Bill Rojas
Waldemar "Bill" Rojas is a former superintendent at the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) and the Dallas Independent School District (DISD).
Early career
[edit]In 1968 began his education career in the New York City Board of Education (NYCBOE), beginning as a teacher and rising to the chancellor's executive assistant.[1] After becoming head of SFUSD, in 1994 President of the United States Bill Clinton appointed him to the Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans.[2] In 1999 Bess Keller of Education Week described Rojas as "peppery".[3]
Dallas Independent School District
[edit]He began his term as DISD superintendent on August 1, 1999.[4] The hiring vote on April 22, 1999, by the DISD board was unanimous.[3] His salary was $260,000, the highest of any U.S. school superintendent.[5]
The relationship with the board deteriorated after he publicly criticized two board members at a news conference after it rejected his proposal to have Edison Schools operate schools.[6] The board called a special meeting on whether to fire him, and Rojas chose to go on vacation to see his family, publicly defending himself and stating he would not resign.[5] He was fired effective July 5, 2000.[4] The vote to remove him was seven to one. He announced plans to file a lawsuit accusing two board members of defaming him, but received a settlement of $135,000,[6] after the DISD board agreed to do so in 2002.[7] This is on top of a $90,000 severance package.[8]
Rojas maintained that he had a positive impact on the district during his tenure.[6]
Post-DISD
[edit]After his DISD tenure he became the vice president of Advantage Schools. Circa 2012 he resided in the state of Florida.[6]
References
[edit]- ^ "Dr. Waldemar "Bill" Rojas". Hispanic Border Leadership Institute. Arizona State University. Retrieved 2019-10-23.
- ^ "PRESIDENT NAMES WALDEMAR ROJAS TO THE PRESIDENT'S ADVISORY COMMISSION ON EDUCATIONAL EXCELLENCE FOR HISPANIC AMERICANS". Office of the Press Secretary, the White House. 1994-11-17. Retrieved 2019-10-23.
- ^ a b Keller, Bess (1999-05-05). "Rojas To Leave S.F. District for Top Dallas Job". Education Week. Retrieved 2019-10-23.
- ^ a b Chávez, Stella M. (2013-09-06). "Recent Dallas Schools Superintendents Haven't Stayed Long On The Job". KERA. Retrieved 2019-10-22. - Has detailed dates of superintendents from Chad Wollery to Mike Miles, but does not include people who only served as interim superintendents.
- ^ a b Brazil, Eric (2000-06-15). "Ex-S.F. school chief under fire in Dallas". San Francisco Examiner. Retrieved 2019-10-23.
- ^ a b c d "Past Dallas schools chiefs leave mixed legacies". The Dallas Morning News. 2012-03-31. Retrieved 2019-10-23.
- ^ Chadde, Sky (2014-06-06). "Ousted Fort Worth Superintendent's Parachute Is Really Golden Even by Dallas ISD Standards". Dallas Observer. Retrieved 2019-10-23.
- ^ Williams, Patrick (2000-07-13). "Buzz". Dallas Observer. Retrieved 2019-10-23.
External links
[edit]- "DISD superintendent [sic] Bill Rojas sets goals, requests community involvement". Advocate Lakewood/East Dallas. 1999-09-01.
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