Caloss hiring finalized by trustees

The Wills Point ISD Board of Trustees enjoyed a nice change of pace during a special called meeting held at the administration office Jan. 5. After months of long hours and searching for the best possible candidate to fill the full-time superintendent position, trustees finalized a contract with Scott Caloss in a brief meeting on Tuesday night.

The vote to hire Caloss was a virtual certainty after he was named the lone finalist for the position back at the Dec. 9 board of trustees meeting. Due to a mandatory waiting period in place for such hirings (the waiting period serves as a cooling off period, allowing one or both of the parties to back away if they have a change of heart about the impending contract), the contract between the district and Caloss could not be signed for several weeks.

Board president C.W. Wilson opened the meeting by stating, “We all know why we’re here tonight and we really don’t need an executive session. We’ve all been over the contract and all we need is a motion.” After a unanimous vote to approve, Wilson continued, “We all look forward to working with Scott and doing everything we can to help him. I know our staff does too. We’re just really excited about having him here. He was our number one choice and we think he’s going to be great for this school and make this school all the things we dream that it could be.”

Sitting in the WPISD superintendent’s seat for the first time, Caloss thanked the board for their faith in hiring him. “I would just like to thank the board for this opportunity. Like I told you all in the interview, this is an honor and a privilege for me to be here. I’m very excited about this opportunity and I will not make you regret this decision.”

Caloss has a lengthy resume in public education, serving as a math teacher, coach, assistant principal, principal and, most recently, superintendent.

Caloss' arrival in Wills Point ends an 11.5 year run at Poth ISD, where he worked for 8 years as the district’s junior high principal and the last 3.5 as the district’s superintendent.

His profile on the Poth ISD website notes: "Mr. Caloss received his bachelor’s degree from St. Mary’s University in San Antonio, where he studied physical education and mathematics. He received his master’s degree in educational administration from Texas Women’s University in Denton and his superintendent’s certification from The University of Texas at San Antonio. Mr. Caloss is currently working on his doctorate in educational leadership from The University of Texas at Austin.”

Caloss is expected to head up his first meeting as WPISD superintendent Jan. 11 beginning at 7 p.m.

An interview with Caloss regarding his background, hiring, hopes and goals for the district, will be published in a future edition of the Chronicle.