MFISD assistant superintendent takes similar job at Alvin school district

JENNIFER FIERRO • PICAYUNE STAFF

MARBLE FALLS — Just a few months ago, Allen Roberts and his wife, Susie, believed they would end their careers as employees of the Marble Falls Independent School District.

But that changed Jan. 20, when Roberts, the MFISD assistant superintendent, was approved for hire by the Alvin Independent School District to become the assistant superintendent of human resources.

Roberts begins his new job in early February, ending his time at Marble Falls after nine years. Susie Roberts, a counselor at Marble Falls High School, and their son, Aiden, a senior, will stay to finish the semester. Her position in Alvin is still to be determined.

“I’m hoping I made a small difference in the lives and the community in Marble Falls,” Allen Roberts said. “There are times I’ll cherish for the rest of my life. It’s bittersweet.”

Roberts will join former Marble Falls High School principal Buck Gilcrease, who is the Alvin ISD superintendent.

Gilcrease had contacted Roberts to ask if he could recommend a candidate. So the couple took a drive to Alvin the next day to see the community and fell in love with it. Downtown Alvin reminds them of Marble Falls’ Main Street, but Alvin is 30 minutes from the Gulf of Mexico and seeing the Houston Astros, Rockets and Texans live.

“We got excited about some of the prospects in Alvin,” Allen Roberts said. “I called Dr. Gilcrease and told him I do think there’s someone interested in that job. That’s when we started talking back and forth.”

Roberts said he has met with MFISD Superintendent Rob O’Connor, who asked for a detailed list of the tasks Roberts does for MFISD. There are so many, it was hard to list them all, Roberts said.

He came to Marble Falls after spending his entire life in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. He spent a few months as the Marble Falls Middle School principal then went to the high school as the principal for 3½ years. He spent the last five years as the assistant superintendent.

“I always felt I was allowed to grow professionally daily and given the opportunity and the resources for helping students to become successful,” he said.

Roberts is not sure there’s ever a good time to leave a position for another. Still, he noted the school board, superintendent, staff members and community have built tremendous relationships with each other with the goal of preparing students for the future. So he can move on because of those relationships, he said.

“I can’t say enough about the community and the school district,” he said. “I’ll always have a special place in my life for Marble Falls.”

jfierro@thepicayune.com