Grapevine-Colleyville Independent School District’s (GCISD) Board of Trustees picked a lone finalist for the superintendent position at a school board meeting Monday night.
Interim Superintendent Brad Schnautz was selected to replace Robin Ryan, who served his last day at the district’s helm on January 1, 2023, after announcing his planned retirement just a few months before.
As previously reported in The Dallas Express, Ryan’s departure came on the heels of a raucous year at GCISD, where contentious school board meetings over policy changes animated parents and community members.
Schnautz took over Ryan’s responsibilities when he stepped down, running the district while the Board of Trustees reviewed a pool of candidates put together by the superintendent search company Leasor Crass.
“His previous experience as a superintendent in another district as well as his time as our deputy superintendent and interim superintendent make him uniquely suited to fulfill this role. He has always shown a great understanding of our community values and has a work ethic that is second to none,” said Board President Casey Ford, per a GCISD news release.
Schnautz has worked at GCISD for six years. Before his employment there, he served as superintendent at Lexington Independent School District in Central Texas. He also has years of experience as an educator in the classroom and as a campus administrator.
“GCISD and this community are extremely special to my family and me,” said Schnautz, per the news release. “My children are all involved in activities in our community, and my wife and I volunteer and serve in the GCISD community because we absolutely love it. We are completely invested in this wonderful community, and it is home. We hope to be here for many years to come.”
Schnautz will be inheriting one of the better-performing districts in North Texas.
GCISD’s on-time graduation rate last school year was 95.7%, almost six points over the statewide average and well above nearby Dallas Independent School District’s rate, where despite the hard work of its dedicated teachers, the big-budget district only managed to graduate 81.1% of its Class of 2022 in four years.
