Ashley Chohlis to step down as Poth ISD superintendent

Superintendent Ashley Chohlis is leaving the Poth Independent School District (ISD), after being selected by the Uvalde Consolidated ISD as its next superintendent. She joined Poth ISD 18 months ago. WCN FILE PHOTO

Ashley Chohlis, who has served as superintendent of the Poth Independent School District since the summer of 2022, is leaving the district.

On Nov. 6, Chohlis was selected by the Uvalde Consolidated ISD board of trustees as the lone finalist to lead that district.

“I’m honored that the Uvalde CISD board of trustees had the faith and confidence in me to select me as their Lone Finalist for superintendent,” she said.

Chohlis — whose contract with Poth ISD was just extended in August — will succeed Interim Superintendent Gary Patterson, who’s been guiding Uvalde CISD since the retirement of Hal Harrell, the superintendent at the time of the May 24, 2022, shooting that claimed the lives of 19 students and two teachers. Patterson has served as interim superintendent in a number of school districts, including La Vernia ISD, since his 2014 retirement after 14 years as superintendent of the East Central ISD.

Poth trustees selected Chohlis in April 2022 to succeed Paula Renken as superintendent. Chohlis stepped into the role in July 2022, after a 26-year career with the East Central district.

A Wilson County resident for more than two decades, Chohlis must complete a statutory 21- day waiting period before finalizing her role in Uvalde. But Poth Pirate Pride will remain in her heart, she said.

“I am tremendously grateful to the Poth ISD Board of Trustees, administrators, staff, students, and community for the opportunity to serve as their superintendent for the last year and a half,” Chohlis told the Wilson County News. “I couldn’t be more proud of the great work we accomplished together. I will never forget how special it is to be a Poth Pirate and will forever carry Pirate Pride in my heart wherever I may go.”