Administrator turns down BISD curriculum job

Janna Hawkins, the former BISD administrator hired last week as assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction, resigned within days of getting the job, district officials confirmed Thursday.

The Brownsville Independent School District Board of Trustees hired Hawkins on March 2 by a 4-1-1 vote. She resigned March 5 without giving a reason, Susan Fox, assistant superintendent for human resources, said.

Hawkins had been area assistant superintendent of the Hanna Cluster of schools from 2006-2007. After leaving Brownsville, she became executive director of school improvement at the North East Independent School District in San Antonio, which with 65 schools is slightly larger than BISD. She was hired at a salary of $120,000.

The position at the Northwest district is roughly equivalent to the BISD position that Hawkins chose not to take, officials said.

BISD reposted the position for applicants on Monday and it will remain open until filled, Fox said.

Sixteen people applied for the position the first time it was posted, Fox said previously. It had been advertised since July.

Trustees Joe Colunga, Ruben Cortez Jr., Rolando Aguilar and Rick Zayas voted to hire Hawkins, with Minerva Peña abstaining and Catalina Presas-Garcia against.