CHANNELVIEW – The Channelview ISD school board voted at their regular meeting last Tuesday night, not to extend the contract with the current school superintendent, Greg Ollis, when it expires in February 2023. It is not known whether they will decide to terminate it any earlier than that period.
The vote was 5 not to extend the contract, and 2 for extending it. Against the extension were Trustees Patrick Lacy, board president, Raquel Dobbins, Shumana Collins, Hector Martinez, and Frank Bryant. In favor of extending the contract were Alex Ybarra and Kent Wilson.
The move for termination was extremely unpopular in the community and on social media, with 29 persons speaking at the meeting, most of them against the motion.
Trustees that voted not to extend indicated that they “wanted a new direction” and a new superintendent. There was some discussion about whether the students were getting an adequate education, with Trustee Collins stating that 60% of the students tested as illiterate. However, the TEA rates the district as a B, indicating adequate performance, and the latest evaluation of Ollis’ performance rated him at 3.34, above average for the state.
Ollis and his wife Cindi, the high school principal now retired, are lifelong educators. Ollis has been employed by the District for over 29 years, at first as a teacher and then in the administration. Prior to Channelview, he was a coach and teacher in the Galena Park district. He was appointed at Superintendent in August 2008.
During that tenure, he has overseen two successful Bond issues that provided new school and renovated facilities to meet the challenges of rapid growth in the district. The Bond issue in 2009 was for $111 million, and then in 2019 another bond issue, for $195 million was passed. This money is currently being used for expansion of facilities and new construction.
In addition to his educational duties, Ollis is active in community organizations, including past chairman of the North Channel Area Chamber of Commerce, and active member of the North Shore Rotary Club.