AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin Independent School District school board trustees voted unanimously to extend the contract of Interim Superintendent Matias Segura, partly to slow down its search for a full time candidate.

Austin ISD Thursday confirmed the vote in a tweet, saying the agreement was extended through June 30, 2024.

As KXAN reported Monday, the president of Board of Trustees, Arati Singh, wrote a letter addressed to the AISD community that said the board was calling a special meeting March 30 to, “discuss the possibility of slowing down our search for our district’s next superintendent.”

“The district is focused on improving the systems to meet students’ most pressing needs and giving those systems time to take root,” Singh said in the letter. “Thursday’s meeting will give us a chance to consider a revised process and timeline, hear from our community, and hold a vote if we choose to do so.”

About one dozen people signed up to make a public comment on the contract extension Thursday night.

A clear divide could be seen between those that wanted to keep Segura as interim superintendent and those that questioned his qualifications for the job.

Those that expressed that concern cited Segura’s background in engineering and not education as the main reason.

After the affirmative vote, Segura said he is doing his part to help the district regain stability.

“I think everyone has a role in education, the skills that I bring to this organization will help move education for our most marginalized groups,” Segura said.

Following the vote, AISD trustee president Arati Singh said the board feels confident in Segura’s ability to lead the district as it addresses more time-sensitive issues and searches for a full-time superintendent.

“It takes a lot of time to do a superintendent search but also takes a lot of time to pay attention and create accountability for these really looming and timely issues in our district right now,” Singh said.