TRINITY — Members of the community and the school district turned Thursday out for a special meet-and-greet of newly minted TISD Superintendent Dr. Benjamin Petty.
The informal gathering was hosted at the School Administration Building.
Petty was selected as the lone candidate for the superintendent’s position in April after Dr. John Kaufman tendered his resignation in December 2025.
Board President Kevin Searcy said the board felt Petty was the perfect replacement because he exhibits all of the qualities a good superintendent should have.
Petty formerly was executive director of Secondary Student Services at Montgomery ISD. He also is listed as an adjunct professor and a Lecturer-Pool of Educational Leadership, Department of Educational Leadership at Sam Houston State University.
Prior to that, he was an associate principal and a junior high principal with the Magnolia district, and a principal at Orangefield High School.
He holds a doctorate degree in Educational Leadership and Administration from SHSU and also received his master’s degree in the same field from SHSU.
He received a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education and Teaching from Florida College.
Petty said the Trinity district is great and has a lot of potential.
“We’re going to put some good things in place so we can step forward and realize the potential of the district,” he said. “There are some things we will focus on, such as curriculum, to get things turned around in terms of academics.”
Petty said he finds the district in good shape financially and has a lot of good teachers and administrators as well as parents.
“There is a lot of capacity here to do well, and I’m excited to get started,” he said.
