SAN ANTONIO – The Texas Education Agency (TEA) took control of South San Antonio ISD on Wednesday, pushing the elected board of trustees to the side after what it called “nearly two decades of elected trustee and administrative dysfunction.”
Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath appointed a seven-member board of managers to govern the district instead. Morath also appointed former Somerset ISD Superintendent Dr. Saul Hinojosa to lead the district.
Here’s the list of newly placed board members:
- Raymond Tijerina (recommended to serve as Board President)
- Karla Gomez Sanchez (recommended to serve as Board Vice President)
- Darrell Balderama (recommended to serve as Board Secretary)
- Adrian Guerra
- Dr. Kelly Murguia
- Aurelina Prado
- Jesus Rendon III
Only two of the new board members live in the district, but TEA officials said they all have a “deep connection” to San Antonio’s South Side.
>>>> Why is the TEA considering taking over South San Antonio ISD?
The state has only appointed a board of managers 10 times since 2000. The rare move comes after a state-appointed conservator found the board hadn’t done enough to fix the district’s issues.
Morath decides after two years whether to start transitioning power back into the hands of elected trustees.
Morath said the now-replaced superintendent, Henry Yzaguirre, was not the cause of the state’s intervention and thanked him for his “efforts to stabilize the district and recalibrate the district’s focus on student academic outcomes.”
Hinojosa answered questions about his new role during a Wednesday afternoon news conference, which can be watched below.
“In Somerset, I came into a situation similar to what we have here at South San,” the new superintendent said. “And having the right people, we were able to achieve great things when we became an ‘A’ district. So there’s no doubt in my mind that we can change the mindset and duplicate what we did in Somerset here in South San. Otherwise, I would have never applied for this position."
Hinojosa said he plans to meet with as many community members as possible, begin developing a “strategic plan” for student achievement and look at how to bring in more staff.
Hinojosa did not have an answer for what he believes will be the biggest challenge as he takes the helm.
“Well, right now is Day 1, alright?” Hinojosa said in response to KSAT’s questions. “So, again, I’m just gathering data, talking to staff, you know, gathering some reports in order to ascertain what our major challenges are and what we need to do in order to correct that."
TEA Interview
Earlier Wednesday, KSAT also had a one-on-one interview with TEA Deputy Commissioner of Governance Steve Lecholop about what led to the state’s decision.
Below is a transcript of this conversation.
What lead to this decision?
Lecholop: For a number of (years), South San ISD has been subject to a number of investigations and a number of interventions, and this really goes back decades. And in this case, for South San Antonio ISD, most recently, however, an investigation concluded about a year and a half ago where the final investigative report recommended the placement of a board of managers because of systemic violations of the Texas Education Code that the report uncovered. After that, the district and the agency entered into a settlement agreement, and part of the settlement agreement was to elevate Dr. Abe Saavedra from a monitor to a conservator (and) delay the board of managers' intervention for a year. Giving the board one more chance to accomplish what the conservator laid out as exit criteria. That one year conservator timeline lasted through about last November. And since November, the commissioner has been evaluating and studying all relevant information. Speaking with district administrators, he held a meeting in January with board leadership where the board leadership was able to present to the commissioner their perspective on a potential intervention. And through the (active) work that the commissioner has been engaging in over the last few months. Ultimately, the decision was made that the it was in the best interest of students in South San ISD for the district to have a governance reset through the temporary appointment of a board of managers and a new superintendent.
Tell us about the new Superintendent, Dr. Saul Hinojosa
Lecholop: The new superintendent who was appointed by the commissioner this morning has a long track record of successfully turning around school districts in this region of the state and leading similar school systems. The agency and the commissioner have every amount of faith that the district is in great hands and will see a improvement in academics, in finances and in governance over the coming few years.
The board does not get paid, how much will the new Superintendent be paid, and what happens with the contract with the former Supt. Henry Yzaguirre?
Lecholop: The board of managers will be approving a contract for the new superintendent in the coming weeks. The district council will need to review the terms and conditions of the current superintendent’s contract in order to determine what will be necessary in order to end the current superintendent’s contract now while the district is entering into the new contract with the new superintendent.
What was considered when choosing the new board members?
Lecholop: The number one thing that we look for is mindset, a mindset that where these new board members believe that every child can learn regardless of where they come from or what their background is if given the proper support in school. We also are looking for servant leadership, a heart for servants, folks who are in it for the right reasons. They are not in this to do for themselves or to benefit themselves either financially or politically in the future. And then we’re also looking for a group of citizens who care deeply about the district, who care deeply about the students of the district. A number of the board members who were appointed are alumni of South San. This is a powerful connection that really shows that these folks are in it for the right reason. There is a responsibility that these board members are going to have to recondition the community with regard to what an exemplary school board should look at and sound like. And this is the expectation that I have shared with them. And they have embraced this expectation, and they’re committed to fixing the wrongs of the past, to creating a school board that supports (the) academic achievement of students and is not focused exclusively on the concerns of adults and adult issues. This will be a sea change within South San Antonio ISD. And we’re convinced, we are incredibly optimistic that these seven individuals who were appointed earlier this morning are going to be able to achieve that very difficult task.
The selected board will have a set of criteria to meet to gear South San ISD back into the right track, what is that exit criteria?
Lecholop: We’ll be consulting with the new superintendent in the coming weeks to set those exit criteria to ensure that there is alignment between the new district leadership and the agency with regard to what needs to be accomplished over the coming years.
How long could that take?
Lecholop: Generally, the board of managers (intervenes and) they begin the transition back to elected leadership around the fourth or fifth year on average. Keep in mind also that this will be only the 10th Board of Managers placement since the year 2000 in the state of Texas. And it will be the fifth active board of managers. There are over 1200 school districts in the state of Texas. And so this is a very rare occasion but a very important step for districts that have such systemic issues that need to be addressed.
One important thing I want to point out is that board of managers placements are temporary. They’re intended to be temporary. There will be a transition back to elected control of the school, but the the intervention serves as a pause button to allow systems and processes to be put in place by an appointed team who are not subject to political considerations in order to position the district to better serve the students of South San ISD for many, many years into the future.
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