Navarro ISD welcomes back Dee Carter as interim superintendent
7 Feb 2023
Seguin, TX, USA / Seguin Today
Cindy Aguirre
(Seguin) – The Navarro ISD is welcoming back a very familiar face to help lead it in its search for a new top administrator. Former Superintendent of Schools Dee Carter has accepted the invitation to return to the district to serve as its interim superintendent.
Carter unveiled the surprising news herself in a letter to the community late Friday afternoon.
Carter, who retired in the spring of 2020, tells the Seguin Daily News that in the end, it was her strong desire that outweighed any hesitation in accepting the job on a temporary basis.
“I did have some hesitation because much to my amazement, my hands are full in retirement and I actually, also to my surprise, love being retired. My husband and I moved to Houston to be near our daughter, son-in-law and granddaughter and we live a half a mile from them. I pick up my 8-year-old granddaughter every day after school. We spend a couple of hours together and we see our family almost every day and I’m busy.
I’ve got lots to do in retirement but when I was contacted by Mrs. (Renee) Rehfeld (board president) to ask if she might place my name before the board for consideration, I guess my heart skipped a beat because my heart has always been here at Navarro for a long, long time. So, I spoke with my husband, and I spoke with my family, and everyone agreed that they could figure out how to make it work if indeed I came back here for a few months. So, here I am, and I’m just delighted to be here,” said Carter.
Carter, who already admits to hitting the ground running, says coming back to a home where she served 14 years as superintendent has been a welcoming experience.
“It’s so interesting. I think I said in the letter that I wrote Friday afternoon, it’s like a time warp. So much is the same and so much is different. I’ve really enjoyed seeing both staff members and some of the older kids that I knew. Some of our community members have stopped by already. I appreciate that so much and I love to see people and chat with you and so you can share with me what your wants and desires are and come by. Say hi!” said Carter.
Although she is enjoying her homecoming, Carter says she arrives at one of the busiest times of the year and is committed to supporting the district as much as possible.
“Well, it’s an extraordinarily busy time for kids and staff and for our families. We’ve got testing to look forward to. We’ve got very very busy calendars in all extra-curricular areas during the spring, so the kids are extraordinarily busy and of course getting ready for graduation is a big deal and making that transition to a new superintendent is also a very important process for the community. My goal is to work with Mr. Morales. He and I are in partnership. He continues as deputy superintendent and we are going to work together to help the district have a smooth and great and exciting spring and I will be helping to support the board in the search for superintendent just arranging for town hall meetings and inviting the public to come and make their wishes known and so far as the kind of leadership that they would like to see at the school district and just doing the best I can to help the staff get the job done that they need to do and be able to focus their attention on taking care of the kids in the best way,” said Carter.
Carter says it’s especially important that she ensure the district’s financial obligations and that she help make this transition as smooth as possible for the teachers and employees.
“We’ve got a budget to develop. That’s always also a very big deal in the spring. There are so many new state requirements and guidance in terms of safety and security. We want to be sure we can continue to progress with that – just lots to do. So, my job is to help the staff do that as easily as they can – try to kick the obstacles out of their way so they can get their work done,” said Carter.
Following Carter’s footsteps in the spring of 2020 was former Superintendent Wendi Russell who only after two years retired from the position. Since then, the district has been led by Morales. Morales has since returned to his role as deputy superintendent and will now be assisting Carter this spring.
More Topics
