Fort Bend school district has unveiled a slate of new hires to fill several key positions at the district and campus levels.

New police chief

Coming on board in January will be new Police Chief David Rider, a police captain with the Austin Independent School District.

He fills the vacancy of J.L. Campbell, who, after 15 years with the district, decided to quit his job in his unsuccessful bid to seek the police chief’s position at the city of La Marque in Galveston County.

Director of facilities

The district also has replaced the director of facilities. William "Tom" Browning will fill the slot of Michael Johnson, who has moved to the construction and engineering executive director’s position.

Johnson had reported to Chief Auxiliary Services Officer Tom Carter, who resigned late this year. The district is not reopening Carter’s position.

Clements High School

At the campus level, after Kevin Moran was put on administrative leave from his Clements High School principal’s job and his subsequent resignation in November, the district has now appointed Lee Crews, principal of Quail Valley Middle School and a longtime district employee, to the position.

He helped open the Gifted and Talented Academy at Quail Valley for the 2007-08 school year.

After graduating from Texas A&M University with a bachelor of science degree in curriculum and instruction in 1989, Crews received his master of education in administration and supervision at the University of Houston/Victoria in 1999. He has served as a teacher, assistant principal, associate principal and principal of First Colony Middle School.

District officials declined to comment on Moran’s departure.

11th high school

In addition, Travis High School Principal Karin Grisdale will move to head a new high school, the district’s 11th under construction and set to open next fall in the Sienna Plantation and Hillwood development area on the east side of the district.

Before joining Fort Bend ISD in 2003, she was an associate and an assistant principal and a social studies teacher at Stratford High School. Prior to working in Spring Branch ISD, she was a social studies teacher at Davis High School in Houston ISD.

She received her bachelor of arts degree in social science from Eastern Illinois University, and her master of arts in secondary education from Central Michigan University.

More on the police chief situation

School board trustee Laurie Caldwell described the new employees, the new police chief in particular, as good personnel choices.

"My impression is that he comes with a tremendous background and experience. He’ll be of great value to the district," Caldwell said.

Rider, who is out of town for Christmas, could not be reached.

Pressure had been mounting on Campbell after news reports alleged that he used district resources to run for sheriff of Galveston County, a job he didn’t get.

Those reports also called into question Campbell’s management of the police department after some officers reportedly complained about their lack of equipment and training. Campbell has denied the allegations, according to the reports.

Following those reports, FBISDWatch, a Web-based district watchdog, e-mailed Superintendent Tim Jenney and the school board in January pushing for an investigation of Campbell based on the allegations that include his absence from his district job during much of 2008 while he was seeking the sheriff’s post.

District spokeswoman Mary Ann Simpson declined to comment on the allegations.

Campbell said he would "begin a new journey on my career path" and pursue a "future business plan" with his wife.

Eric Gage, city manager of the city of La Marque, said he interviewed Campbell for the police chief job but didn’t deem him as the best candidate.

More on the Clements High situation

At Clements High, crowding and complaints from some parents had put pressure on Moran, who not only had maintained that the campus was handling the situation with no trouble but also indicated a desire to absorb more students.

However, the district has been mum on the exact reason for his departure.

Some posts still vacant

Several more key positions continue to be vacant, including the director of transportation, director of demographics and planning, internal auditor, and numerous other district- and campus-level slots.

Former director of transportation Richard Torres resigned in June after employee complaints were reportedly made against him involving his alleged use of district resources for his personal vehicle services and his treatment of employee grievances.

District critics have accused a demographer hired by the district of providing faulty data, which led to ill planning that continues to cause overcrowding at campuses.