Sign up for TPR Today, Texas Public Radio's newsletter that brings our top stories to your inbox each morning.
The new, state-appointed, board of managers for the South San Antonio Independent School District met for the first time Wednesday evening. Much of the board business formalized the actions the Texas Education Agency took last week to replace the district’s leadership following years of state investigations and interventions due to board dysfunction and overreach.
The board of managers voted to name their board leadership, following the recommendation of TEA to name Raymond Tijerina board president, Karla Gomez Sanchez vice president, and Darrell Balderrama secretary.
Tijerina, Gomez Sanchez and Balderrama were already listed as the board’s leadership on the district’s website prior to the board meeting.
“As the community is aware, the Texas Education Agency intervened in South San Antonio Independent School District on February 19 by appointing a new board and superintendent,” Tijerina said at the start of the meeting. “Through the transition, this new governance team is committed to focusing unrelentingly on improving student outcomes. We look forward to partnering with you in this role and working with the superintendent to give our students the tools that they need for a successful future.”
Five of the seven appointed board members are alums of South San, but only two of them live in the district. That means when the state returns South San to local control, most of them will be ineligible to run for the elected board.
After brief introductions from all seven board members, the board of managers voted to approve a temporary contract for Saul Hinojosa, the new superintendent selected by the Texas Education Agency to lead the district.
Hinojosa’s interim contract stipulates he will be paid $1,238.94 for each day of work, which adds up to about $280,000 a year — about $10,000 more than the base salary of South San’s former superintendent, Henry Yzaguirre.
$280,000 is about average for superintendents in San Antonio.
Hinojosa’s permanent employment contract is slated to be voted on during the next board meeting on March 19.
Hinojosa said he’s shared a 90-day plan with the board, and that his first goal is to reduce the number of staff working at the central office.
“We've created or found $3 million that we will be giving back to our campuses, where our best performing teachers will be the best paid teachers in Bexar County,” Hinojosa said. “We are going to be adding instructional coaches, who their main goal is to grow teachers. We also are going to start purchasing buses. We're going to start painting schools with the money that we've allocated.”
Hinojosa also said he has been “bouncing ideas” with Abelardo Saavedra since he started six days ago, and he looked forward to working with him as a “thought partner.”
TEA appointed Saavedra as a conservator to oversee South San in 2023. At the time, the elected trustees agreed to the conservator in order to avoid a state takeover.
South San’s new board of managers also approved a contract for new general counsel Wednesday. A school district’s general counsel attends board meetings and gives advice on the legality of proposed board actions.
South San’s previous elected board often asked legal counsel to weigh in when they wanted to take action that went against the superintendent’s recommendation or otherwise traversed controversial territory.
South San’s elected board relied on Mark Sanchez of Sanchez and Wilson. The appointed board will use JCA Law.
Tony Resendez of JCA Law attended the meeting and introduced himself to the board. He previously worked with Hinojosa when Hinojosa was superintendent of Somerset ISD.
