Houston ISD’s Chief of Staff Monica Zdrojewski left about a week after another cabinet member resigned in August, marking the second high-profile departure within a month.
Zdrojewski took on the chief of staff role for the state’s largest school district after her predecessor, Kerri Briggs, left to work for a Dallas philanthropy organization in 2024. Before that, she was a deputy chief.
The former chief of staff had an annual salary of $245,000, putting her among the highest-paid employees in the district, which has about 22,300 employees.
She left on Aug. 15, about a week after Orlando Riddick, the former chief of strategic initiatives, left. Riddick oversaw the district’s school autonomy plan and was the point person for schools seeking to hand operations to outside nonprofits in exchange for greater autonomy.
Zdrojewski and HISD did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The next chief of staff will coordinate across HISD’s leadership team; support the superintendent; supervise advisory councils to district leadership; design and supervise “the district’s performance management and accountability systems;” and oversee board governance. The new chief will also lead “strategic initiatives,” including the district’s push for schools designed for a world dominated by artificial intelligence, according to HISD’s job posting.
Zdrojewski began her career as an elementary school teacher, and she worked with Ed Direction under the consulting firm Cicero Group, where her predecessor worked as partner. Her resume includes work at the Texas Education Agency and City Teaching Alliance, among other organizations, according to a biography provided by HISD in 2024.
Caitlin Butler, the deputy chief of staff with a salary of $230,000, is now the interim chief of staff and reports to the district’s deputy superintendent, Kristen Hole, according to HISD records.