SAN ANTONIO – Northside ISD Superintendent Dr. Brian Woods is leaving the district he’s led after 11 years.
KSAT anchor Steve Spriester sat down with Woods, who expressed his emotions as he leaves a school district he’s been a part of for 30 years.
“You know, it’s just a hard thing. You walk away from people you’ve worked with for more than 30 years. It’s a hard thing to do. And you feel to some degree, you feel like you’re letting them down... [but] I know I’ve made the right decision,” Woods said.
Woods addressed people who believe his retirement will be a loss of presence, as he was widely known as a public school advocate.
“That’s part of the group that you hate to let down. What I say to those people is that John Kraft, my successor, will step into those shoes. I’ll continue to do that work, just in a different organization with a slightly different role. But I think that work is important and it’s become in the last 11 years my lifes work,” Woods said.
Woods said starting in July he will continue to use his voice of advocacy with a new organization, the Texas Association of School Administration, who he has worked with in the past.
“Fantastic organization! A part of what they do is this advocacy work, and that is what I’m gonna be hired to do. I am really looking forward to it. It’ll be a great transition for me,” Woods said.
Woods shared what he believes is a challenge that faces public schools in Texas.
“The things I don’t feel so good about are less to do directly with schools and more to do with the kind of policy and political environment that’s schools operate in,” he said, adding that he didn’t “feel good about the kind of tribal nature of politics in our state and nation. I feel it does negative work for schools.”
Woods went on to discuss deficits many schools are running on across the state of Texas, actions the Legislature must take, and school safety in the wake of the Uvalde shooting.
Watch the full Spriester Sessions interview in the video player above.