SAN BENITO — After about five months of debate, a search is on for the school district’s next superintendent, days before the opening of the new school year.
For two weeks, school district officials have been advertising for the job on the district’s website, listing qualifications including a master’s degree and five years’ experience in school administration.
On Tuesday, district spokeswoman Isabel Gonzalez said state law bars the district from releasing any applicants’ names.
Local focus
After board members discussed launching a state-wide search, board President Ramiro Moreno called for local applicants.
During a special meeting, board member Ariel Cruz proposed the board select the Texas Association of School Boards to conduct the search, four months after trustees planned to hire the agency for $7,800.
Instead, the board’s majority decided to advertise locally for the job.
“I’d like to move that with the onset of the school year beginning for our teachers Aug. 1 and the students coming back Aug. 8 we expedite the selection of a new superintendent and put it up for local applicants to apply so that we can hopefully get our new executive director of administrative services to advertise the vacancy for a minimum of 10 days and that the board take action soon after,” Moreno told trustees during the July 18 special meeting.
Job qualifications, duties
On July 19, officials posted an advertisement on the district’s website listing qualifications including a master’s degree in education administration, five years’ experience in school administration and a Texas superintendent’s certification along certification through the Texas Education Agency and the Texas Teachers Evaluation Support System.
“The superintendent shall be the chief executive officer of the district and shall be responsible for the effective execution of Texas education codes and policies adopted by the local board,” the advertisement states. “The superintendent shall be responsible for the administration of all district operations and shall assign personnel responsibilities.”
The job’s duties include developing “goals and objectives for the district,” “regular evaluation of all programs and operations to determine improvements,” “policies on organization, finance, instructional programs, personnel, school plant and related functions of the district appropriate to the enhancement of effective educational programs,” “attitude of unity and harmony within the school board, “administrative procedures and regulations for the management of school operations” and “all financial accounting and ensures that funds are managed and controlled effectively.”
Debating search
Since March, board members have discussed launching a search for the district’s next superintendent.
By April, they were planning to hire the Texas Association of School Board to the conduct the search for $7,800.
Then later that month, trustees were considering opening the search to other firms.
Background
In March, Superintendent Nate Carman resigned after more than four years to take a job with the Soccoro school district, with nearly 50,000 students.
Later that month, the board’s majority selected Theresa Servellon, a former longtime San Benito administrator and principal who had previously served as the South San Antonio school district’s chief academic officer, to serve as interim superintendent.
In 2017, the past school board hired a search firm producing a pool of 50 applicants from which Carman was hired before trustees signed him to a four-year contract paying an annual salary of $202,776 along with a $1,800 monthly stipend, plus benefits in 2019.
