Moving On

Pat Forgione had no experience running a school district before he arrived in Austin, Texas. As he prepares to depart 10 years later, he earns high marks from a once-skeptical city.

Austin, Texas

If it weren’t for the stacks of boxes in his office, you’d be hard-pressed to tell that Pascal D. Forgione Jr. is about to hang up his superintendent hat for good.

He still zips from event to event at breakneck speed, speaking with irrepressible energy about the future of the Austin Independent School District, which he has led for 10 years.

“Our children are the greatest asset we have, and we can’t be naive about how we do this,” he told the local Hispanic chamber of commerce last month while reflecting on his tenure. “There is room for improvement, folks. There is much more to do. You...