At Thursday’s special-called board meeting, the Irving ISD Board of Trustees named Weldon Hafley the interim superintendent for Irving ISD. Hafley, who retired in 2006 as superintendent of Eagle Mountain-Saginaw ISD (EM-S ISD), has served as an interim superintendent for three north Texas school districts since 2008. His previous interim superintendent posts were in Azle (2008), Eagle Mountain-Saginaw (2010) and Lake Worth (2013).
“Mr. Hafley has proven to be a strong leader during times of transition,” said Board President Dr. Steven Jones. “To me, the fact that Eagle Mountain-Saginaw brought him back to serve as an interim in 2010 speaks volumes for the kind of man and leader he is. I’m confident his experience is exactly what we need to keep the district moving forward.”
In addition to leading EM-S ISD as superintendent from 2002 to 2006, Hafley worked in the district for another 28 years, working his way up from the classroom and basketball court to administrative positions. His positions included assistant principal, principal and assistant superintendent for human resources. His campus leadership positions in EM-S spanned all grades, as he worked at the elementary, middle school, and high school levels. Prior to the Eagle Mountain-Saginaw district, Hafley worked as a teacher and basketball coach in both Denison and Azle.
Hafley, a veteran of the United States Army who served in Vietnam, also worked as Director of Veteran Affairs at Tarrant County College in the early 70s. He is a life member of the Texas Association of School Administrators and has served on the board of directors for the Texas Association of Secondary School Principals and the EM-S ISD Educational Foundation. He is also a member of the Rotary Club and the Saginaw Area Chamber of Commerce, where he served as president in the late 90s.
Hafley will serve as Irving ISD’s interim superintendent until the Board of Trustees hires a new person for the district’s top job. Within the next month, the school board plans to hire a superintendent search firm to help identify top educational leaders to be considered for the job.
