The Mercedes ISD Board of Trustees unanimously voted Thursday to place Superintendent Carolyn Mendiola on paid administrative leave and named Richard Rivera as interim.
The decision to place Mendiola on leave comes just six days after she was charged with interference with public duties for allegedly interfering with an investigation into an inappropriate relationship between a high school teacher and a student.
Mendiola’s attorney says claims against her are groundless and politically motivated. The Mercedes Police Department says politics did not play a role in her arrest and that officers are investigating other potential instances of interference.
“There was no option for us,” Board President Oscar Hernandez said about placing Mendiola on leave. “And again, we had legal counsel, and we followed the advice of legal counsel.”
The board also authorized general counsel to assign law firm Walsh Gallegos to perform a personnel investigation or investigations that the board discussed in executive session.
Hernandez deferred questions on that investigation to attorney Tony Torres. Multiple attempts to reach Torres failed.
Mendiola was a no show at the meeting. Nancy Castillo, assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction, filled in for her at the meeting.
Mendiola announced her intention to retire from the district last month, although she had originally planned to stay on until September.
Mercedes ISD has been buffeted by repeated scandals in recent months: a handful of employees arrested on serious allegations, an evacuation caused by a threat that increasingly looks bungled, and bitter board in-fighting that directly preceded Mendiola’s initial retirement announcement.
The district is also in the midst of a contentious $2.2 million campus move and renovation project that may or may not be completed by the time school starts.
“I just want to tell the parents that as a board member, as a parent, as a taxpayer, as a teacher — we believe in accountability and student outcomes,” Hernandez told reporters Thursday.
On the bright side, he said, the district will have a veteran mid-Valley educator on its side in Rivera.
“He’s very well respected across the Valley and the state of Texas,” Hernandez said.
Rivera spent the majority of his career in Weslaco, serving as its superintendent for 16 years before a new board prompted his departure.
He went on to serve as superintendent in Edcouch-Elsa and Monte Alto, and on the the Weslaco board, before more recently serving as an administrator in a temporary capacity at Weslaco ISD.
To top it all off, Rivera is a Mercedes native.
“I’m coming back home,” he said Friday. “I was a tiger then and I’m a tiger again. I still have orange blood in me.”
Rivera was already at the district Friday morning.
“I’m a people person,” he said. “I run a district firm — I’ve always said — firm, fair and consistent. No favorites, and again it’s a team effort.”
Rivera says he plans on addressing Mercedes ISD’s current challenges with that same philosophy.
“What I’m gonna do is what I’ve done elsewhere,” he said. “Just be a people person — work with the staff, work with the board, work with the community, and whatever problems are there, it has to be solved together, as a team. You can’t have one person solve all the problems, it has to be a team.”
Perhaps the most concerning aspect of the district’s recent problems is its apparent disconnect with law enforcement. In addition to Mendiola being arrested for allegedly outright delaying a criminal investigation, Mercedes police have encouraged more communication from the district and said district messaging to the public about safety issues has been out of step with facts on the ground.
Rivera says he’ll use that same cooperative, personable strategy to address that issue.
“It’s like a puzzle, every part needs to fit,” he said. “So I sure plan to work with the police, make sure we’re on the same page and work together as a team — that’s my goal with the police.”
