Grand Prairie One of Few DFW Districts to Provide Superintendent Housing

GRAND PRAIRIE — Nestled in a tree-filled patch of land south of Polo Road and invisible from its South Carrier Parkway address lies a home with a long, private circular driveway. It comes with a swimming pool and barn, and it's valued at $413,520 according to the Dallas Central Appraisal District. The property is owned by the Grand Prairie school district, and its current tenant is the district's superintendent, Susan Simpson Hull.It's no secret that school superintendent jobs come with an array of perks, because highly qualified superintendents are always in great demand. Some districts pay relocation fees, provide cellphones and company cars, and pay for home internet service. "I can tell you that in my experience, district-provided housing can be very useful in the right situation," Hull said.Few Texas school districts provide housing or housing-related services, and most of those that do are in rural areas where it is difficult for a superintendent to find housing, said Barbara Williams, communications director for the Texas Association of School Boards.Grand Prairie, sitting smack dab in the heart of the sprawling Dallas-Fort Worth area and its more than 7 million residents, wouldn't seem to fit such a definition. The city has a population of about 166,000 people, and GPISD has over 29,300 students.  Continue reading...