At a meeting held the evening of Monday, April 15, the Whitney Independent School District (WISD) Board of Trustees selected a lone finalist in the search for a new superintendent as John McCullough prepares to retire.
Todd Southard of Pilot Point was selected as the top candidate. Southard is in his 27th year in education, having served as a teacher, coach, assistant principal, principal, and most recently as superintendent of Pilot Point ISD.
Southard was raised in Whitesboro and has been married to his wife, Jodi, for 22 years. He received his superintendent certification from the University of Texas at Tyler in 2009, as well as a Master of Science in Educational Administration at Texas A&M in 2002 and a Bachelor of Arts in English at Southeastern Oklahoma State University in 1997.
Some highlights of Southard’s tenure as superintendent of Pilot Point ISD include the passage of a $38.4 million bond; the extensive expansion and renovation of school facilities; the establishment of a police department for the ISD and sweeping security advancements; increasing starting teacher pay, as well as restructuring the pay scale for teachers, aides and administrators, with increases for all; making great efforts to build morale and community across the district utilizing slogans, weekly features of staff and students, creating multiple new programs and polishing the school’s online presence; adding several new sports programs and acquiring additional funds for athletic and band departments; adding 10 new buses to the district’s fleet and more.
Over the course of his career, Southard has also served at Anna, Silverton, Terrell, Gunter and Van Alstyne ISDs.
The board’s action begins the required 21-day waiting period before Southard can officially be named superintendent.
The Lakelander 