Dear Mansfield ISD Family:

As I reflect on my ten years in Mansfield ISD, I cannot help but to be extremely proud of you for making sure our district is a great place to live, learn, and teach. Together, we have implemented systems and processes that have our students achieving at the highest levels of the Texas Education Agency’s accountabilitysystems.

Our district also has the heart and soul of servant leaders. We have the best Toys for Tots community drive in the country. We ensured that every child in the Hurricane Harvey-ravaged Bloomington ISD got a gift during the holidays, and we sent four 18-wheeler truckloads of baby wipes, diapers, and personal items to those communities to ease their suffering. We ring the bells for the Salvation Army. We feed kids in the summer and volunteer our time to charities.

We serve each other. When tragedy or illness strikes one of us or our families, we respond with kindness and generosity and empathy that is genuine and earnest. As a district family, we have grieved our losses together, and we have celebrated the many joyous occasions such as births of children and grandchildren, graduations, weddings, and anniversaries. We regularly honor and remember our loved ones through our Colors for Caring initiative. We care about each other, and we care about our students.

Typical of most families, we disagree and even argue. We compromise and find common ground. We sacrifice and share the load. At the end of the year, we are ready for time away. Yet, when we come back together for each new year, we celebrate our reunion with hugs, laughter, and dancing at convocation. We truly are better together.

I love Mansfield ISD! However, in my heart, I believe it is time for this wonderful district to have new leadership. Therefore, I plan to retire, effective February 5, 2020, to make way for the next superintendent.

MISD will continue to move forward, and there is much work to be completed. We must develop and implement the best social-emotional learning program in the country to address the many challenges our students face. We must develop and implement our Vision 2025, which will produce graduates who are truly college, career, and life ready. Through our work in the Texas Education Agency’s Lone Star Governance exemplar cohort, we have an opportunity to model and share our successful programs across our state. In addition, we must develop school choice opportunities in the northern parts of our district. These initiatives are in progress and will take us to the next level.

I pledge to make this transition smooth and fully trust that the amazing MISD School Board will find the best leader for this district who will fulfill the needs of students, staff, and the community.

Respectfully,
Jim Vaszauskas Superintendent of Schools

School board president, Karen Marcucci also wrote a letter to the community addressing Dr. Vaszauskas’ resignation. Marcucci’s letter is included below.

June 20, 2019
To the Mansfield ISD Community:

As he so eloquently stated in his letter to the community, Superintendent Dr. Jim Vaszauskas has decided to retire as superintendent in February. On behalf of the Mansfield ISD School Board, I thank him for his selfless service to our students, staff, parents, and community.

Dr. Vaszauskas has devoted his life to public school education for 37 years. He has served as an English teacher, coach, assistant principal, principal, assistant superintendent, associate superintendent, and superintendent. He came to Mansfield ISD in 2009 as superintendent of curriculum and instruction. In 2013, the Board named him interim superintendent and later promoted him to the superintendent of schools.

Dr. Vaszauskas will leave a remarkable legacy. Because of his outstanding leadership, he was named the 2017 Region 11 Superintendent of the Year and a top five finalist for the 2017 Texas Superintendent of theYear award. Our district received an “A” from the Texas Education Agency under his guidance. He hasalso realized tangible ways to track student progress, taught our educators how to focus on their “one thing” to aid in the success of students, and implemented strategic visioning though the use of Vision 2020.

He is a proud resident and active member of the MISD community. He serves as president of the Mansfield Sunrise Rotary Club, a member of the Mansfield Chamber of Commerce Board, the MISD Education Foundation Board, and as president-elect of the Methodist Mansfield Medical Center Advisory Board.

I am proud to have served on the Board that appointed Dr. Vaszauskas as superintendent. He has exceeded my expectations. While we will never be able to replace him, I am confident that we will be able to find another great leader who will continue to prioritize student success.

The MISD School Board is currently establishing a process for hiring the next superintendent. We will be discussing our next steps at the next regular board meeting on Tuesday, June 25. We are committed to approach this task in a thoughtful and transparent manner.

Dr. Vaszauskas will be greatly missed, and we wish him all the best. Our charge as a school board is to provide stability in this time of transition. We are committed to continue our work to focus on student outcomes and maintain a tradition of excellence.

Sincerely,
Karen Marcucci
Mansfield ISD School Board President