD in the Houston, Texas area.
“It has been a true blessing to be a part of Forney ISD for the past three years,” Holland said. “I believe God led me here for a number of reasons and one of those was to have the opportunity to work with some of the most professional and dedicated people I have ever had the pleasure of working with throughout my career in education. With the help of the Board of Trustees, an outstanding staff and a great community, we were able to accomplish a number of things during my time here. Forney ISD is a great District and I have complete faith it will continue to grow and progress to be the best District it can be for the students and staff.”
Holland joined Forney ISD when the District discovered it had been overfunded by the Texas Education Agency (TEA) more than $13 million for inaccurate student enrollment figures between 2008 and 2011. In the fall of 2011, the District agreed to pay back the TEA over a five year period. At the time, the District was already dealing with a $5 million deficit.
In 2013, the Forney ISD Board of Trustees and District administrators received information from the District’s external auditors, Whitley Penn that the District had an operating surplus. Within just two short years and three years ahead of schedule, the District had improved from an operating deficit of more than $5 million to a positive fund balance of more than $4 million.
While leading Forney ISD out of financial difficulty, Holland led the District through a number of crisis situations including a flood at Forney High School that submerged more than 80 percent of the school and a tornado that nearly destroyed Crosby Elementary School. In neither situation were any students or staff injured and the quality of education in Forney ISD was never impaired.
Since coming to Forney ISD, Holland took on several community leadership roles including the Forney Leadership Council which is comprised of leaders from the City of Forney, the Forney Economic Development Council, the Forney Independent School District and the Forney Chamber of Commerce. He was also a member of the Forney Lions Club and one of the main organizers for the Forney Leadership Class where he conducted a leadership program for individuals who are, or who are seeking leadership roles in the Forney community.
In 2013, Holland worked with the Forney ISD Board of Trustees to raise funds through a charity golf tournament to award scholarships to one graduating student from Forney High School and one from North Forney High School.
For all of his efforts with the District and the community, the Forney Chamber of Commerce named him the Citizen of the Year for 2014.
The Forney ISD Board of Trustees will hold a special board meeting on Thursday, May 15 to discuss options regarding a new superintendent and then hold their regular monthly board meeting on Monday, May 19, 2014.
In just three short years with the district, Holland helped restore the financial stability of the district, brought the fund balance to a positive $4 million from a $5 million deficit, guided the district through a flood at Forney High School and a tornado at Crosby Elementary, and was named Citizen of the Year for 2014 from the Forney Chamber of Commerce.
The Forney Independent School issued the following press release on May 13, 2014:
Forney Independent School District Superintendent Michael Holland has been named the lone finalist for the Executive Director position with the Region VI Education Service Center (ESC) in Huntsville, Texas. The Region VI ESC supports 57 school districts in 15 counties in the piney woods region of southeast Texas. School districts serviced by the Region VI ESC include Conroe ISD, Huntsville ISD, Magnolia ISD, Montgomery ISD and Shepherd ISD. In total, more than 150,000 students attend Region VI Schools which employ more than 21,000 educators.
Holland joined Forney ISD in August of 2011. Prior to being named the Superintendent in Forney ISD, he was the Director for Program Improvement with Region VI ESC and the former superintendent with Magnolia ISD in the Houston, Texas area.
“It has been a true blessing to be a part of Forney ISD for the past three years,” Holland said. “I believe God led me here for a number of reasons and one of those was to have the opportunity to work with some of the most professional and dedicated people I have ever had the pleasure of working with throughout my career in education. With the help of the Board of Trustees, an outstanding staff and a great community, we were able to accomplish a number of things during my time here. Forney ISD is a great District and I have complete faith it will continue to grow and progress to be the best District it can be for the students and staff.”
Holland joined Forney ISD when the District discovered it had been overfunded by the Texas Education Agency (TEA) more than $13 million for inaccurate student enrollment figures between 2008 and 2011. In the fall of 2011, the District agreed to pay back the TEA over a five year period. At the time, the District was already dealing with a $5 million deficit.
In 2013, the Forney ISD Board of Trustees and District administrators received information from the District’s external auditors, Whitley Penn that the District had an operating surplus. Within just two short years and three years ahead of schedule, the District had improved from an operating deficit of more than $5 million to a positive fund balance of more than $4 million.
While leading Forney ISD out of financial difficulty, Holland led the District through a number of crisis situations including a flood at Forney High School that submerged more than 80 percent of the school and a tornado that nearly destroyed Crosby Elementary School. In neither situation were any students or staff injured and the quality of education in Forney ISD was never impaired.
Since coming to Forney ISD, Holland took on several community leadership roles including the Forney Leadership Council which is comprised of leaders from the City of Forney, the Forney Economic Development Council, the Forney Independent School District and the Forney Chamber of Commerce. He was also a member of the Forney Lions Club and one of the main organizers for the Forney Leadership Class where he conducted a leadership program for individuals who are, or who are seeking leadership roles in the Forney community.
In 2013, Holland worked with the Forney ISD Board of Trustees to raise funds through a charity golf tournament to award scholarships to one graduating student from Forney High School and one from North Forney High School.
For all of his efforts with the District and the community, the Forney Chamber of Commerce named him the Citizen of the Year for 2014.
The Forney ISD Board of Trustees will hold a special board meeting on Thursday, May 15 to discuss options regarding a new superintendent and then hold their regular monthly board meeting on Monday, May 19, 2014.