Petruzielo previously worked for the Miami-Dade County Public Schools.
He became the superintendent of the Houston Independent School District (HISD) in 1991.
[1] Former HISD board member Don McAdams wrote that the hiring process for Petruzielo was fraught with tensions from the African-American community, though he made moves to appease that group and was elected.
[3] In 1994 he became the superintendent of Broward County Public Schools in Florida.
[4] According to McAdams, there had been so much conflict between the Houston city government and McAdams regarding tax requests from the latter that the board chose not to attempt to persuade him to stay at HISD instead of going to Broward County.